Flood Crest Moves South Inundating Half a State

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 37, 6 May 1927, Page 1

Flood Crest Moves South Inundating Half a State

RESCUE A DIFFICULT TASK The crest of the Mississippi flood is moving south inundating vast tracts of land as it goes. Half Louisiana is under water, the flooded area being 18,000 square miles. The homeless now number 500,000, and difficulty is being found in the rescue of 14,000 marooned people.

By Cable.—Press Association.—-Copyright Received 8 a.m. NEW ORLEANS, Thursday. The crest of the Mississippi River flood is moving southward at the rate of 50 miles a day, leaving an increasingly large expanse of inundated territory in the wake of the water, which is pouring through the new breaks in the banks, covering the entire north-west portion of the State.

Although the crest is already past that point, the flood there is joining the backwaters of the Arkansas River, and thousands of labourers are working to save the levees along the Old and the Red Rivers, and the bayou of Desglaises, which are already virtually doomed. Breaks in any of these places would have added 13 parishes to the inundated area, bringing half the State under water. A fresh break occurred in the levee protecting Rayville, and the waters

are pouring into the negro section. The whole town will be covered before to-morrow. The fresh inundations expected will bring the total flooded area to the vicinity of 18,000 square miles, and will swell the number of homeless to over 500.000. In the meanwhile the authorities are concentrating on rescuing 14.000 persons marooned on high ground in Tensas parish, who refused to leave their homes when warned.

They will have to be removed in boats.

Rescue workers report that the greatest difficulties have been experienced in persuading the victims, especially the negroes, to leave many a danger-point. These, when ultimately removed, were invariably found to be suffering severely from exposure and hunger. The Red Cross now announces the receipt of 7,184,000 dollars. —A. and N.Z.