CITY OF DESOLATION

Waikato Times, Volume 116, Issue 19430, 3 December 1934, Page 7

CITY OF DESOLATION

A TERRIBLE ORDEAL.

THOUSANDS -HOMELESS

£ FAMILIES UNACCOUNTED FOR,

United Press Assn.—Klee. Tel. Copyrigtn

MELBOURNE, -Dec. 2

Victoria yesterday counted the toll of one of the most devastating storms for many years. Eight are already reported dead by electrocution or drowning.

Towns in southern portions of the State, particularly in Gippsland, passed through a terrible ordeal. It is estimated That at least 7000 people are homeless. Thousands of refugees are pouring into the unaffected. areas.

LATER.

There are 4000 'homeless, at Abbotsford, 500 at Kensington. 200 at Richmond, 1000 at Mordiallop and 800 at Kooweerup. Fifty families are not.accounted for

TOWNS EVACUATED.

in the Garfield district, Gippsland. Six hundred are sheltering at the Kooweerup railway station. A .total of 11 J inches of rain fell in 38 at Gembrook. Special Trains have been despatched as far as possible into the devastated areas to bring back the homeless and hunger-stricken families. Between Dandenong and -Frankston the flood waters cover nearly, 50 square miles. The floods became worse owing to rivers and creeks breaking their banks everywhere in Southern Victoria. All the Gippsland railway services have been suspended owing to four bridges being washed away. Many towns can be reached only by wireless and’the Postal Department is using aeroplanes to convey • repair gangs To restore- telegraphic -communication.

Industrial Stoppage Threatened.

The city of Melbourne is threatened witih the stoppage of its electricity system by the flooding oJ the State Electricity Commission’s- open cut at to a depth of J 50ft. JT Practically all the big industrial undertakings- in Victoria receive their power from this source and a complete stoppage of the Yallourn operations would be calamitous. Emergency measures -have -been taken to keep Victoria supplied with ■ electricity in event of the Yallourn .source failing. At least 2500 families in the metropolitan -area are homeless. The Premier, Sir Stanley Argyle, has directed that an immediate organisation be set up to afford relief and sustenance. Hundreds of ' people whose belongings have been lost or ruined have already been provided with blankets. Every low-lying street In South Melbourne and Port Melbourne is wholly or partly under water. Boats are plying in all directions, while the St. Kilda esplanade is unrecognisable, due to the pounding of the -seas, which also lashed private homes on the foreshores of Port Phillip Bay. The River Yarra, usually a .sluggish stream 200yds wide, is now a raging torrent, in some places a mile wide. Yesterday the water was within three 'feet of the decking of Prince’s Bridge,, whereas The normal level is 40ft. below. Shipping In the Yarra is temporarily

Strewn With Wreckage.

DEVASTATION IN MELBOURNE AND SUBURBS DEATH ROLL NOW REACHES 34 LIST BELIEVED TO BE INCOMPLETE. . PROPERTY DAMAGE BEYOND CALCULATION. The floods in Victoria have assumed unparalleled dimensions. A heavy toll has been taken on human life, and it is feared' the list is not yet complete. One township, comprising 2000 inhabitants was entirely evacuated. The seashore is reported to be thickly strewn with the wreckage of yachts, fishing craft, bathing boxes, jetties and -houses. The damage to property is reported to be beyond calculation.

suspended and the docks are closed, owing to the impossibility of defining the course of the stream. A creek -adjoining -the championship lawn tennis courts at Ko-oyong, Melbourne, rose 10ft. over a 24ft. embankment. The courts on which, the Australian championships are to -be played in January are 30ft. to 40ft. under ’water, only the top of the grandstand being visible. It i-s possible that the Australian and Victorian championships may have to be transferred to Sydney. A decision is to be -made by The Lawn Tennis Council, probably on Monday. • Tile storm has - moved eastward, but everywiiere there is a trail of destruction and widespread damage.

LARGE DEATH ROLL FEARED

SHIPPING SERVICES SEVERED

United . Press Assn. —Elec. Tel. Copyright, (Received Dec. 3, 11.10 a.m.)

MELBOURNE, Dec. 3

Melbourne is a city of desolation. Tim death roll now totals 3-i and the damage to property is beyond calculation. The death roll is made up as follows: — . Six persons were reported dead on Saturday morning. Seventeen men were lost in Coramba. Six were drowned at Kooweerup. Three others perished in floods in the country. Two children have been missing since Saturday and are -believed to

be drowned. This death roll is believed to be incomplete owing to the disorganisation of communications, and it is feared it will be largely increased. <?

Shipping schedules have been disorganised. The shores of Port Philip are strewn with the. wreckage of yachts, fishing craft, "bathing boxes, jetties, and even houses. In Melbourne many streets are still under water, and Melbourne is threatened with a serious milk shortage. The entire township of 2000 inhabitants of Kooweerup evacuated their homes. The water here rose at the rale of a foot a minute. According to the police serious loss of life was averted at Chelsea by volunteers who manned fishermen’s boats and rescued 1500 women and children. Boats sailed along the road from Chelsea to another suburb, Mordialloc. A Narrow Escape. Battered by huge waves the 90-ton former naval tender Moonbi, on which were a woman and her two sons, broke her mooring lines, N and was dashed to pieces against a stone wall at West St. Kilda. The three occupants of the tender were rescued by a yacht. They were admitted to hospital suffering from shock and exposure.