FLOODS IN AUSTRALIA

Hawera Star, Volume L, 9 February 1931, Page 4

FLOODS IN AUSTRALIA

LOSS OF SEVERAL LIVES TOWN OF LISMORE FLOODED FIVE THOUSAND HOMELESS. I.Ci;lU'ii ertroa rtasucuilluli — By BlecU’ic IciegrupU ] iTj£Lii.* j SYDNEY, Feb. 8. More than 500 people nave been driven from their noiues in Lismore owin(r to the floods. Tile town is m a state ot indescribable confusion, opeed-bqats are racing up and down die streets with homeless people ana members of the telephone exchange are leaving for work in boats. V ater is three feet deep m the majority of shops. Men, women and children are moving, about in bathing costumes. Carl Wilkinson diving under his house to rescue something, was hit on the head by a projection and drowned. Another man, attempting to save himself by holding on to the tail of a horse ■ which w'as swimming through the torrent, was washed away, but later was rescued unconscious and resuscitated.

Two men and a boy have been d) owned in the Brisbane floods, which are now rapidly falling. Hundreds of refugees are returning to their homes. While the tide was at its peak .‘n Bnsoane River oil Saturday the water v. as about four feet above the wharves on the northern bank and drowned cattle and domestic pete w-hich were washed down with the torrent. The floods on the Neiv South Wales north ooast are the worst in the histojy of the State. Lismore residents were rescued from the housetops by police boats perilously overloaded. Miles of dairying land are inundated. Kyogle is also partly under water, and it is still raining. Cora.lii was deluged and is menaced by the flood waters, but the danger has passed on the Tweed River, which is receding. AH trains have ceased on the north coast.. I Although the rain has ceased at Lismore the river continues to rise and the position is serious. A disastrous flood is feared at Coralii. The river has broken its banks at several places. Farmers were forced to flee, leaving .heir stock to be drowned. All the low-: iving country is submerged, and thei worst is yet’to come. Landslides occurred at Kyogle. Bridges were washed away and many houses were completely submerged. The water at places is a mile wide in the Brisbane River. The suburbs were scenes of desolation. Ruined and smashed furniture and flattened fences were seen on all sides. Most of the train and tram services have resumed. Some who were forced to vacate their homes returned to find them in a terrible condition with, mud and slush inches deep on the floors and furniture ruined. Creelos in the country districts are still running strongly. The Nerang River is a raging torrent. A man was drowned while trying to cross a flooded creek in the Oxley district. Part of the Ipswich road at Rocklea. i-s 15 feet under water. Only the roofs of nearly ah the houses are visible. The schools have been closed. A heavy flood is predicted in several northern rivers. Swept downstream by the flood water® in the Brisbane River, the steamer Momba rammed the lighter Saud, then crashed into the stern of the Mundilla and finally ran ashore at New Farm.