The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1893-03-17
THE AUSTRALIAN FLOODS,
Tho Damage Reaches sixteen Million DO
I,,,s r,,r,I,Ic Rains pIHy Grant HnVoc.

Tho Damage Reaches Sixteen Million Dol.
lars--Terrible Rains Play Great Havoc.
SAN FRAEcIsCo, March l6,-The Aus
tralian papers which arrived on the
steamer Alameda to-day graphically de-
tail the great floods at Brisbane and its
suburbs last February. In the city OF
Brisbane and Its suburbs the damage
done by the floods is estimated at Sl6,'
100000. The towns OF Bundamba,
Ipswich and Godna were all under
water and the people had to tlee to the
hills. Seven were drowned in Q mine
at Ipswich, four persons in one family
being drowned.
When the Almeda left Sydney the
flood had subsidized and tho government
was providing for the relief OF the
destitute. The places OF refuge had
been provided and everything possible
was being done for the sufferers. The
rain had been falling almost constantly
since the beginning on the first OF Feb
ruary. From Friday afternoon Febru.
ary 3, the waters rose very rapidly and
by noon on Saturday the level of the
big flood had been reached. Still the
rain poured down increasingly and the
waters continued TO rise throughout
Saturday night and Sunday until a
maximum height was reached ut about
0 o'clock ou Sunday night, the level
then being about ~ feet above the flood
OF 1890. The scene was then something
terrible,
A very largo portion OF the city and
suburbs and the whole OF the surround
ing country in every direction were in
undated, the water being in many
places over the tops OF the houses. In
Brisbane and its immediate vicinity
some thousands Of houses were sub
merged and many hundreds OF families
were forced to seek such shelter Us was
obtainable on the higher ground, many
losing all they possessed and barely es'
Gaping with their lives Throughout
Saturday and Sunday night reacne boats
were hard at work in NIL directions re-
moving people to places OF safety.
Many were clinging to their places so
long that they could only be removed
with the greatest difficulty. Every
thing possible was done to afford shelter
to these homeless and to relieve their.
immediate distress, but the misery
among tho poorer families must have
been very great
Among the most serious losses sus'
tanned is the wreck OF tho bridges,
Early on Sunday morning the fine rail-
way bridge by which the main Southern
and Western line crossed the river at
Indooroohillyand, which cost over $4,000
pounds, was carried away with tre-
mendous crash, so that railway com
municaton with all tho places southwest
OF Brisbane will be suspended for a
long time to come. Even more serious
is the destructio OF the Victoria bridge
which spanned the river between North
and South Brisbane. 1t cost about
10000 pounds.
Ipswich has suffered most severely
by the calamity. The Breger river rose
to height of eighty feet above its nor
nal level. This flooded the lower por-
ton to depth OF thirty-four feet
sixteen feet higher than the hitherto
famous flood of4S00.
Tho result, even IA shown from n
railway train, is disastrous. Houses arc
upset in every direction and carried
hundreds OF yards from their original
site.