Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1895-04-30
THE GREAT DAM BURST.

A dispatch from Epinal, France, says
the great dyke at Bouzep, by the break
ing of which on Saturday, over 100
lives are reported to have been lost,
formed reservoir occupying super
fetal area of million square metres.
In 1884, large fissure developed in the
main dam, and it was filed with c.
ment and beams of oak. The feed ca
nal in 1885 burst above Bouzey and
carried away length of 20 metres, the
escaping waters destroying several
houses. Happily no lives were lost
upon that occasion. Some time pre-
vious to the accident OF 1885 the in
spector ofroads and bridges announced
that the dam was in a dangerous con-
ditiop, and notified the Inhabitants of
Bouzey aud its neighborhood to be on
the lookout for possible breaking of
the dam and disaster to the neighbor-
hood.
In 1892 there was second accident
to the reservoir wall, near Epinal, and
during the past two years the wall OF
the dam, which should have been
straight. was seen to have bulged TO
the extent of one metre. The chief en-
gineer Of roads and bridges, who had
been in charge of the work ofcon-
structing the reservoir, does not seem
to have been supported in his plans by
his colleagues, for he had great Difficult
ty with them before he was able to car
nv out his plans of straight walled
dam instead of curved dam. This is
now looked upon as having been the
cause of the accident, with the possibil.
ity that the actual disaster and loss OF
life, which followed, might have been
averted had it not been for the fact
that the Inspector, whose duty it was to
supervise the dam and watch for any
signs of break, has been i'll for the
past fifteen days, and therefore the
dam did not receive attention which
would otherwise have been given to it.
The minister of the interior, NJ. Ley
CUES, who is visiting, with his staff. the
different villages which have suffered
from the inundation, is doing every
thing possible to succor the homeless.
A scene of desolation is presented III
the flooded districts. Everything Is
covered with thick layer Of mud, and
on all sides are to be seen the remains
of broken furniture, the trunks OF trees
and the ruins of houses. The minister.
who was driving in coach, was obliged
to alight and walk into the village OF
Uxegeny, where he met long funeral
procession composed of villsgers who
were escorting the bodies OF victims OF
the flood to the little church, while the
bell in the steeple kept up doleful
tolling. To make the scene still more
pruesome. in some of the cottages
candles were burning beside corpses
which were soon to be taken to the
same church, and from there TO the
mud covered cemetery. A steady rain
added to the horror of the situation.
The detachments of troops which have
been sent to the scene, are assisting the
inhabitants to clear the roads from de-
bris, and to rescue cattle and other
property wherever possible.
NJ. Leygues spoke to the soldiers at
work, and encouraged them in their et-
forts to assist the distressed
people. He also expressed to the
mayor the sympathy of the gov
ernment with the people in their
trouble. Following the course of
the AviIe river, n. Leygues proceeded to
Domeyres, the village which has suffered the
heaviest. At Epinal twenty-scven houses
were destroyed and thirtyone persons were
drowned.
The flood tore up the graves in the ceme-
terry and carried pell NELL, corpses, bones and
living people. Ten bodies OF persons missing
from Domevres are still unrecovered. Find
ing the inhabitants of Domevres to be with
out help, tho minister of the interior sum.
moned detachment of fifty soldiers from
Epinal, in order to assist in the work of res
cue, and handed the mayor 5000 francs to
be devoted to the succor of the helpless. He
then returned to Bouzey, where the engineers
who have been examining the reservoir made
him a report to the effect that the base of the
dyke was not t,uched. and that only the up
per portions had yielded They contend that
the assures are only such as always occur in
similar structures, and attribute the accident
to the intense cold of the winter which dis
integrated the masonry
Upon returning to Epinal, the minister,of
the interior handed to the mayor funds for
the relief of the villages which he (M. Ley
guess had been unable TO visit. and then Ic-
turned to Paris