Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1912-03-14

SPRING FLOOD
Damages Portland, South
Portland and Deering.
Cellars Filled, Over Foot Of
Water in The Streets.
Some People Are Taken from Their
Homes In Ro9hoats.

two feet, crippling street car service
and causing neavy damage In Port
land. South Portland and the Deerne
district. the rain storm last night and
today, proved one OF the most severe
| storms of the winter. The total preeipi-
| tation vas go inches.
A. South Portland each house along
Broadway and Sawyer street. near
! Kincaid street. was isolated in n pond
| that covered 10 acres and was 50 deep
| that the residents were polling their
! way about in punts. Others were talk
en- from their homes in roWboats. and
| in some instances grocery clerks were
| forced To climb to the upper parts OF
houses upon ladders.
Tie rainfall up TO noon, today. had
amounted To 2.72 inches which is b.
| tar the heaviest during the present
year When the snow commenced to
fall during the late afternoon, Tues
day. there was about five inches Of
snow upon the ground but not more
than an inch of snow remains At the
present time and every particle OF
snow will probably be melted ar swept
afternoon.
From reports received at the iocat
weather bureau it was learned that
the rainfall in this city was heavier
than at any other section in the east
ern part of the country, but there
were a number of stations where the
precipitation amounted TO more than
two inches.
Ali the many streets leading to
Commercial street from Exchange and
Congress streets carried thousands OF
gallons of water and a number of cell
lars along Portland's water front were
filed with water during the day. The
damage caused by the storm will prob
ably never be known but the storm
will go down on record as one OF the
greatest in several years.
The wind did not blow more than 90
miles an hour during the entire night
and vas blowing less than five miles
ah hour. today. The storm VAS not
particularly severe at sea. but 4 thick
fog prevailed al! along the coast and
many vessels and Steamers anchored
in preference to taking chances IF run
ming III the dense vapor.
Record breaking as have been the
SNOW storms, this winter, not once has
the street car service been so generally
crippled as it was. this morning, on
account Of the all-night 0oWnpnur. All
the lines extending TO the outlying
parts of the city, as well as the Saeo,
Yarmouth and South Portland diNis
ions, fCIt the effects of the storm and
all day superintendent, conductors,
motormen and section hands have
been Waeing a hard fight to put the
service on some sort OF a regular
schedule. In some instances they nave
succeeded and in others their efforts
have aSaiied little.
The most picturesque place ON the
whole system. perhaps. has been on
st. Jonn street, near the ear barns OF
the Portland Railroad co. For soHic
distance along the street, this morn
ing. the water was rushing down the
steep slope from the Western Prom
enade with such force that it gushed
up through the floors of the ears. Traf-
fc was blocked at that point and pas
sengers were comrelled, in the slush
ana rain. 10 pick their way around the
great puddles from the car barn u the
junction Of Congress and St John
streets. 4 Niagara-like whirlpool,
sWrling about a manhole, added a
touch Of color to the scene.
The downpour seemed to do the
most damage to street car traffic in
South Portland. An the lines 10 that
city. those to South Portland Heights
Willard and Pleasantdale. were tied
up more or less, half "a dozen cars
We're off the track during the fore
al nnintc ca c4nJ
was washed over the rails that pas
scngers had to transfer. and some sec
lions were deprived of their service
fer several hours, this morning ON
Summer street, near Kelsey, i'm Pleas
antdale. traffic was blocked by the
deep water and the sand, and resi-
dents in that section had to take ears
To Cash's Corner reaching the city
by way of st. John street
The service in the Deering district
was badly interrupted, all the fore
noon. and traffic on the Forest avenue
line to Morrll's was suspended all
cars going by way of Pleasant ave-
nue. About 8 o'clock, when the rain
vas beating down the hardest, the
rush OF water down Woodford street
at the junction of that street and
Forest avenue, stalled dozen cars
there at once. All the lines running
through Deering, the Riverton, West
brook. North Deering. Little Belt, and
Ocean avenue lines. have been off
schedule much of the time all day.
On no line of the system did the
cars have to plunge through deeper
pools than on the Yarmouth division.
At number of places beyond East
Deering, small ponds two feet deep
put the motors out of business. so that
relief ears had to be called out from
the car barns.
Damage To what an extent nobody
knows was caused to property in res
licences in the Deering district by
floods which arose in the cellars. due
to the freshet Of last night and this
morning, the antiquated sewers in the
affected section being of insufficient
capacity to carry away the surface
water of the heavy rains and melting
snow.
All along Forest avenue, and In the
side streets, between WinslOw street
ANA Woodfords Corner, the cellars of
I IA a,rNf I,