Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-07-31
LAST NIGHTS STORMS.
Great Floods In New Jersey and New
York States.


PROPERTY DESTROYED TO TIE EXTENT OF MANY
THOUSANDS or DoLLARs-wAsHoUrs PRKvKNr
ALL TRAFFIC IN soxE PLAcEs-soxK LIVES
REPoRrxD 10 HAvE BEEN LOST.
NEW YoRK, July s1.-LAte reports state that
Bloomfield, N. j., especially its business center,
b wreck from the great floods. Stores and
residences are flooded and thousands of dol
lars worth Of property has been destroyed.
One or two lives are reported lost. The brick
row OF buildings on the main avenue is badly
inundated and may cave in at any time. The
greatest excitement prevails and sufferers are
being cared for by the people. Many are i'm
prisoned in their homes along the river, unable
to get out on account Of the food caused by
the break Of the dam.
At Elizabeth the store houses and tenements
along the Elizabeth river were flooded, and
the occupants of the houses mostly negroes,
were badly frightened. The water was feet
deep in the Easements Of houses on Crane and
Harrison streets and the people sought refuge
in the upper stories. The flood was still rising
late at night and fears were entertained for the
safety of the Morris avenue and West Grand-st
bridges. On Florida, Delaware, Caspian, and
Geneva streets the water formed q lake, i'm
prisoning people in their dwellings. Nearly
feet of water covered the railroad tracks,
causing
AN ALMOST TOTAL SUSPENSION OF TRAFFIC.
All the Orange On. j. streets were flooded and
many houses were damaged or destroyed. The
total rainfall was between So and 4 inches AL
the low-lying parts of the city were flooded
from two to four feet deep. South of Main
street and between Lincoln avenue and Center
street Parrov brook oyerfiowed its banks and
converted that whole section Of the city into
a muddy lake.. Houses we're flooded and occu-
IL A. L.
second stories. In the low section west of
North Park street the flood was nearly five
feet deep and many houses were badly wrecked.
In East Orange the third ward, south of the
railroad, where there are many elegant resi-
dences, was an open sea. fences, roads and all
other landmarks having disappeared.
South Orange and the adjacent villages along
the line Of the Delaware and Lackawanna road
were all under water. Torrents poured down
the sides of the mountain and filed the valley
at an alarmingly rapid rate. The little brook
that flows from Maple Wood down the valley
was roaring river, carrying with it barns and
outhouses and doing serious damage to the
foundations Of big residences. That part of
Newark known as the Meek, situated near the
Meadows, was under water. In the upper part
of the city many sewers overfowed, inundating
the streets. 1t is roughly estimated that
SlOO 900 will not cover all the damage done by
the rain storm in Newark and Essex county.
IN NEW YORK STATE.
Word comes from Poughkeepsie that Ellis
Corners, Ulster county. four miles west of
highlands, has been destroyed by tornado.
Great damage was done to vineyards and
orchards. Matthew Harcourt's l0-acre vine-
yard and a large apple orchard were entirely
swept away. John Nelson's frame house and
his barn-about a mile from Harcourts vine-
yard-were demolished. Mr.. Nelson and wife
were terribly bruised and cut. The tornado
then struck two barns belonging to Mrs. Gowan
and completely destroyed both of them, tore
of the roof of Mrs. Gowan's house, and crushed
in the roof of another house q short distance
away. There were no other buildings to de-
stroy north of Mrs. Gowan's, but as far as the
eye could see il had dcut q swath two or three
hundred feet wide, and in all probability spent
its force on the mountains and hills beyond
Said an eyewitness: '.It looked to me as
though the clouds were bowling along the
ground and / never heard such q frightful.
roaring noise. The downfall of rain was
something like deluge. The water seemed to
come down in sheets and for time nearly in
undated everything"
Reports from Kingston, N. Y. state that
river grape growers report that the vast grape
crop is almost ruined.
Considerable damage was done in number
of towns in New England but no lives are re-
ported lost. Boston escaped with only a
shower. Land ..slides and washouts occurred
"
The New York Central, New York, New Haven
and Hartford, and Erie roads were also blocked
by the floods.
Great Damage to the Crops.
ST.. LOUIS, July 31.-A very violent storm
passed over New Madrid, No., and vicinity
Monday evening, doing great damage to the
cotton and corn crops. Two little steamboats,,
the Arkansas City and Carl Schurz, lying at
New Madrid, were totally DESTROYED Loss
$4,000. Ware houses at Tiptonville and
Lucille landing were blown down.
The Belleville Dam Gives Way.
NEWARK, n. j., July 91.-The dam at Belle
vile, N. j., gave way this morning and the
Erie railroad tracks have been washed away.
The second river at Belleville has overfowed
its banks and the streets are all sinking. The
cellars and easements of residences there are
flooded and the people have taken to the roofs.
There is danger of the Fillbrook dam at Fill
burn breaking and the residents in the vicinity
of the dam have moved their effects to the
high ground The damage in Essex county
will reach 5000 600