FIFTY FROZEN TO DEATH

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 224, 10 December 1927, Page 9

FIFTY FROZEN TO DEATH

AMERICA IN GRIP OF SUDDEN COLD BUZZARDS SWEEP WHOLE STATES HAVOC AMONG SHIPPING ON THE GREAT LAKES MANY States of America have been in the grip of a sudden f>l and terrible spell of cold,. Upwards of fifty persons have been frozen to death. Blizzards have swept the land, and a great storm has wrought havoc among the shipping on the Great Lakes.

Bp Cable. — Press Assooiatton. — Copyright. Reed. 10.20 a.m. CHICAGO, Friday.

Snow imprisoned 150 men in the Blueberry mine at Ishpeming, Michigan.

COLD wave which has swept nearly across the continent within the week has caused intense suffering and heavy property damage, especially in the Rocky Mountain States and the Mid-West. Thirty-eight persons are known to be dead, but the total is expected to reach 40 or 50, when communication has been re-established with the isolated districts. Ten persons died of cold and exposure in Chicago alone on the night of Thursday, when the temperature was below zero. The weather in Michigan and its vicinity disorganised shipping on the Great Lakes. A large wheat ship was stranded on the rocks. Another vessel foundered and others are in distress. The fate of the crews of some is uncertain.

High winds and the full moon caused the tides to reach new levels in New York Harbour, threatening the sea-wall.

Delaware River districts are flooded. The police stations in the large cities, particularly Chicago, have been opened to the homeless. Hospitals and charitable organisations are taxed to capacity. The ’atter are turning their almost entire attention to obtaining coal for the needy. All live stock has been hard hit, and farmers are prevented by the snow from reaching the sufferingcattle. Over-heated stoves and furnaces caused many bad fires throughout the country. It is impossible to estimate the total property damage, which is enormous.—A. and N.Z.

Reed. 9.5 a.m. WINNIPEG, Friday. The worst storm for many years has swept the prairies, and is now spreading to Eastern Canada. Six lives were lost in a blizzard in Alberta and Saskatchewan.—A. and N.Z.

Schools are closed, and the train service disrupted. The air mail service west of Chicago has been cancelled. Telephone and telegraph services are disrupted.