Real Climate Records

RAINSTORMS of unusual violence, accompanied by destructive gales, swept over the greater part of the State towards the end of last week.

In addition to the loss of four lives from drowning and lightning, havoc among crops and orchards has been widespread.

Although the damage to the wheat crops has not been as great as was first estimated, it is nevertheless very serious.

Many oat crops have been utterly ruined and large areas of hay have been levelled by wind and rain.

Flooding of rivers has also been the cause of enormous damage. In one place near Bridgewater 1,000 head of sheep were swept away and drowned by the overflow of two swollen streams.

The western and central areas of the State have suffered the most damage. At Ballarat 4½ inches of rain caused the overflowing of the Yarrowee, and floods were experienced in the city that have been unequalled in more than 50 years.

In the Stawell district the rainfall varied from two inches to as much as seven inches in 18 hours, and the town suffered the worst flood in many years.

In one place in the district the extraordinary fall of seven inches in two hours is recorded. Hundreds of sheep have been drowned and other livestock lost. Roads have been damaged and tobacco crops were destroyed.

Bendigo, Daylesford, and Maryborough also sustained severe losses to stock and crops.

LIVES LOST

Tragic loss of life has been caused by the storms. At Smythesdale, Mabel Yean, aged 15 years, was crossing the main bridge over the Smythesdale Creek, when it collapsed and she was swept away in the raging flood waters.

At Talbot a young man named George Stone, who was endeavouring to rescue a dog, was swept into the McCallum Creek and lost his life.

A third tragedy occurred at Maryborough, when a brave lad named Frank Durbridge tried to rescue a companion who had fallen Into the Carlsbrook Creek.

The roll of fatalities is completed by the death of a resident of Stawell, Mr. George Abbott, who was killed by lightning while sheltering from the storm under some trees.

The tale of damage by storm and flood comes from many quarters.

Serious landslides have occurred which have blocked the Great Ocean road. Residents of

Charlton have suffered an anxious period through the overflowing of the Avoca River.

Last Saturday night many houses in the town were flooded, but early on Sunday morning the torrent began to subside.

Both the Barwon and Moorabool Rivers overflowed their banks, and low lying areas of Geelong were under-water.

MELBOURNE SUFFERS

Until Monday Melbourne received nothing worse than drenching rain; but on Monday afternoon the heavy, sultry weather was broken by several violent thunderstorms which caused considerable damage, especially to the electrical services of the metropolitan railways, over

head wires between Kensington and Footscray were struck by lightning, and more than a mile and a half of wire was thrown to the ground.

The traffic was disorganised for several hours, and country trains leaving the city through

Footscray were also held up. The congestion of traffic as peak loading time arrived became acute. Motor buses and taxi-cabs were requisitioned by the Rail ways department to transfer passengers from the city to various places on the Williams town line. Rail transport was

organised on either side of the gap, but it was not until 7 p.m. that a single linethrough traffic to Williamstown was restored.

Despite the best endeavours of the railway staff, great delay and inconvenience were experienced by the public.

In some suburbs buildings were struck by lightning. Rainfall was heaviest in the northern suburbs of Brunswick, Coburg, and Northcote, where flooded streets stopped the road traffic. Electric-light wires were also damaged in these suburbs, which were without light for some time.

The most sensational individual incident was one in which a boy named Roland Crook, aged 11 years, fell into an underground drain and was carried three-quarters of a mile under ground by the flood waters. He was eventually ejected into the Moonee Ponds Creek, from which he scrambled ashore, none the worse for his amazing experience.

Reports from the country tell of further damage by flood waters. At Hayanmi the Loddon is 10 miles wide.

At Wycheproof, Hopetoun, and St. Arnaud great damage has been sustained by farmers. Hundreds of acres of crop will never be harvested, road traffic is temporarily suspended, and

stock of all kinds has been drowned.

One sole satisfactory feature of the visitation is that rabbits in large numbers have been destroyed.