OCR Text |
Show TERRIFIC FLOODS I DEVA8TA1E FRANCE I Situation Becomes So Desperate That Officials of Government Are Aroused. MUCH OF GREAT CITY H OF PARIS IN DANGER Estimate Made That One-Fourth of Whole Con u (17 Is Now Under Water. .;;....;..;..A......,j..........t..;...,. f PARTS, Jan, 25. At, 2 o'clock r this morning the water which v v was rushing through tlio tunnel - f under tho-Quai du Arsav station 4- I- burst through the roadway and v- v flooded the streets, including the - r Tfiie do Lillio, tho Rue de -r- Portions and tho Rue do' Bell- v JM v chasse, on which there arc many v r aristocratic residences. Tlio side- r walks are likely to cave in at any v time. Those who occupied tho ! h houses were hastily awakened v and hurriedly taken to places of r safety. 4. The situation resulting from the floods is fast hecominp desperate. The premier and minister of the interior made this declaration tonight. All conditions indicated a further rise of several inches of tho river Seine, aud tho cold rain, which still continues, is causing intense suffering among those who have been made homeless. There is little prospect of relief. Much of Paris in Danger. IH M. iUillorand. .minister of public; works, after a tour of inspection, said that if the rise continued nothing could prevent a deplorable disaster and the flooding of tho most populous fl quarters in Paris. Measures that had been taken, lie said, appeared to him to be adequate "for the present, but IH only for the present." Paris is threatened with an ini-mediate ini-mediate tie-up. Tlio stoppage of trans-ports trans-ports has raised prices of food, which is becoming scarce, and. the supply of water in seven arrondisse-meats arrondisse-meats has been crippled. Authorities assort that drinking wa- IH tor is assured, but there is no water for industrial services, which aro prac-tically prac-tically snspeuded. The questiou of transportation is becoming nioro and moro difficult, and most of (he remain- incr lines of tlio subwa3' were forced to IH close dowu tonight because of lack of IH electric currents. , Bed Cross Is Aiding. The Red Cross society is organizing aid for th sufferers. Subscriptions have been opened, and theaters are ar-ranging ar-ranging benefits. At midnight the water was less than a foot, from (he arch of the Pont, do L'Alma. Other bridges are not iu such danger, unless some other craft is swept, against them. Big sewers in tlio Place tin Havre and near Place de la radeleino burst tonight, threatening foundations of houses. Part of Rue St. Lazare threatens to cave in, and the wliol3 street has been closed. Tunnels of the subway now nuder construction are flooded" The Orleans torminus is a vast pool, and engineers fenr that tho tunnels may collapse. IH Two thousand persons arc homeless fl at, Alfortville, wnerc the water is twelve feet deep. Thousands Suffering. The salvage is being done by soldiers in auto-boats at the risk of their lives. All the factories above and below Paris are closed, and thousands of persons are out of employment At Toars Stir Marne, however, eight houses collapsed, and at .luvigny fifteen collapsed. The authorities have de-cidod de-cidod to blow up tho dam and allow the canal to flow into the river to save other buildings. A hundred houses at (Jhalons threaten to fall. A fourth of France, it is estimated, is under water today. Snow and rain are adding to the floods, which arc un-prccodonled un-prccodonled in the history of tho pros-odI. pros-odI. generation. The Seino continued to rise today. and the situation iu this city grows worse hourly. "Water has drowned out tho electric plants in the chamber of deputies, and today the deputies met by lamp light. Premier Briand introduced a bill jH appropriating 400.000 for tho relief of jB sufforcrs. The bill was passed. lie described what tho government was al- jH ready doing to abate tho distress, aud highly praised the heroic rescue work (lone by the soldiers and gendarmes. Pricos of Pood Raised. Owing to the difficulty of getting food into the city market prices have boon raised, adding another element of distress to the poorer classes. It is estimated that 25,000 laborers liae jH been thrown out of .employment IH Fortunately the casualties " have boon comparatively few. but many uar-row uar-row escapes from' death are rcp'ortud. The explosion of boilers in inundated IH factories 'is, an occasional clement of danger. An enormous amount of livestock is reported to havo boon drowned iu tho jH departments of !Marne, Aubo, Aisne and Mouse. Jt is now believed tho ISiffel tower jH rho foundations of whic.ii were throat-cnod throat-cnod by rl" waters, is no longer t in danger of collapse. However, tho wire-loss wire-loss station at tho top of the tower has been abandoued I omporarilv. Tho rivers Rhone and Loire arc re-ported re-ported falling, and the situation is ac- 1 cordingly improved nt Lyons, Limoges, Troves, Annecy and Auxerro. Tlio property damage cannot bo es- 1 ii ina ted with any accuracy, but it will be very great. Tho sower in the Place I.Tavro has oavod in and the Avenuo Montaigne has been invaded bv the waters. Tho schools in the inundated districts havo been closed. |