The Emporia weekly news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1881-1889, 1888-06-28

FLOODED CITIES.
Leon and SiIao, Mexico, Washed
Away by Heavy Rains.
The Number of Lives Lost Estimated
at Fiftesn Hundred.
Over Two thousand Homes Destroyed
in One City.
The Properly Loss viii Foot up into
the Millions.
FLOODED CITIES.

CITY OF MEXICO, June 26.-Tele-
graphic communication, which has
been interrupted for several days by
the floods, has been restored and the
terrible disaster on the line of
the Mexican Central railway, particu-
larly at Leon and Silao, are obtained.
During the past ten days the table
lands between here and Zacatecas have
been visited by unprecedented rains.
Every mountain rivulet along the Cen
trail railway for more than two hun
bred miles has been converted into 4
destructive torrent, and the valleys
present the appearance of lakes. Many
cities and towns have been inundated
and Leon and Silao have been partially
destroyed. The first intimation re-
ceived in this city OF the
disaster i'll the north was
a telegram from SilaS dated the 18th
inst, it said: 1t commenced raining
heavily here yesterday afternoon and
continued all night, raising the Silao
river to its banks, breaking at the
north end of the town and passing
through the streets with irresistible
force and volume. Most of the houses
here being of adobe, as soon as they
were saturated with water they began
to fall. About 325 houses have Deen
destroyed. The station buildings
are occupied by homeless people who
are unable to obtain anything to eat
except water melons and fruit found
floating in the water. The rain has
been general and the whole country
around Silao is flooded. Several dikeS
have given away. 1t still continues
raining.
On the Goth it was learned that the
floods had been more destructive in
Leon than in Silao. 1t seems that on
Monday, the 18th, the river broke over
its dikes and notwithstanding all efforts
to check its course it made rapid head
way and finally flooded the city. AS
the rain fell the river rose rapidly, its
volume of water flowing into the town,
gradually wearing away the founda-
lions of buildings, which commenced
to fall as night came on. Monday night
brought to that city one OF the most
terrible scenes ever witnessed in any
country. People, believing themselves
secure from the flood, went to bed IN
those parts Of the town where the wa
ter had not found its way. The steady
rain, with the extensive water bed OF
| the outlying country, Increased the
| flow of the river and rapidly extended
| its channel until over half OF Leon was
/ under water. Houses tumbled In rapid
| ly, having been worn away by the wa
| ter and the loss of life is unparalleled
in the history of any of the great mum
| dations of modern times. AS the build
| iDgs fell the unfortunate sleepers were
| either crushed to death or drowned.
One whole night of terror followed.
| Men, women and children fed TO the
streets in their night clothes; some to
/ &. l. ,<~I,o h
ers to be swept away by the Hood. On
| Tuesday morning the rain was still
| falling and there had been no percepti-
| BILE decrease in the stream of water. A
mammoth lake extended its length and
breadh to all points of the compass. Its
| monotonous appearance was occasion
ally broken by half submerged house
and highlands cropping above its any
thing but placid surface. The town
had wrecked look. Where the
houses had stood the night previous
water was surging on the lower grounds
and groups of people who had been
forced by the impending danger TO
seek flight without clothes, were stand
ing about in the rain, crying and de-
ploring their losses. All the houses
which the flood left intact were opened
to the unfOrtunates, who were pro-
Vided with everything that was aValla-
BILE at the time. The loss OF life up To
this writing had reached up into the
hundreds, but the threatening danger
had closed the channels of sorrow and
the hushed voices denoted nothing
more than fear Tor the future. AL
night it poured, until Wednesday
morning saw the lake surrounding the
city undiminished in size with a steady
rain coming down. In the afternoon
however it ceased raining and the
waters commenced to receed. The
people recovered from their fright
though the water was still covering 9
portion of the city. 1t is estimated
that 700 persons persisted. There is
| a strong stencil from the heaps OF rub
Dish that once formed houses and one
is led to believe that there must be
bodies buried under them. There are
One hundred and eleven bodies had
been recovered without moving
anV ruins of houses where
in are supposed to be hundreds
| of bodies buried. The destroyed
houses are estimated at 1900 and the
loss at 81 900, 600. Many other towns
have been badly damaged, but the los:
of life is only reported from Silao anc
i Leon. The Mexican Central has sui
fered very severely. Several washoutl
occurred between Agnas CalienteS and
Leon, but they have now been repaired
| and trains are running from FL PaS0 Al
far south as Leon to Irapuato, dis
tance of thirty-nine miles. The man
agement of the road from the first dis
patch put forth extraordinary eneTg!
and at present all the available work
men throughout the adjoining countr.
are now employed in the work Of re-
pairing. The state Of Guanajuato ant
the federal government are doing mucl
to succor the victims OF the flood
Il Furthermore, subscriptions of money
{ food and clothes are being sent from
here. The last reports from Leon ar
! heartrending. The whole population
!. are busy working into the ruins OF "a
p fallen houses. Nearly everybody ma
| lost relatives and friends, and thos
who have not haye lost their earthl
}; possessions. The estimates OF the los
of life and property given are th
smallest reported and are certainl
. within the bounds of truth. The yer
Hast statement, just received, piacS
the houses destroyed in Leon at 2.2s
and the homeless families at more tha
1000. More than $50 bodies have bee
y recovered from the ruins and there
u no probability that the entire numb'
viii fan far short OF ZOO.
u ST.. LOUIS, June GA dispatch fro
FL Paso, Texas, says information b;
been received there from the fioode
district in Mexico that fifteen hundrl
lives were lost by the inundatiOn, ar
q that one thousand bodies have been I
<. covered. Leon is city of 10000 i
habitants and large part of the ci
is in ruins. The Mexican collector
10 customs at Paso del Norte received
official dispatch stating that one hu
dred miles of the Mexican Cent?
railroad is impossible and that It ~
+. be ten days before mails can 6
Il
40 can be moved.