Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911, 1910-01-25
.18 VILLAGES IN
FRANCE FLOODED;
HUNDRED PERISH
Fourth of Country Under
Water, Rivers Are
Still Rising
THOUSANDS SUFFER
Food Prices Soar--Famine
Is Menacing Poor of
Many Districts
THOUSANDS SUFFER
Especial cable).

! y
France under water tonight,
eighteen villages inundated, thou
sands of homes flooded and hundreds
| of persons reported drowned in the de-
partments of the Seine and Marne, the
situation tonight is the worst in the
nations history.
The heavy snowfall of yesterday was
followed today by terrific downpour
of rain, and tonight every river in east
ern France is raging torrent, pouring
in great volumes over quay, dyke and
levee, driving thousands of persons to
their housetops and tearing up trees
and fences for many miles. The larger
rivers are filled with cattle, trees and
debris.
The dyke at Saone-Ah-Doubs broke
| tonight, and ten villages were flood
| ed. The streets of Chalons-S Sur -Saone
are five feet under water, and several
persons have been drowned in at
| tempting to escape from their homes.
Hundreds of persons at Chalons are
clinging to the roofs of buildings cry
| ing frantically for help. The scene
presents innumerable appalling fea-
| lures.
Despite the use of hundreds of boats
| at Chalons, the work of rescue is at
| tended by unusual difficulties, owing
to the torrential downpour of rain.
| Four inches of rain has fallen in
| two hours this afternoons record
unprecedented and bringing the pre-
| cipitation almost to the proportions
of a cloudburst.
Water Rising Fast
The Marne at Rheims is reported to
| be rising at the rate of two inches
an hour, with no prospects Of the flood
! crest passing Rheims before tomor-
| row morning, even should the ram
| cease falling Immediately, of which
there is no indication
| Tours-Sur- Marine is completely under
water. Ten large structures in that
| town have collapsed, and several per-
| sons are believed to have met death
| in the wreckage. Twenty-seven other
| buildings are said to be seriously mem
| aced.
Ruin and CONSERVATION prevail
among the inhabitants, and municipal
| authorities held conferences late into
| the night to decide measures of relief.
! The situation in Paris tonight is the
most critical in the last century. The
Seine continues to rise, and three
| fourths of the city is in darkness. The
floods drowned out the large electric
| plant in the chamber Of deputies, and
| the deputies tonight were compelled to
meet by lamp light to consider steps to
| relieve suffering.
| Premier BRAND has introduced q bill
carrying approximately 100000 for the
| immediate relief of the homeless and
| destitute.
! phe soldiers and gendarmes have
done heroic work in saving lives and
protecting property from ghouls.
Food Prices Soar
| Owing to the difficulty of getting
| food into the city, market prices have
almost trebled in the last three days,
| and the poorer classes in many in
stances are reported on the verge of
| starvation.
Thousands are without beds or shell
ter of any kind except that which is
| provided by the government and mu-
nicipal authorities in the parks ana
public places which so far are not
under water.
| Twenty-Five thousand factory men
have been thrown out of work along
| the river-front warehouses.
| Many narrow escapes from death are
reported The explosion of boilers in
| inundated factories is an occasional
| element of danger.
| An enormous amount of live stock is
reported to have been drowned in the
departments of Marine, Aube, Aisne and
! Meuse.
1t is now believed the Eiffel tower,
! the foundations of which were threat
| ened by the waters, is no longer in
| danger of collapse. However, the wire-
| less station at the top of the tower has
| been abandoned temporarily.
| The rivers Rhone and Loire are re-
| ported falling and the situation ac-
/ cordingly improved at Lyons, Limoges,
| Troyes, Annecy and Auxerre. The
property damage cannot be estimated
with any accuracy, but it will be very
great.
President Tours District
/ Late this afternoon President Fall
Heres and Premier BRAND made tour
of the flooded districts. The crest of
the flood had then almost touched the
| top of the arches of the POM Alma.
| Preparations were made to blow up
the span with dynamite if. it should
become necessary.
The sewer in the Place Havre has
caved in and the Avenue Montaigne
has been invaded by the waters. TIE
schools in the inundated suburbs have
| been closed.
The trains in the subway are be-
ing sent out only from the stations at
/ ST. Lazare and the InValides. The
| lower stretches of the road have been
abandoned In the submerged dis
tricts women fled from their homes
with their children in their arms.
Two thousand homeless persons have
arrived in Paris seeking shelter.
! The Seine has risen nine inches since
2 o'clock and the river now registers
| 1853 metres at Pont Royal. This IS
the highest since 1902. when it reached
$50 metres. the highest point recorded
in the history of France except in the
year 1915
A terrible tempest of rain and wind
which broke over the city at daylight
only adds to the horror of the situa-
tion and to the sufferings of the poor
and homeless.
Although the waters of the Seine af-
huents above the city are still rising
rapidly, the municipal authorities were
hopeful this morning that the maxi
mum stage of the waters would be
reached by nightfall
Sight Awe-Inspirine
The river presents an awe inspiring
spectacle. A quarter of a million of
people in drenching rain throng the
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