SEVEN HUNDRED DEAD AS RESULT OF FRENCH FLOODS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 19013, 7 March 1930, Page 1

SEVEN HUNDRED DEAD AS RESULT OF FRENCH FLOODS.

Ten Thousand Square Miles Flooded In Worst Disaster In Country's History.

(United Press Association.—-By Electric Telegraph.—Copyright ) (Received March 7,12 noon. ) PARIS. March 6. Ten thousand square miles of southern France have been flooded, being the worst catastrophe of its kind in French history. The death roll is estimated to be in the vicinity of 700. and at least 10,000 people are homeless. Flood devastation continues throughout the southwest. A family of seven were found dead beneath the ruins of their home. A peasant, seeing his house collapse, whipped out a revolver and committed suicide before horrified spectators could prevent him. A husband and wife were clinging to the branches of a tree together, when their strength failed and they dropped into the flood. The population eulogise the Senegalese soldiers for their magnificent rescuing work, some remaining for thir-ty-six hours in the chilly waters. Two German youths are credited with saving more than 100 persons. A group of cavalrymen set out to rescue screaming children who were marooned on a rapidly vanishing island. They met disaster and three horses and riders were drowned.

A survey of the damage reveals that it is even greater than was feared. At present it can only be vaguely approximated. The material loss is already stated to be in many millions sterling. No fewer than fourteen departments have been wholly or partly devastated. Parliamentary representatives hurriedly convened a conference, and the Chamber decided upon an immediate inquiry. In the meantime, the urgency of relief prompted the passing of a credit of £250,000. The destructive character of the inundations was sweeping and dramatic. All telegraphic and telephonic communications have been severed, and arterial roads destroyed, while hundreds of factories and power stations, and thousands of farms have been ruined. Dwelling houses have collapsed, and many bridges have been swept away. An order for seventy coffins has been received at Toulouse from Jthe Prefect of the Department of Tarn et Garonne. Aeroplanes are surveying the devastated area. £ More buildings have collapsed in the Tarn Valley, and Reynes, which has been almost totally destroyed, reports fourteen deaths. A fire brigade from Toulouse rescued twenty-two persons, who, for fortyeight hours, had maintained a precarious existence on roofs and in trees. Sixty-four were rescued from Miulis, and seventeen from Strassine, nearly all of whom had been immersed in water for two days.

The scene, now that the waters are receding, is one of utter desolation and. destruction. Along 120 miles of rich country, 30 to 40 miles wide, embracing more than 100 important communities, troops are feeding and sheltering thousands of people, women are weeping, and men are cursing the fate that has destroyed their life's work. The rescue work is not merely a matter of boats and rafts, it is as perilous 1 as life-saving in rough seas, for the floods in many places are not placid lakes, but raging torrents. One rescuer was drowned after saving at least 100 people. The Mayor of Moissac said: “It was a terrible sight. When the dam broke, whole rows of houses were torn down, and many poor souls were trapped in bed and buried in the ruins. Their dreadful cries were heard throughout the night, but we were helpless in the darkness.” At least 10,000 people are homeless as a result of the floods, which are subsiding gradually. Montauban presents a scene of heartrending desolation. In the low-lying streets near the river, houses have been swept away, and other buildings are crumbling and crashing down almost every minute. The damage to factories in the Tarn Department alone is estimated at more than £1,000,000. Two thousand men have been thrown out of work at Castres, and there is little prospect of fresh employment. Important woollen and leather factories were destroyed in other districts, the damage totalling at least £500,000.