Waterbury evening Democrat., 1907-03-15
CREST OF FLOOD
High Water Mark Guage Regist- cred 37 Feet at Pitsburg at
 6 O'Clock To-Day
RIVERS FALLING NOW

morning at 6 o'clock, when thirty seven feet was recorded at the Mar ket street wharf. The authenticity at this stage, however. is not known, : as the gauge was buried under water last night long before midnight.
 At 8 o'clock the weather bureau announced that the rivers had begun to fall. although in the flooded. dis tricts of both Allegheny and Pitts burg there is no perceptiblee change of conditions.
 The fears for the bridges at Six teenth and Ninth streets, where the Associated Press observers were driven from their posts at an early hour to-day, were dispelled at day light.
 The crest of the hood moved out slowly and did not do the damage that was expected.
 It is expected now that a gradual fall of both rivers will be recorded throughout the day.
 Pittsburg, March 15.--Rushing down the Allegheny river on the flood torrent at a speed estimated at fif- teen to twenty miles an hour, hun dreds of thousands of tons of. ice last night pounded the piers of the bridges connecting Pittsburg with AL legheny. The ice came from the twenty-five mile gorge that has been forming all winter at the headwaters of the Allegheny and which broke last night.
 At 4:3O this morning all marks by which the river stage is taken were submerged. At Herr's Island. three miles up the Allegheny river from the Ohio, a man was sent to get the stage who was compelled to wade through water waist deep while com panions held rope fast about his waist. The stage reported was 36.5.
 This rlsh and sudden rise from the Allegheny was first felt about 10 o'clock last night. The gorges had broken in the afternoon and early evening. and the heavy ice swept the waters before 1t. When the advance volume of water reached this city, the already partially inundated sec tions were soon under deeper water
 So serious has the additional rise made matters in the most central part of the city that at Fifth avenue and Wood streets, where is the First National bank building in which is located the ofhces of the Associated Press. pumps were hastily installed to keep the water from the dynamos and engines that supply power and light 10 the building. Here, too, is installed the dynamos that supply the surrent for the Western Union Telegraph Co. For several hours a force of men battled with the rising awters to maintain the power neces- sary for the working of telegraph in- strnments. and finally two additional pumps were put in and a ire engine was called into service. By those methods communication with the out side world was maintained.
 Telephone conduits were under water early in the day and service in most of the down town sections went to pieces. Among the first cir cults to 20 down was that of the As sociated Press.
 Throughout this section neigh boring buildings were similarly af. fetced. From dry goods stores and theaters. hotels and newspaper offices. pipes of all sizes were run across the sidewalks. They poured the water from the buildings in. spas- modic bucketfuls into the gutters where it was forced by the pumps. Fifth avenue. Wood. Smithf1eld street and one side of Liberty avenue were cross-barTed with these pipes.
 \ number of newspapers in the downtown district were seriously af- fected. Several of them whose press rooms and stereotyping plants were flooded were forced to call upon their more fortunate contemporaries for service in those departments and oth- CTS that struggled through the incon- tentions of getting out extras, were obliged to suspend further operations. Some of the afternoon papers called their forces together several hours earlier than usual in an effort to get out editions covering the flood and al- so to prepare plant in which to get out their paper.
 In Allegheny conditions were even more serious. The exposition park is under ten feet of water and much damage hss been done.
 When the first indication of,a flood was apparent. Director of Public Safety Prank RIdgwsy organized a skin squad among the police force snd from buildings about the center of the city. 1.5D persons were taken.