The Holt County sentinel., 1911-10-06
Town Swept Away.

between JW ana JU persons were
drowned. and hundreds injured In
Austin. Pa. saturday last. September
20. when the great dam Of the Bay
less Pulp and Paper Company broke
and released 800 600 900 gallons Of va.
ter. which rushed down the valley,
leaving death and ruin in its wake.
Two other villages. Costello and
| Wharton. were destroyed.
The survivors were in a frenzy.
There VAS no organization. the town
being dazed 10y ,he force Of the ca.
lamity, which came without a mo-
ment's warning.
! Hundreds Of men. women and chill.
dren are still searching through the
ruins Of the village for their families
and friends. The only light was the
glare Of hundreds Of houses which
caugh, ire from broken gas pipes al.
most before the food had passed. l
Chaos reigned from the moment the
mighty wall Of water tore through the
town and there was no relief until
help came from the surrounding
towns. Meantime, many bodies lie in
the wake Of the flood
Mothers grabbed their babies and
fathers did their best to escape from
the shops and climbed the nearest
hill. Those who were able TO get far
enough up these hills were saved: the
others were lost. Fathers saw their
wives and children dashed To death 10y
the torrents, while children saw their
mothers taken from them in an In.
slant. Many OF the hundreds Of EN-.
ployes In the big paper mill were i'm.
prisoned In the ruins because the
time Of alarm was too short for them
10 escape.
Floods which cost number,ess lives
and vast treasure:
September -. lssI.-The yellow
river IN the province Of llonan, China,
overlooked tsbanks. Ten cities we're
destroyed and millions we're left home.
less. The loss Of life was enormous.
May, lsss.-Three thousand persons
we're drowned In a flood Of the Canton
river In China.
June ~, Isss. Flood at Leon, Mex
leo. caused the loss of 1000 lives.
May 81, lss9.--The breaking Of n
dam IN the Conemaugh valley. Pa,
caused the Johnstown Hood.
About 5000 lives were lost and the
damage to property was about $500.
OO.
September. nl.--More than LOCO
persons we're drowned In the wine
1 province of Spain.
April u. lsD|.-The rising Of the
Han river In China caused the de-
s,ruc,ion Of 200 junks and other prop.
erty and the deaths Of 1900 persons.
September =, 1909. Galveston, Tex,
: swept by a tidal wave. II i es,imat.
ed that J.oOo lives we're lost and that
the property loss amounted 10 So
. oo,ooo. Hardly a building was lief,
intact.
October, l.0.,.-Flood at Paterson
|. y. j.. caused property loss OF about
= ~ 100000.
!. September 30, I'LL Austin, Pa.
500 lives.
The great food which swept tn,
town OF Johnstown, Pa, May 81, 1889
resulted from heavy rains breaking
a dam across the South Fork,
lHI,l he (p,ntlh liver,
miles directly east Of the city. Thi
released the water Of Conemaugl
lake, two and half miles long, ont
and a half miles In width and lO
feet In depth In many places. a
great wall Of water swept down TIN
the valley, engultng Johnstown ant
the surrounding villages. The los
y OF life Is placed at 5000 and the dam
age to property Is estimated at ~,
5OO,OOO.
nj All parts Of the United States con
tributed to the aid OF the suffers
About 5000. 900 In cash and mater
ials was sent to the stricken inhab
= itantS