Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1874-07-30
T H E LooD +!
Great Loss OfLif1 &PpODGrtV!
A Terrible Work of Destruction

PITTSBURGH, July 27.-The storm
which swept over the city last night
was the most severe and destructive to
life and property that has ever occur
red in this vicinity. The rain came
down in perfect deluge, the water
coming down the streets leading from
the Avenue with fearful velocity, the
torrent being swelled also from the
side streets. The Union depot being
inundated with water three or four feet
in depth. The water in the Handle
Railrod tunnel was four feet, rendering
| it impossible for trains. Considerable
damage was done to property on Smith
field and Liberty streets. From all the
the side streets leading to the hill boul-
ders were rooted from their positions
and hurled to the level below, while in
many places great holes were opened
up in the streets. Some of the cross
streets are rendered almost impossible,
and will require large expenditures.
Among these are Henry, Brady and
Tustin streets, in the 14th ward. Van
BRAN, MIltenbe rger, Marian, Pride and
Stevenson street,, in the 9th ward, are
also terribly cut up. Where the new
sewer Oh Forbes street was recently
covered, great :iitcieS are opened up.
The Calamity In Allie sJeny
In Allegheny the calamity was utter
iy appalling, not only in the loss of
property but in lives of human beings.
fhe great fire, so recent within its
borders was nothing, as compared with
this disaster. The people in the viciu-
ity where the great destruction occur
red, near the foot of the hills, say that
they could get out of reach Of fire, but
the water overwhelmed them, and
placed life in as great jeopardy as pro-
perty- In all parts of the city more or
e-5 damage wa done, but the great
ioSS Oi.curresi in the bottom districts,
where the .nrr Mt swept from the hills
In these thu greatest distress prevailed,
ianiiiias in peace and quiet, on Sab
bath evening, being almost unlWares,
icoupH:iefi ~ their utmost eXertion to
save t..eir lives. The loss of l;,lf a
dozen lives is 50 far known, and the
probability thi the Number will be
greatly i;l"re ,sad will creates profound
sensation and overshaloW entirely
what wds recently felt rs great
calamity.
The los5 Of life by the Hood has been
appalling. I'll rty-eight bodies have
been recovered III the Butchers Run
district, Alie:hnney County, and as
many IN ,ra are MISSING and are sup
poser. 20 nave been lost. The havoc at
| WU,d's Run was fearful, and the place
was Il perfect sheet of water; several
houses were swept away; nine bodies
have been recovered So far and five or
six are still missing. On the South
Side in the Saw Mill Run district, eight
bodies have baen recovered and thirty
seven are still missing; one whole
biE.E of huillinys were swept away in
this district. Ii is thought that over
$50 parsons have persisted in this flood.
Wore of iae P!.; ;saurgh Uisr.ier.
For more shan q mila out OH Spring
G Grdt avenue, Ailes heny Cily, there
are marks of the destruction plainly
visitle; houses were washed aways and
| buildings were thrown together i'll
heaps; some twenty-five or thirty
Slaughter houses en- this avenue were
also washed away buildings that were
not totally destroyed we're greatly
damaged. The water rising to height
Of fifteen feet flooded the first floors of
the bull !inIS and in many cases the
seconi stories. Several houses were
swel,t into the street and Others carried
hundreds Of yiris and shattered to
pieces. A house containing two or
three families, al the rear of Centre-st.,
was destroyed a1d the inmates are ali
supposed to have been drowned.
DJss.. Ca ,tves,er IAN arAe Supposed
The accounts of the terrible flood
which has destroyed nearly all the
suburban sections of this city, as they
came in during the afternoon and even
ING show that .ia disaster is far greater
than at GrSt 81 ~ ,,''i. 1t is now tho't
that the total l..>5 OF life will not be
short OF 2Q); The loss of property is pro-
portionr!. The EUeniag Chronicle in
its five o'clu'k edition placed the loss of
| life at one hundred and fnrty-two, and
the names of missing PARTIES are con
tinuaIly coming in.
The extent of territory damaged is
not less than twenty 20 twenty-five
miles in diameter, and how the main
portion uf the city of Pittsburgh, lying
as il does in the centre of this circle,
escaped without further injury seems
almost miraculous. A prevailing theO-
ry seems 10 be that the disaster wa
caused by some kind of a water spout.
All reports aS To losses are to great
extent simply estimates. The Com
mercidi places the loss of life in the
Batcher's Run and Allegheny City dis
tricts at III, while the Disjo1tch only
makes it 125. The most carefully pre-
pared figures, however, give the total
loss of life at 2l9 With regard to
property, il is simply impossible to
| uiyn sn ifla,, which aan h.a nnpSi6oro,l