ملف ١٧٤٩\ ١٩٢١ "الخليج الفارسي:- ملخصات إخبارية للمقيمية البريطانية ١٩٢١-١٩٢٥" [و‎‎٧‎٢] (٤٩٤/١٥٨)

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CONFIDENTIAL.
Summary of News received by Eis Majesty’s Political Residency in the
Por-iaa Gulf for the meiiiu of February 1934.
Torrential rains lasting continually for five days caused the Garun river
to rise several feet with a current of about 6 to 8 knots. The country from
Ahwaz to Dorquaine was flooded, and the low-lying plain of Muhammerah
beyond the canal cut from the Town to Falieyeh looked like a wide expanse of
sea Several houses have collapsed and a number of hunts have been washed
away rendering many Arabs homeless. It is reported that several men,
women, children and live-stock have been drowned. The Shaikh com
mandeered motor launches and ballams, and, with the help of the Anelo-
Persian Oil Company river craft kindly placed at his disposal, was able to
send supplies of food for the relief of the homeless. The embankment at
Muhammerah gave way in some places, and the Sheikh ordered the damage
to be repaired and a bund built to save the town in case of a further rise in
the flood.
The Persian Post Office was opened at Abadan on the 1st February
A clerk of the Muhammerah Post Office has been appointed Post Master and
the staff of the Mail Department of the Anglo-Persian Oil Company, at
Abadan, are temporarily doing the work for the Persian Pos£ Office.
On the 6th February a disturbance took place at Abad^i caused by one
Sayed Hasan Shirazi, who holds a monopoly for selling opium and bread,
striking a poor woman and fining her Rs. 12. On the same night a fire
occurred in the Company’s bazaar, causing damage to the extent of about
Rs. 30,000. The Shirazi is smspected of having something to do with this,
and the Sheikh has promised to make a personal investigation in the matter.
Ahwaz.
Unprecedented rainfall and the sudden rise of the Karun river to 23—
24 feet above sea level, causing 3—4 feet of water to overflow its banks,
wrought havoc among Arab villages along the river side. In Ahwaz itself
some 106 houses (including the Sheikh’s palaces) and 82 shops collapsed Ihe
river flooded the southern and lower portion of the town to a depth of 800
yards or more. Widespread damange has been caused to crops and livestock,
and there is believed to have been considerable loss of life.
All communication was temporarily cut off between Ahwaz and Shu star,
where several arches of the ancient Valerian Bridge were swept away, and
many villages in the neighbourhood severely damaged. Though communi
cations were mostly restored by the end of February, the telegraph lines
between Shustar and Dizful and between Ram Hormuz and Behbehan were
still broken.
Anglo-Persian Oil Company property has been considerably damaged
by the floods. A cloud burst on the 24th January at the Oilfields swept away
bridges and houses along the river course. The narrow gauge railway was
breached in several places, and the motor road cut, but repairs were soon in
full swing. The European employees’ quarters at Ahwaz had to be evacuat
ed temporarily, and at Kut Abdullah all buildings except the boiler and
turbme houses collapsed.
Sheikh of Muhammerah .—His Excellency left on the 29th January with
the whole of his Ahwaz entourage for Muhammerah, where he immediately
commenced to organise relief for those rendered homeless by the floods. Both
His Excellency’s palaces were destroyed by the inundation.
Russian Consular Agency. —M. Batmanoff has let it be known that
r 4^1 /
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Great Britain is seeking friendship with Russia soleh
Soviet.