DISASTERS IN ITALY.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 3331, 25 September 1911, Page 5

DISASTERS IN ITALY.

TORRENTIAL RAINS AND RIVERS OF MUD. MANY FAMILIES IN DANGER. RESCUE PARTIES LEAVE NAPLES. PRESS ASSOCIATION—COPYRIGHT.] ROME, Sept. 22. There has been a violent storm with torrential rains at Naples. There are severe inundations. IS.umerous buildings at Resina were swept away. Six bodies have been recovered, and many are missing. Many are reported dead. Rivers of mud are flowing down the slopes of Vesuvius. Many families have been imprisoned in their homes. Rescue parties have left Naples. The eruption of Mount Etna is diminishing with remarkable rapidity. An explosion at the powder works at Montechiaro resulted in six persons being killed, and sixteen seriously injured. Windows a mile away were shattered. AN APPALLING SIGHT. TOWN ENGULFED IN MUD. MANY BODIES SWEPT TO SEA. (Received Sept. 24. 5.5 p.m.) ROME, Sept. 23. A cloud burst caused incalculable damage in the neighborhood of Vesuvius. The little town of Resina was engulfed in mud reaching to the first floors of the buildings. The impetuous mountain-side torrent, bearing huge boulders, shattered the houses. The women and children were being transferred, but it was an appalling sight, as no effort could be made to escape. Many bodies were swept seaward ,and twenty have been recovered. Several palaces belonging to the Neapolitan nobility at Terro del Grico, collapsed, burying the occupants. WIDESPREAD DARKNESS. VILLAGES BURIED IN THE SLOUCH. ONE HUNDRED FAMILIES CUT OFF. (Received Sept. 25, 5.5 p.m.) ROME, Sept, 23. The disaster is popularly attributed to the failure of the miracle of the blood of Saint Januarius. The hurricane lasted for 24 hours, and still continues, but details are lacking, owing to the interruption of communication. Huge deposits of volcanic ashes on the slopes of Mt. Vesuvius washed into raging torrents, and despite vast concrete constructions, mud avalanches began a devastating descent. They submerged cultivated fields, uprooted trees, and deluged low-lying villages, particularly Torre del Grico, where the torrent readied the second floors of the houses and washed away the railway lines. Other villages were buried in the slough to a depth of six feet. There is widespread darkness, and scores of houses have collapseu. In many cases the terrified inhabitants were unable to escape before the cottages were engulfed or battered by the giant boulders earned from the mountain sides, together with trees and carcases of animals. Twenty corpses have recovered; they belong to two families. One hundred villages are still cut off, and are in danger of perishing. Naples sent soldiers and firemen, but the rescue parties found it difficult to reach the centre of the disaster. Great damage lias been caused by floods 'at Naples, and the trains have been stopped. Cloudbursts have also occurred 'at Volterra- and Leghorn. Many workmen' in Rome were in danger or drowning by the sudden flooding of basements, and the water is from three to four feet deep in the streets.