Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1902-07-10
RIVER is STILL RISING
Business Houses Menaced by the
Rising Waters.
PEOPLE ARE FORCED FROM HOMES
Stream Rushing Through Section of
the City Occupying Twenty Blocks
Rise of One Foot VIII Close the
Waterworks.

Des Moines, July 10.-The flood sit
uation reached It's most alarming
stage in the history of the city today.
The Des Moines river was twenty
one feet above low water mark at z
O'Clock, having risen three feet in less
than ten hours. 1t is still rising at
rapid rate.
The Raccoon river, which empties
into the Des Moines at this place, has
advanced four feet in a few hours and
is still going up.
The district containing thousands
of residences, business houses and fac
tories is seriously menaced by the
high waters. The levees, which protect
this district have already given away
in msl1y places
HulSreds of people are working des-
perately along the levees to save their
home property but the water is slowly
driving them from their positions.
The residents of South Des Moines,
owing to the breaking of a large sec
ton of the slevee, were forced to flee
from home EARLY this morning.
Thousands of dollars worth of prop
erty was destroyed and that section
is now practically cut off from the
rest of the city.
Four feet Of water is now rushing
through district of twenty blocks oc-
cupied by residences.
In North Des Moines wide reach
!, in the levee caused 400 residents to
abandon their homes and much prop
erty.
cid will hr, int Tod h
the necessity of closing down the wa
terworks if the river advances another
foot and the city will be absolutely
without water for domestic consump-
ton, or factory. or fire protection.
Street car traffic has. been abandon
ed on number of the lines and will
have to be abandoned all over the city
in a short time.
1t is reported from Adel, Fort Dodge
and other places, above Des Moines
that the river is still rising, which is
a greater menace to this city.
Record Equaled.
At 2:30 o'clock this morning the wa
ter at the Locust street bridge stood
at twenty feet, practically equaling
the record of 1892.
Levee Breaks.
At / o'clock this morning the water
broke through the south Des Moines
levee on both sides of the Great West
ern railroad grade. The police went
down Immediately with the life saving
boat and ropes and moved out the fam
lilies that lived in the triangle formed
by the railroad grade and the dyke and
which it was thought would fill with
great rapidity once the water began
to pour in. The openings in the dyke
were very small but at one point an
eight-inch stream began to pour
through despite the efforts of the city
employees to fill in the break The wa.
ter seemed to have softened the earth
SO that it could ooze through, and the
I police said they believed that the
whole bottom would be flooded by this
morning.
Trouble Ahead.
At o'clock this morning the water
had reached height of IS feet s
inches, and was just at the foot of the
artesian well pipe in the river front
In the flood of 1892 it went 20 feet and
A inches. 1t was stated, however, that
inches rise after 1 O'clock would let
the water over the South Des Moines
dyke and would swamp the street cal
engines at the east Des Moines power
house. The dyke west of the East
: Ninth street bridge and south of the
river was in a precarious condition
The water went through the south east
{, Des Moines dyke during the night.
See Waters Rise.
The water had risen almost to the
20" tracks at the head of Pelton ave
nue. at midnight, and it's creeping rise
on the sidewalk could be easily dis
cerned by observation. Only hal
sozen families continued to occup,
quarters in the Whitechapel district
but most of these We're forced into the
second stories of their houses and per
sons waded to the high ground to ge
them provisions. All of the first floors
were eight or ten inches deep with wa
ter. Fourth street was not quite Sc
Z badly flooded, but all of the people
who lived between Fifth street bridge
and Whiteehapel We're forced out.
Situation at Boone.
Webster City, July 1O.-The Boon,
river at this point was 12 feet and
{ inches above the low water mark lat
last night. 1t is still rising, thoug]
slowly, but gives indication of ceasin,
soon. This is the highest point reach
ed this spring, and has not been equal
ed in eight years.
Overflow Feared at Cedar Rapids.
Cedar Rapids, July 10.-Severa