Evening star., 1927-05-03
REFUGEES MOVED
AS FLOODS COVER
LOUISIANA TOWNS
Half Dozen Parishes in Upper
Valley Being Inundated as
Crest Moves South.
FIGHT TO HOLD LEVEES
ABOVE NEW ORLEANS
Conditions Improve in Southeast
ern Arkansas and Mississippi
Delta-Crevasse Is Widened.
Nv the Associated Press.

~ the Associated Press.
NEW ORLEANS, May S.-While
caravans of refugees moved out to
places of safety, the flood and back
waters from the Mississippi and its
rushing tributaries were completing
the inundation of the lowlands in half
a dozen parishes in northwestern and
eastern central Louisiana today.
More towns were reported under
water. with other threatened, and
feet of rescue craft was operating
nver the funnelshaped area between
the Red River and the Mississippi
taking out the marooned and sending
warn lgs to many residents VINO nave
placed their reliance in the protec-
tive let ees surrounding some OF the
small towns.
While these waters claim new areas
the battle to hold the levee lines from
below the four crevasses 25 miles
south of Vidalia to New Orleans goes
forward on both sides OF the river.
Weak spots are being bolstered ana
embankments raised against the com
ing of the record crest now slightly
south of Vicksburg.
Arkansas Conditions Improve.
Improved flood conditions were re-
norterI from southeastern Arkansas
end the Mississippi delta, where the
worst is over and the waters are grad
uallv falling as that from the Arkan'
sas overflow moves into northeastern
T,ouisiana and the flood from the
Sfops Landing break, above Green
willie finds its way back to the main
stream.
with the flood waters from the
Mississippi delta region still rushing
hack into the main stream above
vicksburg. the gauge at that place
showed a further rise OF three-tentns
OF foot to stage OF 5S.5 feet early
today.
Plaouemine Parishes are flooded TO
>. depth of 2 to 10 feet, and State en-
gineers today continued blasting at
the C'aernarvon creyasSe, ID miles t'e-
low here. in their effort to save New
orleans from inundatinf1 wheq the
food crest arrives, about two weeks
hence.
Crevasse Now 1900 Feet.
The Caernarvon crevasse has been
wiSened now to 500 feet and the nood
waters are expected to increase u 10
the desired 2.000 feet within a lew
days. The end Of the break nearest
New Orleans win be bulkheaded, so
that the water will not widen the
opening in that direction.
AS further precautionary measures,
the Ievees along Lake Pontchartraln,
upon which the city borders to the
north, and at Carroliton, on the up
river side of the Crescent Bend, are
being raised and strengthened. Army
and State engineers also began an in
spection of the whole leyee system
protecting the city.
See No Danger to City.
While the level of the river here
fell three-tenths of foot during the
"a hours ended at am, a committee
of Army and State engineers reported
TO James p. Butler. banker and
chairman of the citizens flood commit
tee. that the Carrollton gauge during
the next two weeks would attain a
reading of approximately 21.o feet, but
added that this should occasion no
concern" as there would be no danger
to New Orleans.
Despite statements that the danger
TO New Orleans is past, hundreds or
residents, particularly women ana
rH1iUE6n, nave uSpdA tS0 AOA ONAA PSA -
Biloxi and other Mississippi coast
towns; Hammond, La, and other
places.
There has been nothing approach
ing an exodus, however. and business
in the city goes on as usual, with
streets crowded day and night. IL
there is apprehension there are no
outward signs of it.
Ten Miles Inundated.
The water, which is pouring through
the Caernarvon crevesse at $4,000 TO
100, 900 cubic feet a second, has in
undated an area of approximately 10
miles, mainly to the south OF the
break. The Orange Grove industrial
alcohol distillery was under water to-
day, but the protective levee hastily
erected around the Braithewaite paper
mill was still holding.
Lake Borgne was beginning to be
filed, and Delaircrox, in the pic
turesque settlement Of French and
Spanish trappers, was inundated.
However, several scores of the trap
pers remained in the region, living
IN boats.
North of the break the water had
come within two miles of the Violet
Canal and had covered the rich farm
ing lands of st. Bernard Parish and
Tapped about the three-story brick and
granite parish courthouse, the highest
building of the section.
A special bulletin warning from the
Weather Bureau here said the Gre
vases below Natchez, Miss, would
cause the river at that point TO change
very little for several days, but added
Flood Waters to Return.
"Crevasse waters now entering the
Tensas Basin will soon begin to re.
turn through Old River, and every
3recaution should be continued against
the stages previously forecast for the
Atchafalaya and the Missississpi be
low Old River"
There was a further drop of three.
tenths of a foot in the river gauge al
Nsw Orleans, but the Weather Bu-
reau said the river there would fall
slowly or change but little for several
DAYS"
New Orleans stage now is 20.4 feet
but Army and State engineers have
warned that it probably will go to 21.5
feet at the crest, or three feet lower
than the record stage forecast before
the main leyee at Caernarvon, 15 miles
below here, was broken last week.
At Melville, La, the Atchafalaya
went up two-tenths of a foot to 44.4
feet. and at Monroe, La, the rise Of
the Ouachita was two-tenths of a foot
10 4S.1 feet. The Red showed fall oi
enc foot at Shreveport, but at Alex
andria it had risen three-tenths of 3
foot 10 Alb feet despite the crevesse
at Wick, 20 miles east.
A rescue fleet. headed by the Flad
VcpRtiRuea ca Fegs 8. Csluma %