GALE LASHES AUSTRALIA

Chronicle (Levin), 15 February 1947, Page 5

GALE LASHES AUSTRALIA

Press . mSsu.

Rivers Running Bank High; Floods Feared SHIPS HEAVILY BUFFETED

By Telegraph

-Copyright .

Received Friday, 8.20 p.m. SYDNEY, Feb. 14. An easterly gale is lashing the New South Wales coast forcing ships to shelter and buffeting those caught away xroin ports. Huge seas rolling through Sydnej' Heads caused Manly ferries to ship water today and tore many small crart from their maorings. Though the Manly ferries took heavy seas nobody was hurt. The yacht M istral, a competitor in the Bydney-Hobart race a t'ew weeks ago, was driven into Neutral Buy but was towed off the rocks appareiitly undanuiged. Other yachts and, launches were forced ashore. Efforts to Lake the Duteh freighter Tjibesar to sea, despite the ban of the watersiders, were def'eated by the heavy seas wliich i.orced the pilot to auciior the vessel vvithin the heads until coiulitions moderate. Jl.M. submarine Auriga had to abandon exercises after lialf an hour at sea. The wirul was so strong this morning that all ship movements witljin the harbour were curtailed. Tent divellers at northern suburban beach resorts lost tlfeir tents and were flooded out by vontinuous rain. Rain also caused further damage in many houses, tlie roofs of which have not been repaired since the hailstorms of Xew Year's Dajr. VVitli rivers running to their banks and residents of many towns taking food precautions, the northwest plains of New .South Wales are a vast quagmire. The Barwon Rivor is above flood levei and. many townships are coinplete'ly isolated. Hundreds of square miles of plains have changed from hard baked eartli to swainps in which men and stock sink f'eet deep. Further rain is predicted. Relief organisations, including the Red Cross, are fully mobilised in the event of the vvidespread floods now threatening. The precautions followed another day of cyelonic storms in Southern Queeiisland and general rain in New South Wales. Floods are immineut even south of Sydnoy if the steadv falls continue. The cvclone is still moving south and may pass into Xew South Wales within 24 hours. Some outer suburbs "of Brisbane are iiooded to depths of four feet. Crops have been washed away and mucli stock drowned in the XTambour district of Southern Queeusland. Land trausport has been greatlv affeeted and the highways between Brisbane and South[iort and Brisbane and Toowoomba are botli miusable. The greatest benefit is being experien -ed in the back - country around .iourko where a four-vear Mrought has broken. Even there feeder planes are unable to operale because the once parclied laiuling ,strips are now morasses.