Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1881-05-05
WESTERN FLOODS.
Kansas City Submerged-Thousands
of Families Homeless.

or Families Homeless.
KANSAS CITY, April 2s.-This has
been day of great excitement in Kan
sas City. The water. in the Missouri
river continued to rise throughout the
night and day, and is rising still. At 9
O'Clock. this morning the dyke raised
along the Missouri river in front of the
bottoms gave way in the neighborhood
called Hells Half-Acre, and the torrent
poured through, driving the people from
their homes in great terror All efforts
to stay the flood were vain, and in an
hour the large district was inundated
from four to ten feet. At noon the tor
rent began to pour over Ninth street,
submerging another district as large as
the first, and driving the terror-stricken
people before it. The water backing up
the Kansas river, submerged a large
part of the stock yards, and surrounded
the district inhabited by the families of
the employees of Fowler Bros packing
houses and surrounding their large
boarding houses. The water stands sew
eral feet deep in a large number of the
streets, and on Union Avenue and James
streets and covers the street railway ON
these streets for five or six squares. In
the neighborhood known as Armour
dale, across the Kansas river from this
point, large numbers of colored families
were surprised by the flood and at least
five persons drowned.
Tie water rushed over the doomed
town SO rapidly that the inhabitants
could only flee for their lives, without
being able TO remove any part of their
household goods. Fully three hundred
families were thus thrown out of their
houses in an incredibly short time, and
are now encamped on the high ground
at Armstrong. with strong probability
that their houses will go down stream.
1t would take columns of newspaper
space to describe the situation as it now
exists, together with the list of serious
damage done. At least 5000 people are
driven from their homes, and the ap-
proaches to the high. ground of the main
portion of the city presents strange ap-
pearanee, piles of goods and crowds of
refugees appearing on every hand. The
water now extends on the north side of
West Ninth street, from the Union ele-
vator to James street, and from Liberty
to Ewing street. That thoroughfare is
full of water on the south side of Ninth.
The locality between Liberty and Ewing
streets is flooded and growing worse ev-
cry hour.
The street cars run with great difficult
ty, the water being up to the floors of
the cars. The streets are filed with
wagons moving goods from the threat
ened localities, and all vehicles of every
description are pressed into service. In
East Kansas City similar state of af-
fairs exists, rendering homeless for the
time being thousands of families.
ATCHIsoN, April 27.-Contrary to ex-
pectations the river has continued to
rise steadily during the past twenty
four hours and is now twenty-five feet
four inchers above low water mark.
Old residents say 1t is at least twenty
inches above the level of the great flood
of 1914. Nothing new in the situation
here.
ST. PAUL, April 27-The river has
continued to rise slowly all the after
noon, and stands at about Is feet inch
es in the channel, feet higher than the
June rise of last year. The current con-
tinues swift, as a great mass of water IS
pushing on from behind this. A new
report of rise in the Minnesota causes
belief that the flood is not so near q
crisis as was hoped, and that the diminu-
tiOn in the rapidity of the rise is only
owing to the water spreading over =
larger extent of country.
A dispatch from Chaska, on the Min
nesOta, says: The water at this point is
rising. Several buildings have floated
away, and are lodged against the railroad
track. The water is pouring into the
second story of the buildings on Main
street. The Minneapolis and st. Louis
track is covered out of sight. People
take refuge in taller buildings. Business
is almost at a complete stand-stilL
There is no flood upon the upper Mis-
sissippi above the mouth Of the Mime
sofa. The st. Croix has has risen sever
al feet, but is still three feet below last
June. This is mainly caused by back
water from the Mississippi.
The situation in st. Paul grows more
critical with every hour. No dry land
is now left between the channel and
bluff except the single length of the en-
bankment over which the bridge runs.
The culverts under this are almost
choked with the raging current and the
bank may be broken through tonight.
The Fifth street elevated road, at right
angles with this, was broken through
this morning, and is now covered with
water. There are several hundred houses
in the flooded district, and the occupants
have been busy all day removing fami-
lies and goods.
The refugees have been temporarily
provided for in public buildings and
shops. 1t is proposed to purchase 500
tents by subscription for the use of the
homeless.