FLOOD DISASTER

Grey River Argus, 7 February 1931, Page 4

FLOOD DISASTER

IN NORTH OF N.S.W. Greatest for a Generation HUNDREDS FLEE TO SAFETY. (Aus. and N.Z. Cable Ass>.) SYDNEY. February Xk Hundreds are fleeing from, the- menace of flood waters,.-which at Murwillumbah inundated portions the town. The Tweed River is already above the record flood level r ef lUsl* Cyclonic gales are raging, and. seas are causing havoc along the Far North Coast Telephone girls at Murwillum-l-ah continued on duty until the water rose two feet around their switchboard. . . The river rose at an alarming rate. Many were rescued in bouts. Mam Street is navigable only by bo&L- -Vr The Richmond River at Lismore is rising two feet. hourly*. Low-lying homes are vacated. The roads - are impassable and the rail service is discontinued owing to submerged tracks. There were many landslides. " ~ ’ QUEENSLAND INUNDATION. BRISBANE, February 6. 1 The suburbs were inundated with the biggest flood since 1907. Farm lands are covered to a depth of ten feet. A house and bridge were carried away by the swirling waters. ? A baby girl was washed from her mother’s arms when crossing a deep gully and drowned. A train overturned near Dakabin, and the fireman’s arm was broken. BRISBANE'S WORST FLOOD. FOR TWENTY YEARS. i (Received February 6, at 7.15 p.m.) BRISBANE, February 6. Tike city is in the grip of the- worst flood experienced for over twenty years. The peak point in the river level is expected about m’dday. Thou 5 - 1 ands of people are homeless, and rail- : way and tram servic.es aire disorganis- ! td. Many refugees were housed last | night in public buildings. At the Mur--1 rumba watershed this morning, the j Brisbane river flood level reached 63 | feet, or over five feet above the 1908 I level. The record is eighty feet in March. 1892. Twelve inches of rain were registered at the Exhibition I Show Grounds in twenty-four hours. Confusion reigned in the city during | the night, and many narrow escapes I are recorded. Streams of refugees are hurrying to higher portions of the 1 city from the low-lying suburbs, which . are inundated, carrying whatever effects they have been able to salvage in their hurried flight.