FLOODS IN AUSTRALIA.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVIII, Issue 2712, 18 January 1910, Page 5

FLOODS IN AUSTRALIA.

CABLE NEWS.

ELEVEN INCHES OF RAIN 1 IN FOUR DAYS. TAMWORTH SETTLERS IN SORRY PLIGHT. (Jniticd Unices Association —Copyuioiit SYDNEY, Jan. 17. The 'weather cleared yesterday, the day being bright and sunny. A total of 11 inches of rain has fallen at Timworth since Tuesday. The river overflowed and inundated a large portion of the town, including the main streets. The water in the shops ranged from four to ten feet deep. Great damage has been done. All the lowlying lands along the river are under water. Borne of the settlers’ houses have been swept away. Other settlers were compelled to seek refuge on haystacks.

The latest reports arc that the water is falling. \ Narrabri and Quirindi report high floods, with great damage to crops and considerable losses of stock. The mail trains from Brisbane and Sydney were delayed 15 hours owing to washouts between Mendi and Tamworth.

Telegraphic communication generally has been greatly disorganised during the last few days by the rain.

TERRiIBLE LOSSES OF STOCK

So rapid was the rise of the flood at Tamworth that several hundred people were caught in their business places and were cut off from food supplies for 36 hours, many having to take refuge on verandahs and in rooms.

A number of sensational and incidental gallant rescues are reported. In (the surrounding districts thousands of sheep and a large number of horses and cattle were drowned. Havoc has been wrought in the business portion of the town. The remarkable scene at the height of the flood is indescribable. As the heavy debris swept along it smashed the doors and windows. Stock was carried out of the shops in large quantities. The streets, as the water subsided, being littered with the furniture and stock-in-trade of all descriptions, presented a remarkable appearance.

The flood at Narrabri was the highest known. 'Large areas in the surrounding districts were submerged and widespread damage done. Many settlers were compelled to leave their homes. The owners succeeded in getting most of their stock to high ground before the worst came.

A SEA FOR TEN MILES. At Gund'agai the lower part of the town was flooded. Some houses were up to the eaves in water. The residents have taken refuge in the public buildings. The country is a sea .for ten miles round. Many residents spent the night on the roofs or up trees. Two men are reported to be missing. The township of Carroll w>s swept by flood waters and so mi, houses carried bodily away. Furniture and dead stock littered the rivers. The losses of stock in the district are believed to be heavy. At Narrabri and Moree the full extent of the damage is not known. Great tracts of country are inundated.

.The latest reports are that the waters are slowly receding. Farmers along country valleys suffered severely. No further details are reported concerning the drowning of four men at Moree.

The damage to the railways and roads in flooded districts are heavy. There are numerous washawavs, and many bridges have been destroyed. Queensland telegrams report heavy rain and a flood at Dalby.

INTERRUPTIONS TO RAILWAY v TRAFFIC. (Received January 18, 12.10 a.m.) SYDNEY, Jan. 17. The railway traffic between Inverll and Moree is stopped, and is not likely to be restored for some time owing to the collapsed bridges. The destroying of two other bridges blocked the line between Warialda and Bingara. A FLOOD FATALITY—FOUR LIVES LOST. A wire from Weewaa reported that a boat capsized, and that a man named Grace and his wife and Mrs. Chapman and her daughter were drowned. The biggest flood on record was running, and the operator was then leaving the office, which was surrounded by •water. Telegraphic communication has since been interrupted.