The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1898-03-24
THB DAMAGE BY FLOOD
Rising Waters Cause Serious Loss
In Several States.
INDIANAPOLIS FULLY MILLION

At Pittsburg There Is Every Indica-
| tion That the Loss VIII Exceed That
Inflicted by the Freshet of 1891
Other Pennsylvania Points suffer.
Cincinnati, March ga flood is fill
ing the banks Of the Ohio river, a pc
culiar feature of which Is that from
| Wheeling to Cairo no tributary on the
left bank of the river makes the slight
est contribution to the great freshet.
Had the inpour of waters from streams
on the left bank been equal to that of
those on the right the flood would have
equaled that Of 1884. perhaps surpassed
1t. The stage of water at Pittsburg
is phenomenal. There has been a steady
rain here since last Saturday, during
which time 246 inches have fallen at
this point, Of which four-fifths of an
Inch fell within So hours. News from
central points In Indiana and from
Springfield, Troy, Urbana and Zanes-
vile, o., indicate fall of from 3k to
4E inches at these places, with one
half this precipitation within So hours.
Nearly all railroads in central and
southern Ohio are either crippled or
totally disabled for the present. This
is because of washouts, dangerous and
destroyed bridges and the like. All
over Ohio and Indiana, except, perhaps
in the extreme northern parts, railroad
traffic is demoralized.
At Cincinnati. with the mercury at
40, a drizzling rain falling and the
clouds threatening, the stage of the
river at o'clock last night was Al
feet inches, a rise of Q inches in three
hours. Without further rain 1t will
probably reach IS feet.
A Steubenville, o.. dispatch says.
The Ohio river has reached a higher
stage here than at any time since
1854. The mark shows 40 feet and five
more feet is expected. Many families
have abandoned their homes. The
Cleveland and Pittsburg railroad has
abandoned it's depot here, and traffic |
Is entirely suspended the tracks being |
under two feet of water for miles. Bad |
washouts have occurred on all rail- |
.roads- Three manufacturing plants
here have been shut down on account
of high water.
At Newark, O., H. c. Ross lost his
life when the East Main street ridge
was swept away by the flood yesterday.
Later the Pan Handle bridge went
down, and three other bridges are in
a dangerous condition. Many people
are leaving their homes. The water
Is the highest ever known. Many
country bridges have been washed
away.
At Delaware, O., torrents of water
are pouring through the business
streets. Four squares of business
houses are under water and stock Is
either damaged or completely ruined.
The rushing waters removed buildings
from their foundations, while scores
of wagon and foot bridges have been
carried away. The village of Waldo,
north Of Delaware, is reported washed
out of existence, but the report cannot
be confirmed, as all communication
with Waldo is cut off.
At Columbus, O., the system of le-
wees which protected the west side of
the city are submerged, and are known
to be badly broken in many places.
There are 1900 or 1000 people on the
upper floors of dwellings situated in an
artificial lake.
At indianapolis the heaviest rainfall
Of the year occurred on Tuesday
In downpour in the even
ng which brought the total precipita-
lion for the day up to 236 inches.
Reports from all over Indiana tell of
destruction by floods, and many towns
are temporarily cut off. The states
oss will aggregate 100000.