Western Mail (Perth, WA : 1885 - 1954), Thursday 11 August 1932, page 25


COUNTRY FLOODS.

MIDLAND TOWNS SUFFER.

ROAD AND RAIL STOPPAGES.

Phenomenal ratas in some of thc Midland districts have caused . severe floods, involving the dislocation of road and rail transport. In some parts the railway line lias been undermined to a depth of

from 10 to 30 feet.

On Monday night Moora «as isolated from Perth by road and rai), and on one side of the raliway line flooded homes had to be evacuated. The town of Mingenew was inundated.

The pastoral arcas benefited by the downpour, but it ls feared that in some of the wheat districts the crops may have been irreparably damaged. The flood waters are receding.

(From Our Special Representative-)

MOORA, Aug. 9.-With every creek run-ning in full flood and huge sheets of water stretching over the low-lyinc fields and parts of the roads and railway, the mid- j

land district from Mingenew to Mogumber to-day appeared a saturated waste. Road services north of Moora and rail services north of Watheroo- on the Geraldton route were completely suspended. Three-quarters of the township of Moora was still in-undated to a depth of from two to three feet and although the flood waters at Coorow, Carnamah, Three Springs and Mingenew had subsided, the streets in those four townships were deep in mud and slush and the contents of many shops and dwellings were still soaking wet from the deluge they received during the floods that came down during the early hours of yesterday morning.

Although the loss of stock throughout the district is not believed to be heavy, several reports of 6heep and pigs having been drowned hare been received in the Berkshire Valley and Moora districts. Seve-ral farms are still isolated by the flood waters. Flocks of sheep are marooned and in danger of being drowned unless they are rescued. On one farm several horses that have bad to be left to fend for themselves are endangered, as the fences may prevent them from swimming to safely. Thousands of acres of fallow land along the Midland railway have been affected by the flooding and will have to be refallowed. Many sown crops have been washed out of the ground and some farmers will be heavy losers. "The exact extent of damage to crops has not yet been assessed.

The first goods train from Perth since the unprecedentedly heavy rains of the week-end got through as far as Watheroo late this afternoon, numerous repair gangs having repaired the minor damage to the railway line between Mogumber and Watheroo. A goods train also ran through to Midland Junction from Watheroo carry-ing mails. No trains will run to-morrow but it is expected that the many gangs working on the line between Watheroo and Mingenew will have completed repairs to the whole line by Thursday, wbeh the ordi-nary goods, passènger and mail service between Midland Juction and Geraldton is scheduled to be resumed. Long stretches of the road between Moora and Dongarra will be impassable for some days. The rushing creeks ha\'e worn great chasms in the road in places and wide, deep pools of water still cover them in several areas.

Scare at Coorow.

Most ceutres along the Midland lint. although more heavily deluged than Moora, escaped the full measure of flooding re-ceived by that township. Three Springs suffered as severely, but for a briefer period. To-day Three Springs, Carnamah and Coorow were free from flood waters, the water having drained away. Coorow, the residents of which suffered a severe scare during the early hours of yesterday morning when it was feared the railway

dam would burst, was under water for only six hours. Three Springs suffered for about the same period and Carnamah was quite free of flood waters by yester-, day afternoon.

Arduous efforts to minimise thc danger of the Coorow railway dam bursting and sweeping away houses in the vicinity were! made by four young men resident in the j

township between midnight on Sunday and the early hours of yesterday. Follow-ing the uuprecedented rains during the week-end in the vicinity of Coorow and Waddy Forest the railway dam at Coorow commenced to fill rapidly. About mid-night on Sunday some residents of Coorow learning of the rate at which water was pouring into thc dam, considered there was a danger of the dam bursting. Start-ing at midnight in the rain they set to work with sand bags, attempting to dixert the creek pouring into the dam. They only partly succeeded, however, as the water was coming too fast. Much of the water was diverted and flowed into thc township, adding to the floods- which were encroaching on the butcher's and baker's premises, a gacage and two board-ing houses as well as the houses of seve-ral residents.

As the dam, was still filling, residents in the danger Bone were roused from their beds and moved to other houses in a safer area. By early morning the flood waters had risen two feet around most of the dwellings and shops in the township, but by the afternoon the waters had subsided. To-day the township was slushy an-J muddy but the floods had gone. A lake half a mile across had formed across thc railway line four miles north of the townchip and another had formed in the town, but they were draining satisfac-torily to-day. Repair gangs are still work-ing on the line.

Damage at Three Springs.

Conditions at Three Springs from 2.30 a.m. until noon yesterday were much the same as those existing at Moora at pré-sent. A creek flowing through the town

i commenced to bank up following the heavy j raine of Saturday and Sunday, and by 2.30 a.m. yesterday water six inches deep was flowing through the post office; the hotel (the cellar of which was flooded). Jordan's store, and about 100 dwellings and small shops in the three streets of the township. Quantities of sugar, flour and other perishables were destroyed and the stocks of the hotel were severely dam-aged. About B a.m. yesterday the railway embankment, which was retaining the flood waters, gave way, undermining the railway but allowing the flood waters to get away. By noon the town was free of water. About three miles north of the township 150 yards of the railway embankment were washed out and about five chains of the railway were washed out nearer the township.

At Carnamah a creek overflowed into the town about 2 a.m. yesterday, inundating McPherson and Main streets, the water in places being one and a half feet deep. Cowderoy's stores in McPherson-street and several houses were the chief suffer-ers. The flood subsided rapidly in the township. Farmers in the surrounding dis-tricts lost most of the results of their fallowing and the work will have to be done again. The railway line was flooded for two or three miles in the neighbour-hood of Winchester between Carnamah and Coorow, six washaways occurring over that section and three-quarters of a mile of rail being left suspended in the air when the embankment was washed away. GangB were working on the section all to-day and it is expected that the line will be repaired by Thursday.