The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1878-12-12
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From all parts of the Middle Atlantic and
New England States, as well as the St. Law
renee Valley, come distressing accounts Of
the ravages of the recent storm. Such a
widespread destruction of railroad and
highway bridges by freshets has never been
chronicled before, although many violent
tempests have swept over the districts af-
fected. The rainfall attending this storm
has been exceptionally heavy, as we have
already had occasion to remark. 1t was
both heavy and continuous, and its effects
have been experienced with more vio-
lence in the districts where the topog-
raphy favors rapid drainage from the
surface to the streams and rivers than
where such surface flow would be
slow. Hence we find the mountain regions
of the Upper Delaware and Susquehanna
rivers pouring down their torrents by thou
sands Of swollen streams to raise the main
rivers many feet above the highest levels
hitherto known. In the State OF New York
the Hudson and its tributaries have swelled
beyond all former limits and inundated the
towns on their banks, inhcting immense
uAAAatcc ~ PioPcIty, Cu1A4bi ioSAos
large and small vessels, barges and dwell
ing houses, and sweeping from whalves and
docks all kinds OF movable property. At
Rondout and Newburg, Albany and Pough-
keepsie, the damage is very heavy, and hun
dreds of families have been rendered tenn
porariy houseless by the foundations. At
Port Jcrvis, Binghamton and other places
the losses have been equally great, and
traffic on the railroads and turnpikes has
been entirely stopped in some districts.
Reports from New Hampshire, Vermont,
Maine, Massachusetts,, Connecticut and the
st. Lawrence Valley are filled with Incl
dents connected with the destruction of
bridges. the demolition Of factories and
mills, and the washing out Of the roadbeds
of the principal lines of railroad. The ac-
cident that occurred on the Montreal Rail-
road, near Sewali's Falls, on the night of
the 10th, was due to great washout. It IS
surprising that the injuries sustained by
the people on the wrecked train were SO
slight On the same road another accident
was prevented by the vigilance Of q quarry
man, who warned the approaching train Of
the danger ahead. Not SO fortunate were
the passengers and officials of the train
on the Rutland division Of the Central Yer
mont Railroad, two miles south Of Bartons-
Vile. The culvert had been undermined
by the water, but the track bore the appear
ance Of solidity. This was only dreadful
death trap. The moment the train ran on
it the embankment gave way, and the loco
motive and cars were precipitated into the
gulf Two lives were Immediately lost and
one person sustained fatal injuries, while
many were seriously hurt. We can only refer
the reader to our very full, general and
special dispatches this morning for the
story Of the storm. The money value Of
the damage cannot be estimated yet, but it
is reported to amount to half million Of
dollars in one locality. The loss of life may
be very great, but it is to be hoped that the
worst fears may not be realized. If any
events could attract attention to the value
of timely storm warnings like those issued
by the HERALD surely these great disasters
may serve such purpose.