FLOODS IN AUSTRALIA

Otago Witness, Issue 2914, 19 January 1910, Page 26

FLOODS IN AUSTRALIA

SERIOUS LOSS IN NEW SOUTH WALES. TRY LNG EXPERTENCES. LARGE AREAS SUBMERGED. FOUR PEOPLE DROWNED. SYDNEY, January 15. As a. result of the rain the rivers are rising rapidly. Floods have occurred at Tam worth, and numerous railway washaw ays are reported. Other States have benefited by the fall, three-fourths, of the continent participating. January 16. The weather cleared yesterday, and is now bright and sunny. Eleven inches of rain have fallen at Taimvorth since Tuesday. The river overflowed its banks and inundated a large portion of the town, including the main streets. The water in. the shops ranged from 4ft to 10ft deep, and great damage was done. All the low-lying lands along the m-cr are under water, and some sell lavs’ houses were swept- away. Others Kcttlcrs were compelled to seek refuge in slacks. The, latest reports stale (hat the water is failing. Narrabri and Quirindi report high floods and great damage to the crops, and considerable losses of stock. The mail trains from Brisbane and Sydney were delayed for 15 hours owing to washaways between Mondi and Tamworth. Telegraph :c comm nn i cation, generally has been greatly disorganised during the last few days by the rain. Owing to the floods in lire northern ■rivers railway and telegraphic communication with Queensland is cut off. Telegraphic communication with the flooded districts is being restored. Reports which are slowly coming to hand show that there, has been immense damage, and that several lives have been lost. The Railway Commissioners have received a wire from. Moree stating that four men who wtre taking a boat alongside a ballast train which was surrounded by the floods were capsized, and all were drowned. There are no details. A wide area round Gunnedah is under water. Boats have rescued people from th tops of stacks ad houses, where they they had taken refuge. There have been numbers of -narrow escapes. A rescue boat was capsized, and a man is missing. The damage at Tam worth is estimated at £30,0c10. Narrabri and other centres have suffered severely. Many people have been flooded out. Though, as far as possible, stock has been removed to the high ground, the losses are heavy. To-day’s reports state that the floods are subsiding. The railway service is badly disorganised by numerous washaways, which are being restored. January 17. So rapid was the rise of the flood at Tam worth that several hundred people were caught in their business places, and cut off from food supplies for 16 hours. Many had to take refuge on verandahs and roofs. There were a number of sensational incidents and gallant rescues. In the surrounding districts thousands of sheep and large numbers of horses and cattle were drowned. The havoc wrought in the business portion of the town was immense, the scene at the height of the flood being indescribable. As the heavy debris was swept along it smashed the doors and windows, while stock was carried out of the shops in large quantities, and the streets, as the waters subsided, were littered with furniture and stock-in-trades of all descriptions, presenting a remarkable appearance. The flood at Narrabri was the highest known. Large areas of the surrounding districts are submerged, and there is widespread damage. Many settlers were compelled to leave their homes. The owners succeeded in getting most of the stock on high ground before the worst came. At Gunnedah the lower part of the town is flooded, some of the houses beingup to the eaves. The residents are taking refuge in the Republic Buildings. The country is a sea for 10 miles round. Many residents spent the night on the roots and up trees'. Two men are reported to be missing. the township of Carroll was swept by a flood of waters, some houses being carried bodily away. Furniture and dead stock littered the rivers. The losses in stock throughout the district are believed to be heavy at Narrabri and Moree, but the full extent of the damage is not known. Great tracts of country are inundated. The latest reports are that the waters are slowly receding. The farmers all along the country valley suffered severely. There are no further details of the reported drowning of four men at Moree. The damage to the railways and roads in the flooded districts is heavy. There are numerous castaways, and many bridges have been destroyed. Queensland telegrams report heavy rain and flood at Dalbv.

a boat had capsized, and that Mr Groce and his wife and Mrs Chapman and her daughter had been drowned, the biggest flood ever recorded was running. The operator was then leaving the office, which was surrounded by water, telegraphic communication has since ueen interrupted. ’ Railway traffic between Inverell and Moree is stopped, and is not likely to be restored for some time owing to the collapse of a bridge. The destruction of two other bridges has blocked the line between Warialda and Bingara.