The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1889-07-31
| new JERSEY DHLUGHD.
Wreck in the Valleys of
the Northern Part of
the State.
LITTLE DAMAGE IN HUDSON.
But Travel Is Suspended and Towns
Are Partly Washed Away Else
where.

The rains of the past three or four days
have raised saddest havoc in some Sec
tions of the State. The downpour gave
rise to story last night that the Belle
vile reservoir had burst, and was rolling
wave of mountain high water down
upon the sleeping valleys that sur
round it. 1t was not true, and the dam
age in this county is not considerable
But other counties of the State have
suffered severely. The mountain streams
that surround Plainfield burst their
bounds and flooded part of that beautiful
city, carrying away dams and out build
ings as they swept by. At Elizabeth, the
rise of the Elizabeth river drove people
into the tops of their houses, and boats
were needed to rescue them from death.
Floods poured through Lewellyn Park,
and submerged the factories. The Della
ware, Laekawana and Western Road was
washed out, and travel was suspended for
time beyond South Orange.
One of the compositors in The JERSEY
CITY NEWS establishment lives at Pater-
son. While on his way home over the
Newark branch of the Erie last night, his
train found big wash out beyond Belle
vile, and one of the bridges washed
| away. Watchers were sent to the scene
of the break, and it was patched up this
morning so that travel could be resumed.
PLEASURE TRIP SPOILED.
John w. Omberson, the assistant
cashier of the First National Bank of
| this city, was one of the victims of the
| storm. He had arranged to take his
family to little breathing spell.
His mother is advanced in years, and
not in such health as to stand the strain
| of train travel, and he had planned to
drive her out from his home In Newark
| to his new stopping place.
| 81 started" he said this morning. ST
had not gone far when the rain began to
come down in torrents, and the thunder
the lightning play with such incessant
brilliancy. And dark except for these
flashes. Well, when I sat on my
porch last evening at eight O'Clock
/ remarked to my folks that 1t was not SO
| dark then as it had been at four o'clock
in the afternoon. Well, to resume my
| travel. Just beyond Clinton Hill we
| struck stream the rains had made in the
| street. The horse plunged up to ,his belley
| in it, and / drove bravely on till not far
beyond, we struck torrent. It was GER
tain death to undertake to cross 1t, and
| turned around and came home again. If
| we had ever been overtaken by the foods
in the valleys about Milburn-well, I
| don't know what would have happened.
IN NORTH HUDSON.
! The storm did considerable damage to
the streets and sewage of North Hudson.
| At West Hoboken, especially where
4 the sewers and street grading are
! incomplete, the rain washed In the banks
| and in many places interfered with
| travel In North Bergen and in the
northern part of Union Hill the streets
were also flooded.
/ BELLEvILLE DAM GIVES WAY.
\ A despatch from Newark says that the
4 dam at Belleville gave way this morning
and the Erie Railroad tracks have been
| washed away. The Second River at Belle
| vile has overflowed its banks and the
lstreets are all sinking.
| The cellars and Easements of the resi-
Ii dences there are flooded and the people
Il have taken to the roofs. There is danger
/ of the Fillburn dam breaking and the
residents in the vicinity of the dam have
\ moved their effects to the high ground.
bThe damage in Essex county will reach
$200, 900.
Reporters of THE JERSEY CITY NEWS
visited all the railroad depots today. At
the Pennsylvania and Erie trains were
running on schedule time. A washout
on the Greenwood Lake will make travel
beyond East Orange impossible for day
or two.
The Long Dock is partly submerged.
and the Hoboken meadows are as usual a
| perfect lake.