Floods Cause Havoc

In Bulolo Section of New Guinea Goldfield

Prom Our Own Correspondent WAU, May 14. r-REE inches of rain fell on the Mo robe uplands on the night of Tues day, May 2; and, following an almost unprecedented period of five months’ rain, it came down off the mountains, through the creek channels, in a series of roaring torrents.

A huge amount of damage was done.

Bridges were carried away, roads ren dered impassable, and the workings of miners along the Bulolo Valley com pletely obliterated. The majority of miners suffered heavy losses.

Connection by road between Wau and Bulolo, which had been interrupted in

places for the past two months by earth slips, was now made impossible by the carrying away of the wooden bridge over the Bulolo at Kulolo, and the fact that the new Kaili iron bridge is not yet completed.

After these torrential rains on May 2 had caused floods of magnitude, a sec ond cloud-burst occurred three days later, on Friday, May 5, which completed the havoc. This last is reported to be the highest flood on the Bulolo River known to Europeans.

The Mining Association communicated the position to the Administration at Rabaul, and immediate action was taken.

Authority to enrol, as Government la bourers, 250 natives out of the mining lines of those miners who had been wash ed out, was given, in response to the Association’s comprehensive radio, and four white overseers were to be appoint ed from the miners themselves. The A.D.0., Wau, sent to Salamaua for Mr.

Mulvey, of the Public Works Department, who happened to be there in connection with the Salamaua-Wau road. The selection of overseers and allocation of natives from the miners’ lines was cour teously left in the hands of the Mining Association by the A.D.O. * Work on general reclamation of roads and works was commenced at once; and it was of distinct assistance to the miners, who had lost so much, to have their indentured labourers employed thus, instead of sitting down eating their heads off.

Third Cloudburst Kills Natives

Following on the cloudbursts of May 2 and 5, which caused such havoc and losses in the Bulolo Valley, a third occurred on the night of Wednes day, May 17. Whereas the first two came from the south and east, the third came from the west, and was consider ably more local, but vied with them in intensity, having its origin in the hills between Kaindi and Wau.

Whereas no loss of life attended those of May 2 and 5. that of May 17 was unfortunately the cause of at least ten natives losing their lives, and others be ing terribly mutilated by timber and boulders in the maelstrom which occur red in the Nami Creek, The creek rose with such appalling suddenness, that a whole line of natives’ houses were swept away while their occupants were still asleep within.

Those who know the district will real ise the force of the flood when they read that one body was found at the Bulolo Power House on the following day.

The N.G.G.’s ore bin at Upper Ridges was undermined and carried away, with the crew who were working on it.

Three inches of rain fell in .little more than li hours in the centre where the storm was heaviest.