The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-03-01
THE STORMS SWEEP
COVERED ALL THE SOUTHEAST
ERN STATES.
THE DAMAGE is WIDESPREAD.
RAILROAD TRAFFIC GENER ALLY
INTERRUPTED.

Columbus and Athens the Greatest
turing Institutions Shut Down in
Both and Light and Water Sup
plies Cut On--SeVen Deaths Are
Reported, Including Four Killed
in Southern Wreck Southern
Railroad Train Made Circuit OF
$50 Miles From TOccOa to Atlanta.
Atlanta Feb. 2S.-Not in many years
have the Southeastern states expert
enced damage so widespread by
storm as that which on yesterday
spread over a section of county en-
bracing Georgia, Alabama and Tennes
see, Virginia, North Carolina, South
Carolina and Florida. AS far as known
seven lives were lost and several per-
sons injured. The damage is enor-
nous, the railroads being particularly
heavy sufferers. Four lives were lost
in a wreck near Griffin. Ga, which
was caused by a washout. The other
dead were negroes whose cabins were
blown away by the storm. The rains
raised the water to flood hight in the
Chattahoochee Alabama, Ocmulgee,
Savannah and the Oconee, but late
tonight the stage in all of them was
stationary, except at Columbus, Ga,
where the Chattahoochee was rising
slowly. Columbus suffered severely.
One bridge was washed away and an
other is expected to go at any moment.
The city of Athens, Ca, is in total
darkness tonight, with two rivers
sending volumes of water through
some parts of the town. The north and
middle Oconee rivers passed the high
water mark there early this morning,
but tonight were stationary. The
power plant of the Athens Electric
Street Railway Company was sub
merged to depth of six feet. At the
Princeton factory the river rushed
through the building doing great dam
age to the machinery
Washouts are reported on all rail-
roads coming into Atlanta tonight
excepting two. The loss to the railroads
is enormous and they are handling
their passenger traffic only with the
greatest difficulty. No train on the
Seaboard Air Line reached this city
since Thursday morning until 5:15
o'clock this afternoon. All trains on
this road are turned back at Athens,
Ga, using the Southern's tracks into
Atlanta.
The first train over the Southern
FROM Washington since 10 O'Clock last
night pulled into the Atlanta depot at
O'Clock tonight. This branch of
the Southern is handicapped by a
washout near Toccoa, ninety miles
from Atlanta. In order to reach At
lanta this train was sent from Toccoa
to- Elberton, Ga, over its own line,
thence to Athens over the Seaboard A
foreign road was used for rs miles and
Lula, Ga, was reached. Here the
train again took it's usual route into
Atlanta, covering a trackage of $50
miles.
No train has arrived from New Or
leans for twenty-four hours. A wash
out on the Atlanta and West Point
near Charlottesville, Ala, has caused all
trains to be held up there. President
Wickersham of the West Point route
has been at the washout with a crew
of men since l o'clock this morning,
and expects to get a train through to-
night. The water is falling very slowly.
The Southern system to Chattanooga
and Birmingham is maintaining it's
schedules and all trains on the Nash
vile, Chattanooga and St. Louis. the
Georgia Railroad and the Central of
Georgia are on time. The Southern is
using the track of the last named road
for it's Atlanta and Macon business.
ScabOard's Bridge Gone.
The Seaboard Air Lines bridge over
the Savannah river at Calhoun Falls,
Ga, was carried away tonight by the
high water.
The Atlanta and West Point brought
train into Atlanta from Montgomery
at II o'clock tonight over it's own
tracks. This road, however, is sending
its Montgomery trains over the South
err by way of Birmingham