The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-01-21
.Obios Floods Makes Thousands
 Homeless at Louisville
NEW ORLEANS PREPARES
With Flood Crest Still Days Away Water in the Mississippi Is AL ready Near Tops of
 Levees.

Louisville, Ky. January 20-With the Ohio reentlessly pouring its floods south ward, and r'aintainlng a steady rise of en inch an hour, Kentucky streams con tnue bringing their volumes from the mountain regions, a high wind blowing up stream all day, damaging shipping and preventing the rapid passage of the current, Louisville tonight faced a flood situation which promised to equal before the crest Is passed the stage of 1884 the greatest flood ever known to the city. Ten thousand people are homeless and are housed In school buildings, warehouses and other structures.
 Factories in this city, Jeffersonville and New Albany are closed, throwing hun dreds of people out of work; stocks of merchandise In the business houses along the river front are ruined; much lumber has been washed away and many small houses with their contents toppled over into the water. conservative estimate of the damage with the crest of the flood yet two days off is a quarter of a million dollars.
 Street car service in several parts of the city is seriously interfered with while trains on nearly all the railroads are arriving anywhere from three to ten hours late.
 Late this afternoon the backwater from Beargrass creek forced its way out of it's l., Tlrr, . nd ing over the Louisville and Nashvilles Cincinnati tracks. This district is with In few blocks of fashionable residence section and it is many years since that part of the city was overfiowed.
 Near I. c. Terminal.
 The water is within two feet of the Sev- enth street station, which is the ter minus of the Illinois Central, the Balti- more and Ohio Southwestern, the South srn the Big F our and the Chesapeake and Ohio. The tracks of the Illinois Gen. tral the Baltimore and Ohio Southwest ern and the Southern all still two feet out of water.
 All night at the Cut off where the greatest danger was supposed to center, men WtIc Olt ootJ tO N"NSAA AOA - SN oS-@N' The levee withstood the pressure, but about daylight the rapidly encroaching flood drove the watchers from their posi- tion, and the water began to pour over the embankment into the valley of homes. known as "The Point"
 Between 1900 and 400 houses occupy that portion of Louisville known as The Point" For the most part they are the abodes of rivermen and people inured to all sorts of hardshps.
 All day long the water poured over the embankment a foot deep and quickly seeking its level transformed large ter ritory of the poorer residence section into an inland sea Melwood avenue from Sixteenth street to the Country club Is under water, which in some places is en- tering the second stories.
 During the afternoon q force of police men was sent to a point within three blocks of the flooded area where they stopped all sightseers, fearing a loss of life should the embankment at the Cut On' give way.
 The scene in Shipping Port in the ex- treme western end of the city is one of desolatlon.
 Here the water covers the houses, not only to the first and second floors, but in some instances the chimneys are the sole visible evidence of a house. Thou sands of people abandoned their homes in this section two days ago, and the ma iority were unable to take any of their effects with them, as it was impossible to secure enough boats and men to effect the removal. Last nights wind toppled over several houses, and the waters to- day carried them with their contents down stream.
 Much Suffering.
 The cold weather is causing much suf- ferng among the people who are being sheltered in public school buildings, ware houses and other places. The city officials have the situation well In hand, and are feeding all the sufferers who are unable to provide for themselves.
 Last nights storm did much damage to telegraph and telephone wires, and gangs of men were busy today repairing the damage in all sections of the city. Wires are down in many directions, and little or no news of conditions above and below the city was received.
 The weather bureau offers little hope before two days, the statement of District Forecaster Walz reading:
 "The river will continue to rise steadily for the next thirty-six or forty-eight hours, and will probably reach forty foot stage at Louisville and fifty-six- foot stage at Madison, Ind, Monday. The crest of the flood cannot yet be deter mined exactly as general rains have fal- len over the watershed during the past twenty-four hours, which may further augment the flood wave. but 1t is believed the crest will be possibly forty-one feet at Louisville and will be reached Tues day morning. The crest was reached at catlettsburg last night, registering sixty