Salt Lake Telegram | 1923-12-02 | Page 1 | 300 Reported Lost in Italy Dam Disaster

I n REP REPORTED l LOST ST IN ITAlY I DAM DISASTER I Town Is Submerged and I Many Inhabitants Drown Flood Flood Rushes Down Narrow Valley Loss Big BERGANO Italy Itah Dec 1 By U. U P P. Thundering Thundering down upon sleeping sleeping sleep sleep- ing Italian villages mag nestled In itt the Brembana valley flood lood waters vaters loosed when the the great groat dam at the tho foot of ot Lake Glen burst garly t- t today to- to day completely submerged the town of Dezzo and drowned many inhabitants A Central News dispatch received re received received re- re in London says It ft is t feared ared lives were lost As the ors sus Ivors roused from their beds fled to the tIre hills amid tho the rising waters towns for miles I ar around und were plunged into lark dark t ness tress as five fire hydro-electric hydro power j I houses were swept away in n ruins The rhe flood rushed down the the- narrow narrow narrow nar nar- row valley destroying everything in Its path Hundreds of ot cattle adding their terrorized bell ving to the harsh noises of ot the dawn were vere carried awa away on the he crest rest o of the tho waters and drowned TWO TOWNS INUNDATED The Tho towns of or ml n nd Te- Te veno eno were inundated an and t the flood did Oid not spend its fury until It swept as far tar as Corono Property damage was great Telephone d a telegraphs communication cation was completely destroyed and it was not until nightfall that word of ot the disaster reached the I outside world Relief Hellet was sent from Crom this evening a evening a Red Cross unit and anda andI I a company of firemen This anI ancient an an- I 1 dent cathedral city Is in darkness as is Brescia and scores of other I 1 towns of ot the province pro which drew drewI I their electric power from Lake LakeI Gleno dam darn j I Torrential rains of the past forty forty- eight hours were vere responsible for tor the 1 catastrophe v I. I REFUGEES RESCUED i ad fled i d from the thep p path th of the waters s suffered tremendous tremendous tre tre- hardships T They y were rescued clinging to vantage points the rainfall ceaselessly added I to the swollen torrent in the valley Lake G was an artificial lake Its waters being held up by the I dam darn to which five power houses j I were vere attached I Dezzo whose peasant Inhabitants inhabitants I tants tended cattle In the pleasant valley alley of ot the Brembana and the Steriana l lay y at the foot of the lake Jake Rain fell feU throughout the night Dezzo slept Without warning earl early today the great dam darn gilve gave way collapsing with a roar like thunder r. r Eight night million cubic meters of ot I water were loosed upon the defenseless defenseless de do- town TOWNS IN DARKNESS S The power power houses ho ses were smashed by the flood nood Dwellings were dashed to pieces like JUte matchwood The alarm was cried down the valley alle but not before the flood nood had drowned many in its path Humans Hu Ilu- mans animals and the wreckage that had been Dezzo were carried along on the crest rest of the rushing wall of water Those who had time lime to escape sought the hills a rising flood lickIng licking licking lick lick- ing about their feet as they stumbled stumbled stumbled bled to safety Fears were entertained tonight for other towns in northern Ital Italy The rainfall had not at abated and the waters vaters of Laggo Lag Maggiore were steadily rising The city of ot Pallanza za was threatened VALLEY DEVASTATED The was situated in inthe the fertile valle valley of or about BOO feet above sea level The I bursting of ot the followed by tragic scenes The whole valley valley val val- ailey ai ley of ot the Dezzo is devastated de and eight villages at least have been blotted out Dezzo Itself was completely corn com destroyed by the waters which covered every house Only the tho church steeple can an be seen I Five FJ generating pla plats plants were so badly damaged that the city of or is without power I The stricken people number into Inlo the thousands and t army units have been dispatched to the devastated devastated devas devas- zone to open up kitchens Army engineers will wUl give ever every possible possible possible pos pos- sible aid In tho the reconstruction work The dike diko was fifty feet teet in height