The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1903-10-09
new YORK FLOOD.
Rain Falls "a Hours Without
Cessation.
The Precipitation Amounted to
6.24 Inches.
RAILROADS CRIPPLED
New York Central Yards Under
IL Feet of Water.
Ferry Passengers Waded
Through Water Knee Deep.

pouring rain New York City and the
adjacent country suffered early today
from severe floods. Six and 24-100 in
ches of rain had fallen in the "A hours
ending at a. m. today and it was still
raining hard. This was believed to be
near a record rainfall. Many trolley
lines and railroads were either crippled
OF delayed, and il. New York City,
conduit containing 20 telegraph wires
was So flooded as to disable all the
wires.
A heavy flood in the Bronx damaged
the packing houses of Schwartzchild &
Sulzburger. Swift & Co.. and Nelson,
Morris & Co.. and a portion of the
freight yard of the New York Central
was covered by u feet of water. A
watchman who had sought refuge on
the top of a car was rescued. From all
parts of the city were received reports
of flooded cellars, flooded sewers and
impossible cutters. Many cellars
along the North river front were flood
ed and in some instances there was a
loss on goods stored there West street
in front of the down town ferries TO
Jersey City and Hoboken was flooded
and passengers were carried across II
/ in drays and grocers' wagons tempor-
alily. pressed into service.
Trolley traffic at st. George, staten
! Island, was completely tied up by a
/ rush of water over the tracks between
Stapleton and St. George
The water was two feet deep in South
street at the New York side OF Fultoli
street, Brooklyn ferry
Passengers arriving on the ferry boats
Invaded through the water up to their
knees until the dealers in the Fulton
market used large boxes to build
bridge across the street. The bridge
! blocked the street for truck traffic, but.
/ a section of the bridge had to be re-
moved every few minutes to admit the
passage of horse cars. Nassau street De
4 tween Wall and Pine streets was closed
on account of a washout in the middle
! of the street. Pedestrians waded through
a foot of water The sidewalk at the
corner of the sub-treasury building was
Part of a dam across the Ramapo
river near Pompton Lake. N, J.. was
washed out during the heavy rain storm
today inundating the valley below. A
number of houses were flooded but there
were no fatalities
The most serious damage was the
i carving awav of an iron bridge across
the river. Two canal boats loaded with
| coal were torn from their moorings and
| swept away
The water was two feet deep in West
street in front of the ferry house OF the
Barclay street ferry to LIoboken- For
nearly an hour working girls and wo-
| men waded in the ferry house. ma
reoned by the flood, until the truck
men came to the rescue Every ferry
boat was met by a half dozen truck
men and the passengers. instead of
hearing the usual .'keb. keb, kerriage,
kerriage." We're greeted with Take yer
across the street for a nickel
Many thousands of men and women
were unable. to reach their places of
! business today owing to washouts and
landslides or the railroads and trolley
lines in New Jersey, Long Island and
+ West Chester The Newark branch of
the Erie railroad was reported to be
entirely tied UP. Hundreds of tons of
dirt and stone had been washed in the
cuts and stalled the trains. The hun
dreds of people in the stalled trains
were forced to remain where they were
for many hours, owing to the fact that
and flooded the roads, making them al
most impossible for vehicles. Tele-
graph wires also suffered. Fences were
blown down, barns and outhouses on
| the farms undermined, and cattle
Strayed from one farm to another seek
ing shelter
| Local Forecast Officer Emery said
that ne believed this was a record rain
fall. The highest previous record he
| could discover occurred September %,
1882. when 6.17 inches of rain fell in "a
hours.
! The ST. Marks district in Brooklyn
suffered severely. The water was two
feet deep in Fulton street near Tomp-
kins avenue, and access to the elevated
stations extremely difficult. Several of
/ the surface lines were stalled and many
cellars were flooded by water which
| poured over the sidewalk.
The Lone Hill, L, L., saving station
reports a barge anchored a half mile
off shore at Dutch plain near Mon
storm
Many occupants of cottages along
the banks of the Ramapo river fed
from their homes The crews of two
-,.I
Besides the. iron bridge, wooden
| bridge across the lake from Oakland to
the village of Pompton lake was car
ried away. The territory covered by
the flood extends about 10 miles. All
the low lying ground between Pater-
son and Pompton lake is under water
Travel between Paterson and the viii
Iage of Butler is cut off except by boat
Trains on the Montclair branch of
the Delaware. Iackawanna & Western
railroad were stalled by a washout in
Newark. where the tracks are being
elevated and passengers were com
PEELED to walk a block around the
washout to board another train so-'
New York
The storeroom in the basement of
Bellevue hospital was flooded and
stores to the value of $1,000 rrined.
The downnour in the early morning
was so great that the rain went down
the chimneys of many east side tene-
ments. putting out fires and flowing
| into rooms. Tn several blocks the ten
ants of the tenement houses placed
canvas covers over the ch5nnevs.
Blockades On the surface lines were
! frequent during the morning on the
upper west side
At Forty-seeond street and Broad
way the water flowed into the excava-
ton for the new Times BUILDING max
ing q lake Is feet deep and doing con-
siderable damage The subway exca-
| s-@tion from Forty-second street TO
104th street was flooded. and in many