MACKAY CYCLONE.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXVII, Issue 17701, 30 January 1918, Page 5

MACKAY CYCLONE.

FOUR FEET OF RAIN IN EIGHTEEN DAYS. NINETEEN BODIES RECOVERED. By Tolegiaph—Praw Association—Copyright BRISBANE, January 29. Tho Muttaburra township is flooded, cutting off all communication with Northern Queensland. The Mackay " Standard " of January 26 states tiiat a break in the fine weather occurred on January 4, when a cyclone struck tho town. On January 19 it was blowing from the south, later fr o m the east, and then from the north, to which was due tho great extent cf damage. Tho main portion of the town is in ruins, scarcely one building escaping. The cyclone continued with unabated force for fourteen hours- The rainfall for eighteen days was nearly 4ft. S*o far nineteen bodies have been recovered. It is understood that Townsville escaped. 'flie coastal shipping services are becoming normal. AUSTRALIAN NEWSEARLIER DETAILS OF FLOODS. fFnoM Our Cobrespondem.] SYDNEY, January 24Practically all trains have ceased running owing to the flood waters being over the lines or owing to washaways. The southern mail train was cancelled, and the mail train from Brisbane turned back at Mount Larcom. Advices from Mount Morgan state there has been a good deal of damage there. The Dee. River is in high flood, and the suburbs are isolated- Owing to tin state of the weather hundreds of men are out of work, and moro will have to knock off, as under present weather conditions it is impossible to carry on. Advices received from Wowan state there is a groat expanse of water between there and Deoford, and fears are entertained lor settlers. Tho full fury of the gale was felt at Yeppoon, where the wind blow with cyclonic force, and the sea ran mountains high. A good deal of damage was done, one hotel being unroofed in the. early hours of yesterday morning, and tho roof piled up in thei station yards. At Emu Park conditions are also ve.-y bad. Tho Wvieema arrived in Keppel Bay on Sunday, but was nnablei to reach Port Alma. She is sheltering under Sea Hill- Tho Moira left here on Saturday, but put back under Sei Hill. Other vessels nrei sheltering under Sea Hill- Owing to tho rise of the flood waters residents at Port Curtis Junction worn endangered- A train was sent there and brought in 100 persons, who have been accommodated in different buildings. A train was now and again sent to bring in more: residents. . '* , . The Fitzroy during Monday night and earlv yesterday morning rose with great rapidity, and at 3 p.m. it was 27ft on tho gauge, or only Win below thei IS9G record. At eight o clock it was 27ft Sin on the gauge. Ihe river at Yaamba. yesterday afternoon had risen to 48ft Win. Concurrent with this rise there has be*n a very largo area of country submerged, and viewed from tho highest buildings in the city the scene is impressive, though melan- ° 'it, 5 seems inevitable there will bo - a most disastrous flood. That Rockhampton was in the patn of the disturbance is abundantly demonstrated. Trees were uprooted in all directions, and buildings began to suffer on Monday morning. The principal damage was in the outskirts of the town. In North Rockhampton many houses had their verandahs blown away or portions of tho roofing detached, with the result that tho deluge of

rain which poured in, caused consider* able" damage- There .were many narrow escapes. In Denison Lane a brick chimney crashed through a house, and Mrs King was struck by the deb is, suffering Wises and shock, while her son Charlie, mf about eight years, was struck on the head by a beam. Miss Scullv who was standing near Mrs Kin"," 'had her blouse torn to shreds, but did not receive a scratch. A house on high blocks, near the north coast lino crossing, occupied by Mrs W. J Brvan collapsed, and Mrs Bryan and her two children just managed to get out in time. A number of awnings on shops in different parts of the city wore blown away, and No 1 granclstand at the show grounds was unrooted- At North Rockhampton, business places' in the Yaamba Road suffered greatly, and a number of private houses were unroofed and otherwiso damaged. Similar conditions prevailed from North Rockhampton to Lakes Creek, and i>t is certain tho damage will run into a big sum. _ , „ ~ Tho Rockhampton Jockey Club h courso is completely submerged. ' People were shifting all day, and (also last night at Rockhampton. Women and children, in pouring rain, were seen staggering under loads of household belongings. From Sunday afternoon to nine o'clock on Monday morning the rainfall was 4.56 in at Rockhampton, for the next twenty-four hours 965 points, and from nine'o'clock yesterday morning to three o'clock yesterday afternoon '230 points, or -a total of 1655 points. Further rain fell, bringing tho total at 8 p.m. to 18 inches. At 12.25 to-day tho Deputy Railway Commissioner at Rockhampton reported that conditions were very bad in tho west, especially near Pine Hill, and on the Clermont line. Both Theresa Creek and Retro Creek were three feet over tho line and rising. There was a very big flood in Langton flats. It is raining heavily at Clermont, and water is running through the town. Only two trains are running in tho western districts.

At eleven o'clock tho Deputy Commissioner reported, " Very serious floods at Rockhampton. The gauge this morning was Oin higher than any previous record, and still rising. Rain continues, and there seems every likelihood of the flood rising higher. Hundreds of houses are flooded- Rockhampton is' completely isolated from the south and west, and we cannot ger. a train even to Port Curtis Junction, which is only a mile and a half front the. town. ' Tho water is about 15in ever the lino near Lakes Creek."

Inspector Hulme left yesterday to •rcscuo peoplo at Warren, and is nc<wendeavouring to get to Gogan's, where •the settler* are said to bo in seriolus danger. The settlers in the Dawson Valley are also being moved. The Dawson River at Boolburra is very high, and families will have to bo removed from there if possible. Tho Homo Secretary's Department has instructed the police at Rockhampton and Longreach to give every possible assistance and relief whore necessary to (the sufferers from tho floods and cyclone. A Rockhampton message to tho Commissioner of Police to-day stated that the gasworks would bo closed, and all lights would bo out at night. A special weather report this morning stated the centre of tho tropiqal disturbance continued on a westerly course during tho last twenty-four hours, and, as far as can be judged, the centre at nine o'clock to-day was about midway between Boulia and' Longreach. It has decreased still further in intensity. Among tho moro important rainfalls for the twenty-four hours ended at 9 a.m. to-day were :—Mount Morgan 833 points, Rockhampton 753, Bajool 551, and Springsure 588. Several inter-State vessels have been delayed by the storm, and one or it wo are still sheltering from the gale. Telegraphic communication with the northem parts of (tho State shows very littlo improvement. Mackay and St Lawrence are still isolated, and it is feared Bowon will become isolated during the evening. At Clermont very heavy wind blew| on Monday, and uprooted thousands of trees on all the country roads. It shook up tho buildings in town som,ewhat, but very slight damage was done. A balcony roof was blown off the Terminus Hotel, and a few sheets of irort off a private house. The total fainfall till nine o'clock this morning was 570 points. Sandy Creek has been running almost level with the bank sinlpe; yesterday afternoon, and flowed over below the town, but the old town is not yet flooded. It was reported th'is morning that the railway bridge between Clermont and Blair Athol was bent out of position. No rain has fallen at Bundaberg today, but the weather is threatening, and wharfs have been cleared in caso of emergency, reports having been received from Eidsvold that the Burnett River there was at the highest levleß know for ten years. At Gayndah the river was 26ft above normal, and rising at the rate of 6in per hour, and at. Gin Gin the river was 16ft above, noir'mal. The Kolan River is 20ft abovenormal-