The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1895-05-15
A CALAMITY IN FRANCE.
Over a Hundred Persons Drowned 2y
a Burstej Reservoir.
LOSS ESTIMATiDAT slO,ooO,oOo.

The Disnster Occurred at Bouzzy and u
Large Tract of Country Was Inundated
HALF n Dozen Villages Suffered---
Searching for the Dead---Farm Houses
Swept Away and the Crops Ruined.
The reservoir on the dyke Of the canal at
Bouzzy, near Epinal, France, gave way,
sweeping away many houses with their tn
mates. The food quickly subsidized, and a
search for the bodies Of the dead was I'M
mediately made.
The disaster occurred at five o'clock g. NJ
The rush OF water through the villages was
so sudden that there was hardly any chance
to escape, and many persons were drowned
In their beds. The number OF deaths ex-
ceeded 1So.
The Bouzzy reservoir fed the southern
branch OF the Eastern Canal. The water fol-
lowed the valley Of the Aviere. The sudden
accretion OF the canal burst its banks. and
the water poured from 1t over six miles OF
country until the channel was empty.
The torrent. hemmed in by high hills,
rushed down the valley like bore, sweeping
the villages mentioned, and after course OF
ZEN miles emptying into the Moselle at
Nonexy and Chatel.
Every house at Bouzzy was demolished;
and very few remain ut LIE 9 Forges. where
there are 14oO inhabitants. At Uxegney
twenty-three persons were drowned. Every
building was destroyed at Darnieulles, where
the population number 600.
Notwithstanding the fact that Nonexy Is
ten miles from the dam. many OF the inhaoi-
tants OF that place had not time to reach the
upper portions Of their dwellings before the
torrent was upon them. Many farmers
throughout the valley are ruined, and large
number of families are without food or CLOTHES:
The damage caused by the food is estimated
at $40, 900. 900.
The Bouzzy reservoir had capacity OF
1000, 900 cubic metres. The torrent carried
off bodily some Of the houses in the villages
of Bouzzy, Darnieulles, Uxegney and Dom
evres, and swamped many others, besides
demolisbing walls, bridges, roads. crops and
farm buildings. A large part Of the valley Is
little more than morass, with timbers and
uprooted trees protruding from the mud.
Much damage was done to the villages ct
some distance from the dam. AS the Hood
swept down the valley it gathered an i'm
.nense quantity Of timbers and tree trunks,
which were thrown against the buildings In
the lower neighborhoods.
Part Of the Bouzzy tavern was found on
the bank OF the Moselle, eleven miles dis
tant. The exact cause Of the break is not
known. Some think the defect was In the
plan of the structure, which was vertical.
Others assert that the dam, though origin
ally strong had been cracked for years.
The little Aviere brook, which ordinarily
Is but seven feet wide, has been converted
into lake mile and half broad. Soldiers
and workingmen from the Department OF
Roads are burying cattle and sheep as rapidly
as possible to prevent disease. Eundreos Oh
carcasses were put UNDERGROUND.
The masonry on the Bouzzy dam was begun
In 1879 and finished in 1854. It was strength
ened in 1889. The dam was $50 yards long,
siXty-six feet high, and the same thickness
at the base. 1t was built against vertical
rock and on sandstone. ...