THE SEVERE WEATHER

Star (Christchurch), Issue 7079, 3 February 1891, Page 4

THE SEVERE WEATHER

THE EUROPEAN WINTER. TERRIBLE SUFFERING. [Por San Francisco Mail.] AUCKLAND, Feb. 2. Regarding the cold ia Europe, the following is a despatch dated Jan. 9 : — There are no signs of the abatement of the severe winter weather throughout Great Britain, and on the Continent. From all points come stories of suffering. In Great Britain the severity of the season has not been exceeded since 1883. The river Thames below Richmond remains partially frozen, and navigation is impeded by ice. Carriers' vans traverse the frozen surface from Sutton Court to Abingdon. Numerous deaths have resulted from the severe cold, several of them at the very gates of the workhouses, where the poor are clamouring for admission. Midland newspapers declare that thousands of persons in that region are in a condition of semistarvation. Many local Committees are taking measures of relief, but they fail to reach the worst of the cases. In every country on the Continent there is suffering because of the severe weather, the coasts of Belgium, Holland and North Germany being blocked with ice ; and many steamers and ships are icebound in the river 3 Schelt, Elbe and Seine, badly damaged. At Antwerp ten thousand workmen are thrown out of work owing to the unusually severe weather. The misery among the poorer classes ia intense and widespread. Dynamite is to be used at Copenhagen harbour in the hopes of getting out a number of. vessels icebound. Despatches from several German ports tell of the inaccessibility of their harbours because of ice. All Bavaria is covered with snow, and in the country between the Danube and the Alp 3 the show is eighteen inchea deep. In certain localities along the Ehine snowdrifts are piled seventeen feet high. In Northern Italy snow fell heavily for forty-eight hours. The inhabitants of that region are suffering acutely, such weather being entirely uuknown to them, and it is feared that a number perished in a storm. The railways are much delayed. Despatches from Vienna btate that communication with points South of that city is greatly impeded on all the railways, and the movement of trains is partially s*spended. A telegram from Madrid reports a heavy snowfall in Spain, and says communication with all the provinces of Spain is difficult. There are also reports of the prevalence of intensely cold weather in Valencia, where the orange groves have been swept by a storm, ; entailing heavy losses to the owners. 1 A violent storm, accompanied by hail I and snow, and extending a long distance ; inland, 13 reported from Algiers, in North Africa. Tho report ia coupled with the I s.s»..i!ira.r>».; that nothing like such severe

weather was ever known in that region before. Advices from Paris say the Seine ia blocked with ice at Eouen, and the Saone is frozen above Lyons. Much suffering is being caused in many interior places by the intensely cold weather, and a number of persons were frozen to death. Latest despatches state that the weather which has prevailed throughout England for some time is causing the deepest distress amongst the poorer classes in London, especially the inhabitants ot the East End. All out-door trades have been suspended for seven weeks. A large number of persons who have been thrown out of employment parade the streets and solicitaid from the charitable to obtain the necessaries of life for themselves and their starving families. Nine thousand workmen and ten hundred cars were engaged in clearing the streets of Berlin of the immense amount of Bnow which fell during the recent storm. The coast o£ Belgium, notably in the neighbourhood of Ostend, presents a remarkable appearance. Large blocks of ice are washing about the shore, and many vessels are forced by the ice to remain in port. The fishermen are suffering greatly. Bitterly cold weather prevails in Paris, and is causing much distress among the poorer class. The bodieß of three persons frozen to death were picked up in the streets. The severity of the weather at Hamburg and throughout the northern part of Germany is causing much suffering. A number of sailing vessels are ice-bound in the Lower Elbe. Many of them are short of provisions, and there is no means of rendering assistance ; and twenty ships are now drifting about in the ice, helpless, under the fury of the bitter North-easter. A furious gale prevails along the coast of Valencia, and several wrecks are reported at Fermo and Trieste, on J the Adriatic. A storm is raging with unprecedented fury. In both cities the theatres and other places of amusement are closed, and the street cars have stopped running. The blizzard is so fierce that it is dangerous to venture out. Traffic is at a complete standstill, and the streets are almost entirely deserted.