Flight From N.S.W. Floods

Wanganui Chronicle, 22 July 1950, Page 5

Flight From N.S.W. Floods

SYDNEY, July 21 (Recd. 9.15 pm). —Hundreds of families along the Macquarie River from Dubbo to Warren are fleeing their homes in face of the encroaching flood. Four Army amphibians and several boats on trucks have left Sydney in a race to the danger spot, where they are expected tomorrow.

Further flood warnings have been issued for the north coast rivers of New South Wales. Reports from country centres predict the worst traffic dislocation in history. At Warren the river is 18 inches over flood level and large-scale evacuation is proceeding. Lismore and Grafton, damaged by floods last month, are again theatened and are taking fuffscale precautions. Police at Mudgee, Wellington, Dubbo, and Warren have warned residents in low-lying districts to leave beiore the flood reaches its peak. The Cudgegong River, at Mudgee, is the highest it has been since 1926. The police expected a huge volume of water from the catchment areas to reach Wellington today. Dubbo is threatened with a major flood within 36 hours, and Warren should be inundated within three days. The heavy rains have rendered many roads impassable, and more rain is expected. RESCUE DRAMA.

Police Constable A. Spinney, ot Glendavis, twice walked a wire rope spanning the raging Capertee river to take morphia to a badly injured man. This drama, illustrating the difficulties being met daily in the drenched and Coded New South Wales countryside, began when a Polish immigrant, Joseph Schanowski, aged 35, was burned as a result of a kerosene lamp explosion. Neighbours rushed into the flooded home and extinguished his flaming clothing. The local police called Lithgow for urgejjt medical attention, and an ambulance sped 50 miles along slippery, washed-out and flooded roads. It was blocked by a flooded bridge across the Capertee River, which is only 50 feet wide. Constable Spinney rigged a rope above the wire cable spanning the river and edged his way across to the ambulance. He then returned to the patient and gave a morphia injection to ease his pain. Five hours later police arrived wth a 10ft. rowing boat, but they were swept away by the current and landed seven miles downstream. They then walked back into Glendavis and loaded the patient into a horse-drawn dray. Schanowski was taken for a mile and a-half through water three feet deep, transferred to a utility truck for another four miles, and carried shoulder high by police against the powerful current. He is now in hospital in a critical condition.

HEAVY FOG OVER SYDNEY. Dense fog which blanketed Sydney harbour last nght created havoc with sea and air communications. The Rose Bay flying-boat base was closed, and the departure of the transTasman flying-boat had to be deferred until today, though passengers wera at the base for embarkation. The flying-boat scheduled to leave for Suva and Noumea last Tuesday was also delayed. Both planes were able to take off this morning. Kingsford Smith Airport was closed until late this morning, and many planes were diverted to Canberra, Williamstown, and Wagga. It was the third time in five days that the airport was closed because of fog.