The San Francisco call., 1897-03-06
CLOUDBURSTS AND
HEAVY TORNADOES
Great Havoc Caused by the
Storms in Eastern
States.
Residents of Suburbs Along the
Rivers Flee for Their
Lives.
Much Properly Destroyed and Rail-
road Tracks Washed Out on
Several Lines


steadily for thirty-si1 hours suddenly be-
came of eloud-b burst proportions and all
the low-lying parts of the city were soon
under water. The River Dec Peres, which
drains the city's western suburbs, over
flowed its banks, and the villages of Chel-
tenham, Clifton, Howard, Benton, Ellen
dale and Edgewood were water bound.
The track of the st. Louis and San
Francisco Railroad was covered. The
River Dec Peres, ordinarily eighteen
inches deep. was twelve feet deep and a
mile wide. But one railroad track, the
Missouri Pacific, was above water. a
.footbridge at the Subletto avenue Cross
ing was carried away and two men were
drowned. People living in the flooded
district took refuge in the tops of their
houses. The police and volunteers brought
boats and took them to high ground This
work went on until day light, when the
water receded rapidly. The loss will be
enormous.
The Iron Mountain tracks along the
river were washed out at three points,
though traffic is continued over the Hi
nois Central to Cairo. Every incoming
train was late from two to four hours
On the other side of the Mississippi
River the food did some damage, princi-
pally to railroads. The Vandalia and
Baltimore and Ohio are the most serious
sufferers. Canteen Greek, near the bluffs,
grew to the proportions of a lake near
CoIlinsville and Caseyville. Serious wash
outs at these points caused the abandon
ment of all trains on the Vandalia and
Baltimore and Ohio. There are two breaks
on the Vandalia road near Collinsv!le e
two hundred yards wide, and the water is
running under the track in torrents. The
loss to farmers in the American Bottoms
and south to the Chester Bluffs will be
very heavy.
CINCINNATI, OHIO, March 5.-The
Ohio River is rising rapidly. There has
been a steady downpour of rain for fifteen
hours. Great damage is reported. Many
persons were compelled to fee for their
lives.
The steam railroads and the electric
line to College Hill were closed on account
of the submerged tracks. The town of
Lockland, Ohio, is inundated, and at
CummingsvilIe, in the northern part of
this city, the raging torrent t is doing more
damage than the recent high water.
Houses kasa been moved from their
foundations. All small streams are
swollen. The Miami and Licking rivers
Will certainly Iise to swell the Ohio
River, which is now rising at the rate of
seven inches an hour.
The Weather Bureau states that the
rain is general from the Missouri Valley
to the Allegheny Range, being heaviest in
Illinois, Indiana and Western Ohio. The
river at this point is expected to reach the
danger Iine-forty-tive feet-by the rising
OF its northern tributaries The rain is
likely to continue all night. The sur
rounding country has been greatly dam
aged by the overflow OF small streams.
A landslide at Trautmans station car
ried away part of the Big Four Railroad
track and covered other parts, preventing
any trains on that road reaching this
city. Andersons Ferry is submerged from
surface foods, all the river-front houses
are in danger, and north of the city the
food is the worst ever experienced there.
COLUMBUS, OHIO, March 5.-Rain has
been falling steadily and heavily since
last night. The water is threatening the
street railways. Reports from the country
say that great damage has been done by
the floods. All railroad trains were de-
layed by washouts. The Ohio River is
rising and another food is expected.
LOUISVILLE, KY, March 5.-Five
railroads were cut off from Louisville to-
day by the heavy rains in Indiana. Every
line north OF the Ohio River has trains
scattered all over Indiana between Louis
vile, Chicago, ST. Louis and Cincinnati
The Louisville. New Albany and Chicago
and the Baltimore and Ohio Southwestern
had no trains in or out. The Big Four
T.90
rived at / P NJ. The Pennsylvania only
succeeded in getting in one train, and The
St. Louis Air Lines service was badly de-
moralized.
A tornado did considerable damage in
Central Kentucky this morning. Western
Kentucky was also in the storms path.
In Christian County negro was killed by
the blowing down of a barn and two others
probably fatally injured. Near East
Christian Robert Hail, farmer, was
fatally injured by piece of flying timber.
INDIANAPOLIS, IND, March 5.-Not
since 1875 have the railroads experienced
so much trouble from high waters as to-
day. There was not train in from Gin
cinnau to-day. The Indianapolis and Vim
cennes had i've washouts and all through
trains were annulled for the day. The
Vandalia had trouble on the west end and
no trains arrived from st. Louis until late
this evening The Peoria and Eastern was
delayed two hours by a washout at Cler-
mont The Monon has washout south
of Crawfordsvile, and ran its night ex-
press for Louisville via Nashville intend
ing to 20 over the Louisville division of
the Pennsylvania line, but between Co.
lumbus got tied up by 9 washout.
The Big Four's first trouble was at VAL
ley Junction where the dirt from bank
had rolled down ON the track for consid-
erable distance covering the track several
feet deep. To get around this TIE Big
Four sent its trains west over the Cincin-
natl, Hamilton and Dayton, but between
RushviIIe and Morristown washouts
stopped the Monon trains, and all day
trains of both roads were tied up and not
until evening was there any train from
Cincinnati. The Big Four also had diff
Guilty on its Cincinnati and Columbus di-
vision. On the Cairo division several
washouts were reported.
NASHVILLE, Tenn, March 5.-A small
cyclone struck Nashville this afternoon,
doing considerable damage. The centen-
nlal buildings came through unscathed.
Scores of big downtown business houses