FLOOD DISASTER IN U.S.A.

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXIII, 3 May 1927, Page 9

FLOOD DISASTER IN U.S.A.

Mississippi’s Surging 1 Torrents. RISING WITH TERRIBLE PRECISION. By Cable—Press Association—Copyright* Australian ami N.Z. Cable Association. (Received M:ty 2, 8 p.m.) NEW ORLEANS, May 1. The lives of hundreds wlio disregarded the flood warnings are endangered in six parishes of Louisiana. The Mississippi levee broke at foul? points on Sunday, opposite Matchez. Four persons were drowned when ai rowboat overturned in the overflow waters, north of Vicksburg. The crest of the flood moves slowly but with terrible precision. Reports tonight indicated that the Vicksburg region is feeling its full force. Rushing Through Levees. The waters are rushing through tho levees and spreading down the Yazoo valley. While the rescue work is weil organised, many refugees are still hovering on the levee crowns, in many districts on the tops of houses. Some of them may not bo able to hold out against hunger and exposure before relief reaches them.

Water is penetrating so far inland that it has reached the forest districts.The' whole of the wooded areas is standing under 20 feet of water 1 . The valley, for a greater part, has been deforested. Mr Henry' Hoover will arrive at> Washington to-morrow to consult with President Coolidge regarding further flood relief. Meanwhile the waters are sweeping over many more thousands of acres of new territory, and .have made thousands move homeless.'.).!. Saving New Orleans The artificial break in the Pqrdras levee continues to widen, inuJgJ'. the steady pressure of the ns’.ng waters, but the engineers say there .will be no relief for New Orleans unt.i the ci'ovicse is much larger than at present. They point out, however,;; vhat the natural breaks in the levees in Arkansas and Louisana, far aboye_NjW Orleans, will do more to save thg city trom inundatic.il than the art'. final opening below the city. The levees all through the llaton region are undergoing a terrific •: train, as the water continues to rise.- .