THE FLOOD ALARM

Southland Times, Issue 18938, 11 May 1923, Page 11

THE FLOOD ALARM

BUGLES AND CHURCH BELLS USED. One of the most striking features in connection with the serious floods in so many districts of France is the very small number of accidents. Up to the present (March 12) there has been no loss of life. At Indret a boat containing several workmen was carried away by the stream and capsized, but the occupants were rescued. A dyke burst near Gievres (Loir-et-Cher) and a sudden ru c h of water spread over the countryside, says Reuter’s Parisian correspondent in the Manchester Guardian. The Mayors of the neighbouring villages ordered the bugle-call "Retreat” to be sounded in order to warn the inhabitants of the danger. Gendarmes in boats rescued inhabitants of Selles-sur-Cher before the rush of water made help difficult. The valley of the Cher is covered with water to a width of five miles.

A veritable catastrophe threatened Ponts-de-Ce, at the confluence of the Maine and the Loire below Saumur. The valley is protected by a long embankment with sluices, and a vigilant watch has been kept in order that the slightest infiltration might be at once reported and dealt with. Early in the morning a gap in one of the sluices was noticed, the pressure of holding up an additional depth of seven feet of water above the valley level crossing proving too much. The alarm was given, factory sirens sounded, and the tocsin baulks was rung from the church towers. With the help of the inhabitants, huge baulks of timber were taken from a sawmill near by, and temporary barrages were established above and below the threatened. After some hours of labour all danger appeared to be averted. A number of infiltrations have appeared in the Belle-Poule embankment, but the co-operation of the whole population has prevented any serious breach. Prominent among the inhabitants feverishly filling sandbags, caulking the fissures, and bringing up heavy beams to reinforce the slope was a one-armed member of the Chamber of Deputies. In Ponts-de-Ce itself the streets have been walled up and the entrances to the cellars cemented over in an attempt to keep out the flood, which is at certain points 18ft to 20ft deep. At the Montjean bridge over the Loire, under which normally 100 metres of water pass per second, 5000 metres are now rushing, and opposite the bridge a village is completely isolated, the water rendering even the first floors of the houses untenable. Old people, children, and animals have been removed in boats, the remainder of the population haring taken refuge in the attics. Boats were held in readiness to ensure their rescue in case of a further rise.