Waterbury evening Democrat., 1894-05-21
MANY RAGING FLOODS.
Streams In Pennsylvania Burst
Banks and Do Damage.
wILLIAMsPoRT IN GREAT DANGER
Swollen Rivers Drive Many People From
Their Low Lying Homes-A Big Boom OF
Down the Susouehanna

Their Low Lying Homes-A Big Boom o,
Logs Breaks Loose and Goes Tearing
Down the susquehanna.
WILLIAMsPoRT, Pa, May 21.-With the
horrors of the disastrous flood of 1889
which spread death and destruction
throughout this valley, brought back tc
memory by the threatened danger of a
sweep of water that promises to be as grea,
as that of five years ago, the people of this
city and all through the west branch val
ley are almost in a state of panic. Since
Friday night a steady and almost continu.
Gus downpour of rain has been swelling
all of the streams, and late Saturday night
numerous cloudbursts along Pine creek
and other tributaries of the west branch OF
the Susquehanna made it impossible to
confine the water within the banks of the
streams. 1t has therefore spread out oven
the county and at every point is pouring
into the main river.
Throughout Sunday the rain fell here
and continued to fall last night. Advices
from all points up the river say the same
conditions exist A cloudburst at Keat-
ing, 90 miles above Remove, early Sunday
morning raised the river there 20 feet, and
the river at Remove is reported higher than
during the flood of 1889, when half the
town was under water.
Above there and extending to the head
waters at Clearfield every town and ham.
let has been reduced by water to the con.
ditions that prevailed in 1889. Along the
Philadelphia and Erie railroad between
this point and Emporium traffic has been
practically suspended since Saturday
night. Trains are running between Will
Transport and Lock Haven, but above the
latter point landslides and track washouts
have practically swept the tracks away,
and the loss will be very heavy.
Poor People Driven Out First.
The Susquehanna here flows to the south
of the city, and while it has not yet reach
ed the point of danger it is crawling up at
the rate of foot an hour. Graffus run, a
tributary which empties into the river be-
low the city, flows north of Williamsport.
1t overhowed its banks and spread over a
considerable portion of the city at noon on
Sunday, flooding many houses and driving
the occupants from their homes All of
the houses were occupied by poor people,
and the rise was so sudden that the suffer
ers lost much of their personal property.
The full strength of the flood is expected
here at about midnight, when the great
body of water from up the river is due.
The fact that the water will rush down
upon the city in the dark hours of the
night adds an additional element of horror
to the situation.
The rush of water that swept so much
away in 1889 c; at daylight, and the
work of rescuing the people could be bet
ter prosecuted than after dark. In antici-
patton, however, of what is expected the
fire and church bells of the city were rung
to notify the people of the impending dan.
ger, and since that hour the work of pre-
pairing for the worst has been in progress.
In the hundreds of homes that were sub.
merged five years ago the people are NOV
ing out and storing their goods in the
houses of those living on the highlands.
The business part of the city was com
plete wreck five years ago, and hundreds
of merchants are moving their goods to
places of safety. Conveyances of every
description are hurrying through the
streets of the city loaded with household
goods and merchandise, and the scenes
beggar description.
The regular church services We're all sus-
pended Sunday, and i'll all of the houses of
worship those who attended confined their
devotion to the offering of prayers for the
assistance of Providence in the present
grave emergency.