40 Die In U.S. Floods

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30633, 26 December 1964, Page 13

40 Die In U.S. Floods

(N.Z.P.A.-Reuter—Copyright) SAN FRANCISCO, December 24. The death toll from flooding in five Western States rose tonight to at least 40, as storms continued for the fourth consecutive day. In a Christmas Eve proclamation, President Johnson declared some of the worsthit areas, in northern California and Oregon, to be disaster areas, making them eligible for Federal Government assistance. At least 10,000 people in the flood-stricken parts of

California, Oregon, Washington State, Idaho and Nevada have abandoned their homes in face of raging waters and landslides which deluged entire communities.

Property damage ran to scores of millions of dollars, although no definite figure has yet been established. The Navy aircraft carrier, Bennington, carrying scores of helicopters, was ordered to sail from Long Beach, California, to Eureka, in the northern part of the State, to help rescue people stranded there on high ground. It is due off Eureka tomorrow morning. Governor Mark Hatfield of Oregon, where there were about a dozen deaths in the flooding, said it was the worst in the State’s history and warned of a crisis in the next 24 to 36 hours. A Red Cross official in Portland, Oregon, estimated 7000 to 8000 homeless in that State alone.

Although forecasts of partly cloudy weather with showers raised hopes that the torrents would subside, there were fears that another storm might lash coastal areas tomorrow afternoon and evening.