The record-union., 1894-05-22
FLOODS Tn PENNSYLVANIA.
Repetition of the Awful Scenes Of
Five Years Ago.
GREAT AMOUNT OF DAMAGE DONE
AT JoHNSTOWN.
The Entire City of Williamsport Under
Water-Residents Forced to Move to
Second and Even Third Stories to
Escape Being Drowned-The Stock
Yards at Philadelphia Flooded to
the Depth of Four Feet = High
Water in New York.
sneciaI to the RECoRp-UNIoN.

Water in New York.
| Snecial to the RECoRD-UNIoN.
! JoHNsTowN (Pa.), May 21.-Johns-
! town is experiencing the most disastrous
flood since the big flood of May 81, 1889.
The damage will amount to at least $780,,
600. The Pennsylvania Railroad is the
heaviest loser. 1t has been raining for
three days, and the last cloudburst oc-
Cured near Ellensburg, swelling the Con-
emaugh many times its natural size.
The flood reached this vicinity about 3
A. NJ. to-day. AT South Fork numerous
small buildings were swept away. Fur
/ ther on, the water undermined the track
of the Pennsylvania Road used by the
Eastbouhd trains for almost two miles.
At East Conemaugh the water beat furi-
ously against the Pennsylvania Railroad
roundhouse and undermined the founda-
ton. The engines were removed to
place Of safety, and several bridges below
/ Conemaugh were badly damaged.
In this city the Oklahoma House,
! owned by Peter Seymour, was swept
away. The three-story building of Philip
Brown was torn from its foundation and
the iron bridge badly wrecked. Fully
! SO, 900 damage was done property within
the yards OF The Pennsylvania passenger
station.
Between the freight station and the
river was an artificial embankment
which gave way. carrying down into the
river about 200 feet of track and five
loaded cars. In one car were five tramps,
said TO have been members of Galvin's
army. Two were drowned.
Parties went from hOuSa To hOpSa
awakening the occupants. Whistles blew
and the people fled to the high ground.
! In Wocdhali the streets were covered by
water for six feet and some small houses
We're swept away. Swanll's Pottery
| Works caught fire and it was impossible
for the fire company TO reach The build
ing.
Three buildings were carried away in
| the central part of the city. Many others
are badly damaged.
RAILROAD TRACKS SUBMERGED.
PITTsBURG, May 2I.-The floods have
stopped traffic completely on the Penn
] sylvania Railroad east of Greensburg,
twenty EIGHT miles from Pittsburg. The
tracks are submerged in four feet of water
/ from Conemaugh to Bennington, eigh-
teen miles. and 1000 feet of track, to-
! gether with the COnemaugh bridge, have
! been washed away. Pending repairs the
! Pennsylvania trains go over the Balti-
more and Ohio roads. The business
portion OF Johnstown is under water.
There will be Sl0O,000 damage. Two
| lives were lost. Three days rain has de-
scended.
| There was great alarm last night when
| it was reported the reservoir at hittengen
| Point had broken. The report proved
exaggerated. -Four large holes were dug
out of the dam by waves probably caused
! by cloudburst.
Dispatches from many points along the
Allegheny River report great damage
AT Etna and Sharpsburg the streets are
submerged and thousands of dollars
worth of garden truck ruined.
Adrian Wiehel, aged 30, when trying
to rescue team near Etna, was drow ned. !
| 4 boy was drowned while he was CATCH
! ing driftwood.
wILLIAMsPoRT FLOODED.
WILLIAMsPoRT (Pa.). May 21.-The
river continued to rise during the night
and nearly the entire business portion of
the city is under water. There has been
no telegraphic communication with Lock
| Haven since O'Clock yesterday, when
the telegraph operator was driven from
| the office by the flood.
The water reached thirtv-one feet above
low water mark, one foot higher than the
! disastrous flood of 1889. The entire CITY
is under water from four TO twenty-five
feet. The rain is falling in torrents and
the water is still rising six inches an
hour. All logs at the boom, which
| broke at l O'Clock this morning, have
! been swept away, as well as many saw
mills and houses in the lower part of the
city. Not telegraph or telephone wire
is working out of the city, with the single
exception OF Il shaky long-distance teIe-
phone wire, which was placed at the dis
posal of the Associated Press correspond
ent.
While talking to Philadelphia he was
driven out of the office by the rapid rise
of the water. The loss has already
reached more than Sl,000,00 and unless
relief soon comes it will be three times as
/ much. No trains have arrived or de-
! parted III twenty-four hours.
AS night approached and darkness set
tied down the terrors of the flood in
creased. The torrent rushing down the
! hillsides and growing with each passing
minute assumed new terrors. and the
stricken people looked forward with
dread to the ordeal through which they
must pass before morning. Cut Oft from
the rest of the world with no railroad
communication, and with DO avenue of
telegraphic communication save the
quivering wire over which this dispatch
! is speeding, surrounded OH every hand
! by the slowly rising destroyer, which has
already swept away million dollars
worth of property, and may sweep mil
/ lion more, the condition of Williamsport
is indeed pitiable. With thirty-three feet
! more water in its channel than is its nor
NAL hight, the north branch of the Sus-
ouehanna threatens to engulf the town.
| Every foot of ground in the city is under
! four feet of water, and most OF it is fif-
| teen feet below the surface of the stream.
Many families are homeless. Hundreds
more expect 10 be driven from their
| houses, in the second stories, where they
/ have found refuge, before day, and unless
| the flood ceases there is no power on
earth that can avert a greater disaster
! than has already come upon this helpless
I city.
The loss probably can never be prop
/ erly approximate until the waters re-
cede. The gas and electric-light plants
are under water, and the city is without
! lights. Everyone is desperate, terror
stricken and discouraged. Just after
midnight the big log boom gave way
with crash and went rolling and tum-
bling down the stream. AS it passed the
| four bridges below the city the logs
crashed and banged against the piers
/ with a roar that could be heard for
miles. The Market-street bridge was
carried away, and three or four spans of
/ the magnificent structure succuD bed.
| AS the day grew along and when the
| light was dim dozens OF boats and hum
dreds OF wagons were brought into requi-
sition and merchants began to move their
I goods to places of safety. It was seen
! that every store was IN danger, and ef-
| forts were made to save all possible.
/ Household goods were removed to second
and sometimes 10 third stories OF resi-
dences. and hasty preparations were
made for prolong stay, and at this writ
ing the entire population OF Willlamsport