The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1893-03-11
A PENNSYL VANIA DELUGE
The Rising susquehanna River
Causing Great Damage.
IMPRISONED IN THEIR HOMES.

Families Mt Plainsviile Forced to the
Upper Stories to Escape the Rising
waters--A Railroad Under Four Feet
of Water for Four Miles.
WILKEsBARRE, Pa, March II. At 5
o'clock yesterday afternoon the immense
Ice gorge in the Susquehanna river was
broken and the ice started out with u tre-
mendous crash. Another gorge took place
later on between here and Plymouth,
three miles below this city, but cut loose
at S:45 p. IN. At 10 O'Clock last night the
huge cakes of ice were again floating
down the stream, and there are now
signs OF the water falling. The elegant
mansions In this city on River street are
in imminent danger of being flooded. The
town of Plansville, four miles north of
this city, is under water and families are
imprisoned in the top stories of their
homes. If the water rises much more the
houses will be carried away.
The Lehigh Valley, Delaware, Lacka-
wanna and Western and Pennsylvania
railroad trains are all stalled and traffic
is entirely suspended from the west and
other points along their lines. The village
of Port Bowkley, between here and Pitts
ton, is under thirty indhes of water, and
in many places the railroad tracks are COW
cred with masses of ice
Houses Surrounded by Water.
In all the small towns along the line of
the river the houses are all surrounded by
water, The trans on the Erie and Wyo-
ming railroad bound for here could get
no further than Port Blanchard. Super
intendent Esser, of the Lehigh Valley rail-
road, took the passengers aboard his pri-
vate car in order to transfer them to the
Delaware and Hudson railroad at Avoca,
a place of safety. AT Pittston the water is
twenty-three feet above low.water mark,
and the excitement is great on the west
side, where small boats are in use transfer
ring people to their homes.
AT Coxton the Lehigh Valley railroad
yards present a sorry spectacle. The thir-.
teen shifting tracks are under several feet
of water. A frame building used by the
railroaders is floating about, and the tele-
graph station was abandoned last night,
the water having reached the caves. All
the loaded cars were removed, but there
We're lot of empties remaining. rat ears
are invisible except as to their loads, and
freight cars contain from three to five feet
OF water The Bloomsbury division of
the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western
railroad is under four feet of water from
oitJ iOtt " w AOIiiliS, ulSlailGt OF IOHf
miles. At Tunkhannock, twenty seven
miles north from here the river is clear Of
ice, but the water is rising rapidly. At
Towanda, sixty miles north from here,
there is still considerable ice in the river,
At Other Piares.
PITTsToN, Pa, March 1.-THE water in
the Slsquehanna is thirty-one feet above
low water mark, the highest since the
great flood of 1875, and is still rising The
ice gorge is unbroken from here twenty
miles north. Another huge field of ice is
moving down from the York state line,
and it is feared the bridges will be swept
away and other serious damage done when
the flood reaches Its height and the ice
moves out. Railroad communication to
Wilkesbarre by the Lehigh Valley and
Delaware Lackawanna and Western roads
is cut Off
LOCK HAVEN, Pa, March i0.-The heavy
rains and melted snow have caused food
III the river here sufficient to break ND the
Ice that has formed since the February
fpod. The ice moved off quickly here. but
stopped at the Linden gorge, causing back
water to reach here. All lowlands for sew
eral miles east of here are inundated, but
no damage is feared in this atty, as the
water has ceased rising.
ELMIRA, N. y, March +i.-All streams
in Chcmung and Schuyler counties are
bank full, and in several places have
overflowed Havana and Watkins are
both partly inundated.