The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-07-16
FACTORY DISTRICT OF DENVER FLOODED
 Twelve Missing
 Five Missing BIG PROPERTY LOSS
City Auditorium a Refugee Camp. Flood Unparalleled in History of City-Thrilling Tales
 of Rescue

Denver, Col, July 1.-Two dead, five injured, P missing and property dam age at least s2, 100000 was the net result of last nights flood Accurate figures on property damages still are incomplete but estimates run as
 high as 5000 900. Practically the entire wholesale and factory districts were flooded
 Estimate of Damage Mayor Henry J. Arnold tonight esti- mated the total damage of Sundays flood here at s4ooo,ooo. He itemized his state ment as follows:
 Damage to city property, including sew CTS. parking, bridges, street surfacing and city shops $50o,0oo Damage to private property, including
 warehouses s5oo,0oo. Damage to personal property H,oooooo.
 Damage to crops and irrigation pro- jects in vicinity of Denver s200o,oo0. It is estimate 5000 people were made homeless. A dozen people reported miss ing are yet to be accounted for. With about 15.0oo men repairing damage. an army of city employees and individuals clearing away the wreckage of buildings and bridges rescuers still searching the banks of Cherry creek for further possi- ble victims and the city fire department aiding in pumping out flooded basements in the downtown wholesale districts. Denver Is rapidly assuming normal con ditions.
 Throughout the day all railroads enter ing Denver brought additional laborers from this state and Kansas. Hundreds of
 unemployed in Denver have been given
 work on private properties which were
 demolished or badly damaged.
 The big city auditorium today Is refugee camp. At dawn 800 of the home less were gathered there, and were being
 fed by the city. Twenty-Five children from months to years old, whose parents
 may have been lost, are in the care of a
 police matron
 Debris Searched | After directing relief and rescue work all night. Mayor Arnold organized relief parties at dawn to begin the search or
 the wrecked dwellings and other debris
 heaped in the current of the South Platte river.
 The chamber of commerce opened a re- lief subscription this morning.
 The flood is without parallel in the history of the city. Had 1t not been for
 warnings sounded over the telephone
 many could not have escaped death. Many
 fled In their night clothas.
 The crest of the cloudburst was pre- ceded by storm with a wind velocity of
 IS miles an hour at 3 o'clock yesterday afternoon.
 In two hours hard rain the streets and sewers were flooded. the tramway lines were out of commission, hundreds were marooned in the parks around the city and 90 miles of city roadway was de- stroyed Then came a lull of four hours. during which the car lines were returning to schedule.
 l At about 9:30 last night the cry of l warning of the coming flood reached | the city hall and Mayor Arnold. With | in 30 minutes wall of water many feet high descended on the city from Cherry l creek. which flows through the Country club grounds, passing within five blocks of the city hall. the county hospital, the Westside court, out to the South
 Platte. five miles distant.
 Destroys Concrete Walls It ripped out concrete walls that con- fined 1t for two miles, destroyed bridges and hundreds of small dwellings, driv- ing the occupants from their homes or to roofs. from which they were rescued by members of the police and fire de- partments.
 Reaching the union station the tor rent rushed three feet deep through the yards, putting locomotive fires out. marooning several hundred passengers and closing the city to incoming or outgoing traffic. In half an hour miles of tram way lines were put out of com
 mission while a sewer, undermined.
 broke and flooded Capital Hill, the aristocratic section of the city. A general call to physicians met with speedy response. The cellars of down
 town stores and hotels were flooded. Tonight the Hood was at a receding point.
 Thrilling Tales of Rescue 1 When telegraph communication from | points up the creek were recovered. many tales of thrilling rescues were 1 heard. The smaller dwellings along the creek collapsed like paper sacks under the first rush of water that swept down l the creek.
 l Dazed families were nuddled in yards -~--->>---~-------,-->--~~~ - tContinued Page EighD