FLOWING LAVA

New Zealand Herald, Volume 81, Issue 24850, 23 March 1944, Page 5

FLOWING LAVA

VESUVIUS_STREAM VILLAGES^BURIED RELENTLESS ADVANCE ALL INHABITANTS SAFE (Recti. 10.30 p.m.) LONDON, March 22 Lava from erupting Vesuvius has destroyed the villages of San Sebastiano and Massa di Somma in the greatest eruption since 1872, says the Naples correspondent of the Associated Press. Allied troops had evacuated all the villagers and no casualties are reported. By the middle of the morning a massive stream of lava was only half a mile from the much larger town of Cercolo. The main stream, between San Sebastiano and Massa di Somma, was 90ft. deep in places, sending up llames of sulphurous fumes. Many inhabitants, already sorely tried by the ravages of war, were panic-stricken. Vast Clouds of Smoke Vesuvius began a new phase of the eruption last evening by belching vast clouds of smoke 5000 ft. high, which blotted out the mountain and the entire Bay of Naples area opposite Naples. Traffic in Naples ceased when the smoke rolled down, reducing visibility almost to nil. People rushed into the streets and to vantage points around the city watching the terrifying scene. The Allied Military Government of Italy announced that, in addition to the evacuation of 7000 inhabitants from the villages of Massa di Somma and San Sebastiano, the evacuation had begun of a further 17,000 from the populous district of Cercolo. on the mountain's northern slope. Flaming lava continues to engulf houses and larger buildings and crack bridges. Heat from the lava is setting fire to trees and fences long before it reaches them. San Sebastiano has almostly completely disappeared. Two of its largest buildings remain, but only the spire of the church sticks up above the devouring stream, which is now rolling across the fields toward Cercolo, about a mile away. Slow Progress of Destruction The Naples correspondent of the Times says the progress of destruction is almost maddeningly slow. The lava is nosing its way through vineyards and streets, crushing everything in its path with a deliberation which is very different from the sudden wrath of bombing. Houses temporarily "withstand the great weight and then crasli in a cloud of rubble which the creeping mass swallows up. According to the Paris radio, lava from Vesuvius has reached within three miles of Naples. Another report states that the stream of lava is 400 yards wide and is advancing at a rate of 1000 yards an hour. Scores of British and American Army trucks are still removing household goods from the threatened areas, while inhabitants stay aimlessly about as if infected by the slowness of the destruction. Assistance to Victims Working desperately in the face of the approaching streams of lava, an 11. A.F. unit in the Naples area helped to evacuate people from the villages north and west of the volcano, says a correspondent at Allied headquarters. 8.A.1', personnel with a fleet of transports worked throughout the night clearing San Sebastiano. After' working 11 hours on roads choked by evacuees on foot with valuables loaded on donkey carts and oxdrawn waggons, the last 11. A.F. lorry left Sail Sebastiano at 1 a.m. yesterday, and a few minutes later a 40ft. wave of lava poured into the village. Ilefugees took safety in the near by hamlet of Trocchia.