Richmond Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1862-1865, 1864-04-06
TERRIBLE DISASTER IN ENGLAND.-INUNDA-
DATION AT SHEFFIELD.
Etom az Lonaon 7Imes. lbth nl

From the London Times, ION EH
At little before midnight Friay last Of tho o
terrific disasters 10 which nearly all the great towns in
| the North Of England or les exposed hap
pcned at Sheffield. The great reservoir Of the Shelf
Red Water Company reservoir nearly one hundred
acres in extent, and which held more than million
cubic feet of water suddenly burst its embar kment
and swept with the fury OF another deuge dGwa the
narrow ground formed by the Loxey and Stannngton
Hills into Sheffield itself Almost before warning could
be given the volume OF began rushing hsadong
down tho valley, sweeping farms and house, FORCES
and factoriss like chat before Ii. Never, probably
before hiss an accident Of the kind occurred,
runOus in its Wholesale destruction Of propsrty SO
| Numerically fatal 10 the loss Of human lie.
| Whatever the sudden and tremendous bod could
rel oh l. seems TO have destroyed and, calculating only
the number Of houses swept away, and The persons
missing who known to have been In thtm on that
fatal light there severy reason to fear that the lives
sacrificed by this awful calamity will not be ess than
200 if they do not unfortunately exceed even that
number OF the damage done to property it ia impos
sibe at this early date TO form even q conjectu
i The devastation in this respect is unparalleled.
large populOuJ aud thriving district has been almost
obtsrlted from the earth, scarce more than traces Of
the houses and factories that onca stood tbero now
| remaining The Don owing to lac heavy rains, was
unusually high and the additional water thrown Into
il has laid hundreds Of under water, snd inflicted
ncalCusbe injury to the growing crops. o! the des-
tructive Character OF the food there abundant
II
bed-postp, feather beds, table,, cocks and various
kinds OF household furniture pissed down. aud several
Carcases of cattle also
Large numbers of people have lined the rivers banks
all the day, bu. Il Il evident that the greatest
volume of wa.er has passed by, and further damage
here is not spprehendsd The water is very thckly
with mud proof that il must have ewept
with terrific violence the land adjoining the river.
sh-pike in part cular-hRve been lefs in large qlln
titles on land from which the water has subsidized.
LATER.
Every additional inquiry made into the circums anc.s
of this appalling calamity shove that il has been much
more disastrous than at first anticipated IL is
estimated that the loss of life will exosed two hundred
and fy ald that the value Of the property destroyed
excseds half q IN lion. From Bradfeld, where the
reservoir burst down the course of The rivers for
twelve or fourteen miles the country Is laid waste The
reservoir covered area of seventy ELK acres, and
would hold ia 900 cubic fees OF wator. The en-
bnkment which crossed The end of the valley, on
enormous erection, with average height Of eighty
five fee end forty feet 10 thickness 1t was three hui
| dred wards l)ng. Between Aatock aud Hlsborough,
distance OF four miles, The greatest l>sI OF lie has
been caused.
yept entirely away ia three of VIII ch alone there
tWeIty five lives lost la the Opposite the whole
If the inhabitants were drowned and scarcely any OF
their bodies have been discovered The food to
have swept off thing osfore it, from the cor h1eDce
of the Lox'ey and the keViin 70 TIE Don. B'tWeen
Warssend and Sheffield the Dou, The bodies wee
seen living in the mills aud the mud and ruins There
we're four cen in place. tn in another and thirteen
in III RI At Neepsend rine hundred acrs OF gardens
Wrs devastated, and whole famlitswe swept away
An off ia repcrs Just received saiss that one hundr
and ty six dead bodies have already been recovered
seyepty have been identf d. Large nnmte a'e net
vet found Bodies have been discovered as far down
The river a. Doncst Along the banks OF ths river
between that and Sheffield the teene Of tho nun