The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1904-03-09

WAS CUT OFF
Wyoming Valley Isolated and
Many Cities under
Water.

NEW YORK, March "a Wilkes
barre dispatch says the Wyoming val
ley is in the grasp of another mighty
flood. The situation has been serious
two days, and it is feared the worst Is
yet to come. the gOrges in the Susque-
hanna river to the south Of that city
and the great mass Of ice to the north
being a menace so long as they remain
intact as they do.
Wilkesbarre all day long has been
completely cut off from the rest Of the
Wyoming valley, and for miles up and
down the river the lowlands are com
pletely covered with water aud Ice.
The early morning scenes and during
the entire day were most exciting.
There are but few people in the homes
of the flooded sections.
The current is raging on all the low
lands in the southern resident section
of this city, many houses being com
pletely wrecked by the huge cakes Of
ice jamming against them.
Advices from Lancaster, Pa, say the
danger point on the lower Susquehan-
ma river has shifted from cambridge
Columbia and Washington borough to
Safe Harbor, the lower parts Of which
are practically submerged.
About o'clock the great gorge at
Washington borough broke, hurting
tons Of ice and an immense volume of
water against the Turkey hill gorge,
few miles below The latter gave way
before the tremendous impact. A new
jam then formed just below Safe Har-
Dor, where the ConestOga creek enters
the Susquehanna. Back water rushed
up the creek, demolishing the Penn
sylvania railroad stone bridge and
sweeping away the county bridge,
some distance farther up the stream.
The stores of John d. Triple and II.
H. Stauffer at Safe Harbor were com.
pletely submerged and partly demol-
ished, while the dwellings Of ]. S.
Granting and Joseph Temple were
torn from their foundations and
washed away.
The Exchange hotel IS Just showing
above water All the houses had wa
ter on their lower floors. and in a num-
Der of cases residents were forced TO
abandon their homes from the second
story in boats. The loss Of live stock is
said TO be heavy. The county bridge
over the Pequea creek has been swept
away.
The greatest damage done by the
food in York county sections was at
York Haven and vicinity. The power
building Of the York Haven Water and
Power company, which was badly dam
aged last Saturday, has been complete
ly wrecked, the ice jam leaving only
its tower remaining. 1t is believed
most Of the machinery will be saved.
The York Haven paper mill, nearby,
was also seriously damaged. parts of it
being destroyed The money loss cam
not be estimated at present
A late report from Rochester says re-
ports Of floods and inconvenience are
coming in there from all quarters. Ev-
cry brook in western New York is out
Of bounds, but so far there has been no
serious damage done. The New York
Central railroad tracks were under wa
ter at Palmyra, causing much delay in
traffic. The West Shore tracks east Of
Newark are flooded, and trains are be-
ing sent over the New York Central.
Trains on the Dansviile and MOUNT
Morris railroad have encountered high
water, and it is reported that the wa
ter ran through a passenger coach, run-
ming in one door and out the other,
compelling passengers to take to the
seats.
A report from Stroudsburg, Pa, says
the massive ice gorge in the Delaware
river at the Water Gap remains intact,
but is momentarily expected to break.
Word has been received from the head
waters of the Delaware TO the effect
that the ice there has started to move.