INTENSE HEAT WAVE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXI, Issue 21859, 23 July 1934, Page 9

INTENSE HEAT WAVE

AMERICA SCOURGED VERY HEAVY DEATH-ROLL MORE THAN 100 FATALITIES By Telegraph—Press Association—Coil right (Received July 22. 5.5 p.m.) NEW YORK, July 21 A heat wave spread over practically the whole of the United States today, causing about 50 more fatalities. There were also several cases of sunstroke, prostration, and drowning. Showers brought some relief to New York's sweltering millions. A message from Chicago states that the heat waves caused 85 deaths in the central States yesterday and on Thursday. Temperatures as high as 114 degrees were recorded. STILL NO RAIN MORE DEATHS REPORTED SACRIFICE OF LIVESTOCK (Received July 22, 11.35 p.m.) SAN FRANCISCO, July 22 The persistence of the beat wave throughout yesterday claimed more lives, and the damage to crops amounted to millions of dollars. On 13' the Northern border and the West escaped yesterday's licat. The State of Missouri led the death-roll with 66. To-dav's weather forecast states that the blazing, rainless spell will continue indefinitely. Forced selling because of water shortage and burned meadows has brought about a heavy influx of livestock that threatens the demoralisation of the Kansas city livestock- market. Representatives from Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Arkansas have been called to a conference about the drought on Monday. In Nebraska alone the damage is estimated at 156,000,000 dollars. FIGHTING DROUGHTS GREAT UNITED STATES PLAN THOUSAND MILES OF TREES (Received July 22, 6.35 p.m.) WASHINGTON, July 21 An executive order was issued by the United States Government to-day authorising a vast land-preserving programme that is expected materially to lessen the drought menace in the middle and western States.

A sum of 15,000,000 dollars has been allocated for the preliminary work of planting a belt of trees a hundred miles wide and a thousand miles long, stretching from the Canadian border to North-western Texas. This belt is expected to break the dry-as-dust winds which cause so much damage, and also to preserve much moisture in the land.

The project will require ten years to complete and the estimated cost is 75,000,000 dollars. It will cross the States of North and South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma, and extend far into Texas, covering a total area of about 64,000,000 acres.

Recent damage to crops in the drought-stricken portions of the middle west was increased by to-day's intense heat wave.