The evening herald. [volume] (Shenandoah, Pa.) 1891-1966, 1894-05-21
VERY SEVERE STORM.
Floods Created in All Parts
of the Town.
ALL TIE G0IdIERIES IDLE
Creeks Diverted From Their Courses Flow
Into the Mine Workings and Set the
Operation of Pumps at Dcfanoe-Msn ny
Streets Badly Damaged.

The storm which has had full sway here
for the past three days and nights and
which became so furious yesterday and
threatened to blow roofs off the dwellings
business places and breakers has proved
very disastrous The miners and their
laborers fee; direct loss, as they learned
this morning that every colliery of the
Philadelphia and Reading Coal and Iron
Company in this district had been drowned
out.
The continued heavy fall of rain and
great floods from the mountain sides
caused torrents of water to rush through
the streets of town, causing the cutters to
become blocked with sand, branches of
trees and other debris, creating washouts
in the rOadways, aud changing water
courses in such manner as to flood the
cellars of dwellings and giving them a
s; Orage of water several feet deep. One
Jardin street man was obliged to wade
waist deep through water to reach the
coal bin and when he got there he found
the coal entirely submerged.
The immense volumes of water which
poured into the mines of the Kelley Run
colliery Saturday night filled the mines
rapidly. Heroic efforts were made to keep
the water down with the hope that the
weather would moderate and work could
be resumed this morning, but in spite of
| the fact that four pumps were kept busy
all of last night the colliery was forced to
remain idle to-day. The equipment of
this colliery to guard against floods are
supposed to be among the best in the
region, but it was forced to give way to
the storm this time.
The Shenandoah creek was raging
river to-day and in many places its EN-
| bankments showed the ravages of the
| torrents. In many cases nuts were car.
ried off the embankments and tossed into
| the stream. These formed foundations
| for breast works and with the 8ccumu-
lated rubbish from the upper parts of the
stream the waters were diverted in such
| a manner that they kept three and four
channels flooded and threatened dwell
ings located several hundred feet from
| the embankments with great damage.
At a point opposite the east end of
Cherry street the creek was changed into
two rivers, one of which almost entirely
covered the flats This creek was so badly
swollen southwest of the town that it
flowed bodily into the West Shenandoah
mines and made pumping hopeless task
The factory of the Shenandoah Manu-
featuring Company, on North limerick
street, suffered considerable damage from
floods
The borough authorities will be put to
considerable trouble and expense in put
ting the streets and culverts into condition
after the storm passes away. The tor
rents washed Instructions of all kinds into
the culverts and became so thoroughly
wedged against the sides and tops as to
threaten them with destruction. 1t is
feared many of the culverts are badly
weakened, Many of the streets are in a
very ba condition. especially where they
have been recently dug up and re-flled
| after the laying of sewer and water pipes
| a,F l. Al.
depth of over two feet and will make
night travel dangerous.
The storm had disastrous effect upon
many beautiful trees and garden spots on
East Oak, Jardin and Coal streets suffered
| badly In some places leaves and branches
covered the streets to depth of several
| inches.
Although the gales swept through the
| town with great fury no very serious
damage to buildings has been reported.
| The tin coverings of two or three roofs in
the western part of town were loosened
| and twisted into fantastic shapes.
The storm caused considerable damage
\ to the Shamokin and Mt. Carmel route
| of the Lehigh Valley Railroad. The train
| bound for points east and due here at 9;0S
| this morning did not arrive until 1905.
| There were several washouts along the
| line.
The Philadelphia & Reading Railroad
| Company's main line suffered greatly
from the storm. There were many bad
washouts along the line No trains ar
rived here this morning and consequently
the business people were disappointed by
I not receiving their mails.
The telegraph and telephone wires also
suffered by the storm. The HERALD was
obliged to go to press to-day without its
| usual supply of telegraphic news and
many other papers of the county suffered
| in like manner.
The tracks of the Philadelphia & Read
| ing Railroad in the vicinity of the Shenan-
doah City colliery and for several hundred
yards west were so badly washed out by
| the swollen Shenandoah creek that the
! trains could not get nearer the depot than
| the lime kiln at the south end of Main
! street, The express wagons were obliged
to 90 to that point to make transfers,
Several stores on west side of Main
| street, between Centre and Oak, sustained
/ heavy losses by the rain beating its way
into the show windows and damaging
| goods.