INUNDATIONS.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 593, 23 August 1909, Page 9

INUNDATIONS.

THE WORST IN-VICTORIA SINCE 187' TWO MORE DEATHS. REPORTED THAT CRISIS IS OVER. (By Toleeraßb.-PM.. '\"»icltttlon.-OoDyrlsbt ••, Molbourno, .August 21. / The floods are' the worst and most o: , tensive that have occurred since 1870. Tfc rainfall was phenomenal. Railway Experiences. ' Tho passengers on the Clunes train—th two' carriages of which would havo falle into a creek but for the piling up of th trucks that preceded them—had sensations ; experiences, One car lay tipped endwise, resting upo' tho, piled-up trucks below; the other was par tially .suspended over tho broken bridge. Water was all round, and there was n room to 'escape, excepting along tho foot boards. A hole 1 was chopped from compart mont to compartment to enablo those in thi tilted carriages to 'get out. Numerous washaways are reported, an< , several railway and other bridges are de 6troyed or badly damaged. Railway and 'vehicular > traffic is disorgan ised, The express from Adelaido was lick up at Murtoa, and the 1 express from Mel bourne at Stawell, owing to washouts. Two more fatalities are reported.' A mar named Phillips, at Learmouth, and a mar named'Rees] at Carugham, were drowned ir attempting to cross flooded creeks. ,ln the Valley of tho Loddon. ■Tho Loddon Rivor swept away tho levees ot Laanecoorio weir and bridge, ninety miles north-west of Melbourne. The weir, costing £85,000, was destroyed. township of Laanecoorio is transformed into au feland. ' The river "at Newbridge, thirty miles further north, is eight miles wide. A blacksmith's shop and a bakery 'were swept away. 1, ■ v ; The rise of tho Loddon at Wedstead was bo rapid that several residents were caught and had to be rescued. The loss of property and livo stock is very heavy. Some families took refuge on a stage with throe feet of water round them. 'Miss Hunter, tho'postmistress, refused to leave her r post, and camped on tho counter, with four feet of water lapping tho edges. ' In tho morning she waded out. .. < ' AH along-tho valley of the Loddon largo areas "arc submerged, and'peoplo-havo been driven from their homes. At Eddington and Bridgewater, two small towns on tho banks of .tho Loddon, the bridges over tho river have been swept away., _ ( ■ . , , ' ' ' Bursting of Reservoirs'. Thero has been a big riso in tho Campaspo' River. All tho shops in tho town of Rochester are flooded. .' At the mining town of Blackwood,, fiftysix miles north-west of Melbourne,, the reservoir, which is supplied from the Lerderderg River, and tho bridges were swept away. i The reservoir ,on the 'Callum's 'Creek at Evansford, whero there is a storage capac- , ity of 230,000;CO0 gallons for the supply of Maryborough (18 miles distant); burst. A huge- masonry ,embanlnncjit,.holding.'a depth of thirty-two feet of water," collapsed, and smashed .the mains.' " The i-roservoir -cost £55,000. ~r . ,j' t , ~', -/■ ; " Serious damage is 'reported' at Avoca, whero drowned'stock'"and furniture are float- • ing down the riverl ' ' In Trees and on Ridge-Poles. t r . At Ararat a man took refuge in a tree, where he' remained all night, and two per- , 'sons were isolated in a buggy surrounded by water. All were rescued. Tho low-lying lands round Geelong arc submerged, and soveral bridges have been swept away. , , ' A railway embankment was destroyed nt Charlton, on the Avoca River. A family named, Powell took refuge on the roof of their house, which was .surrbunded by a wide and deep expanse of water. Not a boat wae available for 'their rescue. , Wading at Ballarat. At Ballarat tho water invaded the houses in tho three principal streets.. It is still raining. ' Last night on the outskirts of the town tho residents escaped by wading waistdeep. Similar reports come from various centres of the district. Kilmoro and Seymour, towns along the Goulburn River,' report high flood'and serious damage from tho Btorm. The missing'dredge at Castlemaine,'after being carried somo distance down the liver, succeeded in anchoring. The four inmates escaped. Tho low lands along the Saltwater River are under water, and tho houses a?e flooded. Tho residents havo" removed their belongings. . ' | Adelaide, August 21. | Heavy, general rain has fallen in South | Australia, and tho low-lying lands' round t Adelaido, including tho Morphettvillo race- , course, are submerged. " . I Floods are reported in many parts of tho I country. Hobart, August 21. Heavy general rains havo fallen throughout the State. WATERS RECEDING. TWO MORE PERSONS DROWNED. (Rec. August 23, 1 a.m.) Melbourne, August 22. Telegraphic interruptions are delaying the transmission of news from tho flooded aieas. The latest reports are that the worst is over, and that the waters are receding. Two moro drowning fatdlities aro repe-rtcd.