Pullman herald. [volume] (Pullman, W.T. [Wash.]) 1888-1989, 1901-09-07
FLOODS At CLEVELAND, OHIO
NUMBER LIVES WERE LOST
Property Worth Millions of Dollars Des
troyed by Water Dams Broke and
Houses Wrecked Trains Delayed on
All Roads street Cars stopped Gem.
etary Gave mp the Dead.

Cleveland, Ohio, Sept. "A rainstorm
has wrought havoc all over the city
Houses were wrecked flooded and keeed
over Many lives were in peril and only
heroic work prevented great loss of life
The fall of rain was the heaviest in the
city's history. Trains We're delayed by
washouts and street car traffic on many
lines is at a standstill. The river is a
raging torrent The property loss is esti
mated at over 81 100000
With the breaking of dawn the eiti-
zens of Cleveland awoke to look upon a
scene of devastation and destruction
caused by a raging flood. While the en-
tire city was more or less affected, the
great volume of raging water vented its
anger ON miles of the eastern portion
of the city and caused an amount of dam
age estimated at over 81 100000.
The overflow was caused by a heavy
rain that commenced to fall shortly after
2 O'clock, turning into a perfect cloud.
burst between the hours of and and
then continued with great force until
nearly 10 o'clock. The storm, according
to the weather officials, was the heaviest
that has swept over Cleveland since the
establishment OF the government bureau
in this city over 40 years ago. There was
no loss of life. The waters spread over
an area in the eastern part of the city
nearly eight miles long and a mile ana
half wide. This extended from Wood
land Hill avenue to East Cleveland and
back to East Madison avenue.
Great volumes of water poured over
from Doane and Giddings brooks down
Quincy street, swamped Vienna street,
rushed like millrace down Lincoln
avenue to Euclid avenue and then ON to
Glen Park place, where houses were UNI
dermined as though built of straw, and
large damage done to streets and prop
erty.
Over large share of this exclusive res
idence territory the water rushed with
terrific force, varying in depth from one
to three feet. Trestles and bridges were
torn down and for hours nothing seemed !
capable of stemmipr the tide :,
-. -e1len beautiful homes ike STRANDED Isl
anders and were almost panic stricken,
expecting to be called upon to wade INTO
the swirling waters almost any minute,
Danger signals were flashed about the city
as speedily as the disabled telephone sys-
tenn would allow and the work Of rescue
commenced. Rowboats proceeded back
and forth rescuing whole families from
perious positions, but these proved IN
adequate and it was soon found neces-
sary to go to the extraordinary precaution
of calling on the life saving crew from
the river, a distance of seven miles.
The life boats were quickly loaded on
wagons and hurried to the scene of de-
struction.
The torrent surged with great force for
hours in Deering street, from Paramount
to Boulevard, and over dozen families
were penned in with water five and SIX
feet deep surrounding their homes. At this
point the life saving crew worked valiant
ly, and, assisted by squads OF firemen
and policemen, finally succeeded in land
ing the terror stricken people in places
of safety. The fear was greatly enhanced
by the momentary expectation that the
great Shaker Heights dam would break
loose.
Shortly before noon the torrent under
mined a score of graves in the st, Joseph
cemetery at the corner of East Madison
and Woodland and the bodies were soon
being tossed about in the waters. Fully
a dozen of the corpses were washed into
cutters and had not been recovered late
tonight. The flood went over the banks
of the Doane brook along the boulevard
and caused damage that it will take
months to repair. Great jagged holes are
torn in the beautiful driveway.
Gordon and Wade parks on the East
Side and Brookside park on the South
Side, where the water also did great dam
age as it leaped over the banks of Big
creek, sustained 100000 damage.
Through Chenille the overflow was very
destructive Many houses are swamped,
culverts torn out and several streets
turned into quagmires. The loss here Is
also estimated at 100000. The street rail-
ways will suffer heavy loss, extending in
varying directions over every portion OF
the city The big consolidated will have to
rebuild the tracks over different parts OF
the inundated districts and the loss is
placed at $4,000.
The Superior street trestle Of the little
consolidated is practically ruined, and
this, with other serious damages on the
lines of the company extending over on
the West Side, will run their loss away
up into the thousands
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