The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1909-06-10
a Few More Cloudbursts Along the Banks Of the
Rivers Will Cause Repetition OF the
Floods Of the Previous Years.
TWOFOOT RISE in RIVER LAST NIGHT
The Levees South Of Keokuk Can Stand Six Feet
More Of Water, With Two Feet Promised
Within The Next Three Days.

1.-The damage done then to property
along the affected districts, will long
live in the memory of many Ottum-
vans and its REPETITION will be cal
amity.
4 The river this morning shows
/ tendency to reach high stage before
1t quits, although the cessation Of
rain both here and in the district to
the north and west of Ottumwa will
do much to prevent damage from the
/ Hood. The water has been gradually
coming up for the past few days but
;during last night the rise was mark.
led and early this morning it became
very pronounced The mark 8 feet,
10 inches showed on the gauge on the
! pier of the Market street bridge last
evening at 6 o'clock. Twelve hours
later the stage was 10 feet, inches,
or a rise of six inches. Between s
/ a. m. and IL a. M, today, the rise
was more rapid and IL feet, 4 inches
registered on the gauge,Aa rise OF IA
inches in five hours.
The stage Of the water was suffi-
jsciently high to completely hide the
mouth of the Market street sewer by
1 II O'clock and the merchants siong
South Market street as well as on
4 Main street are becoming apprehen-
sive Of high water backing through
4 the sewers into their cellars. The
i danger mark to be reached sfore the
back water from the sewer, can do
any damage is said by thu various
business men along the territory that
would be first affected to be 13 to 1874
feet. The latter figure will reach all
I, of the Market street places and Phil
Hips store on Main street.
The water at $3.50 p. m. was still
raising and the gauge showed a stage
4 of 10 feet above low water mark, thus
registering rise of two feet and two
4 inches since 6 p. m. yesterday The
4 business men along South Market and
MAIN streets do not seem to give the
rise much concern, however, and none
Il of them have yet begun to move their
a goods from their cellars. 1874 feet Il
,fsthe mark at which the water will
back from the sewers into most Of
1.-THE Market street places while some
of the Main street stores can stand
X g stage of 16 feet before they will
, be bothered.
From Fort Madison.
q e11I1x,,;Yorr frn,,, ouonfp css
!, Gem City tells of the storm and fioot
i conditions in that end of the county;
I. Two very heavy rainfalls, accom-
panied by terrific thunder and lightn
Ling have visited this section of Let
4 county recently and more rain has fal
, lien within the past twenty-four hours
, than at any like period of time fol
), several years. It is estimated that thu
precipitation has been over fou
!, Inches Of rain The streets OF thu
city have been running streams o
water and the sewers have been in
adequate to take care of the water.
Thousands of dollars worth of dam
!. age has been the result Of thes'
. storms. Bridges have been swep
s away or damaged.
! All traffic on the c., B. & g. rail
,, way between this point and Burling
ton was stopped this morning. TIL
;, tracks of the Burlington be
!. tween Viewer and Westcot
: are under water and there Il
j d probability that the track has beel
! carried away by the force of TIL
water. The approaches to the raj
! road bridge over Lost creek are unle
! water and unsafe for use. This par
: Of the road is over low land and h
: heavy rainfall has swollen Lost cree
and flooded that section TO- severa
q miles.
: The bridge in the east limits nea
! the gas works has been carried fror
its foundation and approaches cut GU
9 by the water.
!. The approaches to the Secon
IA street bridge have been carried on
and the bridge considerably damaged
"A The Occidental street bridge, at tn
: foot of the hill on the West Poin
road is a total wreck and has falle
In and will have to be rebuilt. Thi
! bridge cost the county only shoi
" time ago $4,000.
q The steeple on Sacred Heart Catl
= Ole church was struck by lightnin
Il at 8 o'clock this morning destroyin
the thing which in falling broke tn
ltiling of the roof. The thing ais
struck the roof of the porch of Fatl
~ er Hoffman's residence and the cras
I. was so great that the occupant
thought the house was being rent
n. two.
- This is the second time that Sacre
ir Heart church has been struck b
or lightning. On May 4, 1908, the churc
le was damaged to the extent OF $3.50 B
sea bolt of lightning that struck tn
Is steeple. The present damage
NJ Thought to he greater than that SUI