FLOODS IN NEW SOUTH WALES.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 306, 19 May 1913, Page 5

FLOODS IN NEW SOUTH WALES.

A SERIOUS CONDITION. TOWNS INUNDATED. SEVERAL FATALITIES. By Cable —Press Association —Copyright. Sydney, May 17. The sea is abating, but the railway traffic in the Northern River districts is badly dislocated by washaways and Hoods. Communication with Brisbane is cut off beyond Singleton. The express is still held up. The breaks in various other places will probably not be restored before Monday or Tuesday. Though the water is now falling, the whole of tlie low-lying lands along the Hunter River Valley are deeply Hooded, and the losses to crops and stock and the damage to property'arc very heavy. the water invaded the streets and 11; my houses in Singleton and Maitland. in some there is a depth of three feet. The people were warned by lirebells, and removed their goods and lied for safety to the hotels and public buildings. All vehicular trallic. is suspended, and business is at a standstill. Boats plied in High street, Maitland. Settlers in outside districts were rescued in boats. There were several eases of drowning, and many narrow and sensational escapes are reported. The country is strewn with articles washed from houses, including vegetables, dead animals and debris of all kinds. Several houses collapsed, and were washed bodily away. At Bulahdehah there is six feet of water in the main street. The residents were rescued in boats. Muswellbrook, Gloucester, Dungog and many other towns suffered severaly. Residents are heavy losers by the devastation of the farms. General mail communication is suspended. Residents in the Hunter Valley have been rescued from roofs and from other perilous positions, after spending hours out in the storm. A man named Slack was washed out of his buggy at Kelso and drowned, and it is believed that his companion was also drowned. The Manning River is in high flood, and much damage has been done. j HEAVY LOSSES. RIVERS SUBSIDING. Received 18, 5.5' p.m. Sydney, May 18. The floods in the northern rivers arc steadily subsiding. Hundreds who were driven from their homes are returning. It is estimated that the losses are as serious as in the big flood in 1893. Many farmers lost the whole of their winter crops. RAILWAY TRAFFIC IMPEDED. Received 19, 12.25 a.m. Sydney, May 19. Railway traffic in the flooded districts is still interrupted. /