Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1895-05-01
SWEPT BY A FLOOD.
RESERVOIR BURSTS NEAR THE
CITY OF EPINAL, FRANCE.
Many are Observation-Disclosures of the Dead
Not Yet Ascertained--W Whole Villages
Swept Away ay--Hundreds of Families Are
Rendered Homeless.

Epinal. France. April 27.-An enor-
nous reservoir near here burst today,
tnundating many villages in this dis
trict and drowning a number of people.
So far several corpses have been ie-
covered. The damages done 20 prop
erty is tremendous.
1t Is impossible at this hour to cor
rectly estimate the damage done or the
number of lives lost; but from the
number of bodies already found, the
in dications are that the loss of life will
be very heavy. Railways in all direc-
tons are interrupted. and large num-
her of villages arc entirely flooded En-
tire houses are swept away In some
places. Everything possible Is being
done to rescue the imperilled persons.
Many families are still in danger. The
authorities have also taken steps to
provide relief for the homeless.
Epinal. France, April 27.-Later II
scems that the disaster caused by the
bursting OF the dyke at Bouzeey is
more serious than was at first sup
posed, In single commune. that of
CNogeney, seven kilometers from the
Sceine of the disaster, twenty-three
persons We're drowned. At Nomoxy
eight bodies have been found. Wher-
ever the water flowed IL destroye ed
everything in its path. The village of
Bouzeey, with it's extensive piscicult-
ure establishment, has disappeared.
The steep, vertical banks of the canal
de fEst burst and emptied a reach of
water eleven kilometers long I'm the
AVER valley, which the flood followed
10 Nomoxsy. where IL flowed into the
river Moselle. At Darneilleues all the
houses were destroyed and few were
spared at AuXiegores.
Hundreds OF families have been rem
dered homeless and many who were
asleep at the time lost even their
clothes. The burst reservoir which
supplies the canal. is situated at
Bouzeey and was formed by a dyke
500 meters long. It was built during
the years from 1879 to 1894 and was
strengthened in 1883 and 1889. II con-
sists of n wall of masonry twenty
meters high and twenty meters thick
AT its base. The foundation was nine
meters deep. The bed OF the reservoir
Is OF natural lock. The dyke was reg
ularly inspected and no signs of weak
ness have been detected since 1890.
Tho damage done by the flood was
immense, and IT is believed that it will
amount to Si0.000,0 600
Epinal, France, April 27-The whole
ANiera valley is a scene of ruin and
desolatton. The roads are strewn
with debris from the houses, the barns
and the fences Of the peasants. Many
dead cattle and horses have been found
along the route taken by the flood of
water. At pemovre. seventeen houses
were destroyed and twenty-five of the
inhabitants were drowned. At Oncourt
three houses collapsed hut only one
person Is known to have been drowned
seventeen persons are missing AT
Cxegney, where sixteen houses arc in
ruins. 1t is believed that a total OF
SeVenty-SiX lives were lost as q resuIt
or the giving way of the dyke al
BauzeN. Word has been received from
president Faure that no will visit the
scene Of the disaster at once.