The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-09-02
AT DAWN'S BREAKING
RAGING WATERS DROWN STREETS
OF CLEVELAND.
CITIZENS TERROR HAUNTED.
CLING FRANTICALLY TO HOMES
THAT WATERS THREATEN.

Principal Residence Section Swept
by Surging Sea-That No Lives
Were Lost One of the Miracles OF
the Day-Henvy Rains, That Be
came CIOudbursts, Caused the
FIOOd-RowbOnts Rescued strand
ed Citizens From What Had Be-
come Their Island HOmes-Life
saving Crew Worked Va1iantiy.
Cleveland, o., Sept. with the
breaking of dawn this morning the
citizens of Cleveland awoke to look
upon a scene of unparalleled devasta-
ton and destruction, caused by rag
ing flood. While the entire city was
more or less affected, the great vol
ume of raging water vented it's anger
over miles of the eastern portion of
the city, and caused an amount of
damage approximated at $1,000,000.
The appalling overflow was caused
by a terrific rain that commenced to
fall shortly after o'clock. 1t turned
into a perfect cloudburst between the
hours of and 5, and then continued
with great force until nearly 10 O'Clock.
The storm, according to the weather
afficials, was the heaviest that ever
swept over Cleveland since the estab-
lishment of the government bureau in
this city, over forty years ago.
That no lives were lost is nothing
short of a miracle, as stories of thrill
ing escapes from the water on several
of the principal residence streets of
the city are told.
Surging Waters Spread Wide.
The surging waters spread over an
area in the east end nearly eight miles
long and a mile and half wide. This
extended from Woodland Hills avenue
TO East Cleveland and back to East
Madison avenue.
Great volumes of water poured over
from Giddings and Doan brooks, down
Quincy street, swamped Vienna street,
rushed over Cedar avenue back over
on East Prospect street rushed like a
mill race down Lincoln avenue to Eu-
cid avenue and then on to Glen Park
place, where houses were undermined
as though built of straw and almost
incredible damage was done to streets
and property.
Over a large share of this exclusive
residence territory the water rushed
with terrific force, varying in depth
from one to six feet. Culverts, treStles
and bridges We're torn down and for
hours nothing seemed capable of stem
ming the tide of rain.
Hundreds of residents, who We're i'm
prisoned in their beautiful homes like
stranded islanders, were almost panic
stricken, expecting to be called upon to |
wade out into the Swirling waters at |
almost every minute.
Danger signals were flashed about |
the city as speedily as the disabled |
telephone system would allow, and the |
orb of fsfNf 1ad POW
boats went back and forth assisting |
whole families from perilous positions, |
but these proved pitifully inadequate, |
and it was soon necessary to go to the |
extraordinary precaution of calling on |
the life saving crew from the river, a |
distance of seven miles.
LifebOats on the Scene.
The lifeboats were quickly loaded on |
wagons and hurried to the scene of de- |
struction. The torrent surged with |
awful force for hours. In Deering |
street, from Fairmount to the boule- |
ward, over a dozen families were |
penned in like rats in a trap, with wa
ter five and six feet deep surrounding |
their homes. At this point the life |
saving crew worked valiantly. and ass |
sisted by squads of firemen and police |
men, finally succeeded in landing the |
terror-stricken people in places of safe |
~. The fear was greatly enhanced by |
the momentary expectation that the |
great Shaker Heights dam would |
break and send forth terrible destruc- |
ton.
Parks Much Damaged.
Gordon and Wade Parks, on the East |
Side, and Brookside Park, on the South |
Side. where the water also did great |
damage, as it leaped over the banks of |
Big creek, are damaged to an amount |
Inquired at 100000
Through Glenville the overflow was |
terribly destructive. Many houses are |
swamped. culverts torn out and sew
eral streets turned into seething quag-
mires. The loss in the village IS also |
estimated at 100000.
The street railways will suffer an |
immense loss. extending in varying de-
grees over every portion of the city. |
The Big Consolidated will have to re- |
build its tracks over different parts of |
the inundated east end districts, and |
the loss is placed at $50, 900.
The Superior street trestle of the Lit |
tie Consolidated is practically ruined |
and this. with other serious damage to |
the lines of the company, extending |
away over on the west side, will run its |
loSs high into the thousands. The Of |
nclals of the road were not ready, |
however, to make any statement of |
their loss tonight. more than that It |
would be unusually heavy.
The train service on all the roads was |
blocked from two to six hours.
Thirty-nine Are Drowned.
Ehart street. a short thoroughfare |
between Bolton avenue and Oakdale |
street. was practically washed off the |
map of Cleveland. The large sewer in |
the street caved in, taking with it the |
entire street and the sidewalks. A |
number of railroad washouts at near |
ny places are reported.
Deering street, which runs parallel |
10 Euclid avenue, was scene of inde- |
scrlbable excitement. The lower end of |
the street was completely flooded. The |
S"lrllng waters which came down |
rom the nights in the rear and the |
boulevard tore in torrents around the |
ITame buildings. The upper windows
oI the houses were filled with frighten- |
60 men and women who were in a state |
approaching a panic
To- DAYS rainfall amounted to 4;2S |
iinches, the greatest in the history of |
fI1o,- CO,