Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1901-12-19
MILLIONS CT DOLLARS DAMAGE
HEAVY RAIN AND MELTING SNOW
CAUSE MANY SWOLLEN
STREAMS.
RAILROAD TRAFFIC IS SUSPENDEB
HAVOC IysTHE COAL REGIONS WILL
COST NIL LIONs OF a."
DOLLARS.

New York, Dec. 1.-THE entire east
ern section of the country is under wa
ter and one of the worst floods in years
prevails. -.
The floods extend from Pennsylvania
and Western New York south into the
Virginia and Maryland, and to the
eastward through Delaware, Maryland,
New Jersey and the lower part of New
England.
Damage to the extent of millions of
dollars has been done, but thus far few
lives have been lost.
Warm weather and rain, followed by
high winds. resulted in fearful damage.
On Saturday the SHOWS in the northern
sections of New York thawed rapidly,
causing the rivers and creeks to rise
and the valleys were inundated. Heavy
rain followed during the night, accom-
panied by winds of great velocity.
Trains were blocked for many hours,
landslides were frequent. and in the
lcwlands and valleys hundreds of
dwellings were flooded. while the dam
age to farm lands and buildings is very
great. r.
In and around New York city the
wind reached a velocity of forty-eight
miles an hour, hut beyond minor Incl
dents no great damage is reported so
igor to property on land or shipping.
Many Towns Inundated.
Many towns IN the interior of the
state are inundated. AT Ithaca the
damage is estimated at $500, 900. The
food was the most disastrous expert
enced since 1857. The nearby creeks
became raging torrents by midnight.
A dwelling house was swept away and
no trace of 1T can be found. The
power and lighting plant was washed
u and W trolley cars swallowed up
in the food. All street car traffic IS
suspended and the city is in darkness.
Syracuse, Waverly, Binghamton,
Oneida, Troy, Auburn, Rome and other
towns report great damage. Traffic of
all kinds is practically suspended.
Considerable damage has been done
throughout Northern New York by the
extremely high wind, which prevailed
for twenty-four hours, reaching the
velocity of a tornado. The warm
weather Saturday sent the snow out of
the Adirondacks like magic and many
houses on lower levels are flooded.
In New Eng Id the floods are not as
great as they are in New York, but
much damage has been done.
Pennsylvania Is Flooded.
Reports from Pittsburg, Allentown.
susquehanna, Easton and other points
In Pennsylvania reL ort one of the most
dpSt r1IHfiUn lnndO fOr .no-I. So
years.
Traction company power houses are
flooded, no trolley cars have been run
at many points since 10 o'clock yester-
day morning, and many towns are in
darkness.
Trestles on a number of roads have
been washed away and railroad traffic
Is suspended.
The storm was accompanied by a
high wind which at many points
wrecked buildings. Many towns report
losses of from $4,000 to 5000, 900.
P~ittsburg's three rivers at 9 o'clock
last night passed the danger line and
are still rising, with reports from the
headwaters of the Monongahela and
Allegheny rivers stating that both
streams were still rising. The weather
bureau reports that the cold wave will
prevent the streams from reaching
thirty feet, but that considerable dam
age will result from the unexpected
rise and inability of shippers and river
men TO tie craft securely before the
crest OF the rise arrived. In the ALLIE
gheny river al 8 o'clock the water indi-
Gator showed Is feet z inches and
Rfyer nf.;,r
In the Monongaheia the reading on the
gauge was rs z inches, while at Davis
Island dam q fee t6 inches and rising
2 inches an hour was reported. At
Brownsville % feet and rising is re-
ported, while at all points up the ALLIE
gheny the stream is rising.
The havoc in the coa regions is enor-
nous and the loss to railroad and min
ing companies will ar1ount to millions
of dollars. In the Schuylkill valley
forty-eight mines were flooded. and in
the Lehigh and Lackawanna regions
the destruction is equally great. Hun
dreds of mules were drowned i'm the
colleries and 1t will be weeks before
many of the mines can resume opera
lions.
In some sections the water reached
the second stories of dwellings, and the
town of Westmore, near Wilkesbarre
Is submerged. Many residents have
left their homes in boats. Similar con-
ditions exist along the Juniata river.
farmers being compelled by the stead
lily rising water to abandon their
homes.
The food vas rendered more disas-
trous by the melting of the snow on the
mountain sides. The storm broke with
great severity Saturday after the rain
had been falling necessarily for several
days.