Rocky Ford enterprise., 1912-07-19
FLOOD SWEEPS
CITY OF DENVER
DEATH AND DEVASTATION RE.
SUIT FROM cLoUDBURST
SUNDAY AFTERNOON.
THOUSANDS HOMELESS
EXACT NUMBER OF LIVES LOST
COULD NOT BE ASCER-
TANNED EARLY MONDAY.

Western Newspaper Union News Service.
Denver. = Denver was inundated
Sunday afternoon by a cloudburst that
carried death and immense property
loss-probably sl.5OO.0OO in its wake.
Cherry creek, usually placid
stream, became raging torrent that
swept over hundreds of homes and
carried score or more of them away.
Men, women and children were
drowned, but no authentic list could
be obtained because officials were un.
able to reach the stricken district.
At least 500 homeless were given
shelter and care at the Auditorium.
Mayor Arnold, acting through Fire
Commissioner McGrew and Chief OF
Police ONeill threw the city's big
building open for the refugees and
furnished coffee and bedding that was
hastily collected. The Chamber of Com
merce will forward the rescue work
and solicit subscriptions of money
food and clothing.
Twenty-Five babies were taken TO
the police matron and cared for by
the officials. They were infants Iron
six months to six years in age and
had been separated from their parents
in the ilod excitement.
The storm broke at 3 o'clock and
lasted two hours. During that time
POS inches OF water fell and the wind
reached velocity of forty-eight miles
an hour. The prec@pitation in twenty
minutes of the period was l1a inches,
and Tor five minutes 40 inches. lac
hurricane of wind and rain was con.
| fined almost exclusively to Denver.
1t was not till near nightfall that
| Cherry creek began to swell and roar
with the sudden increase of water.
There was but little time for the po-
| lice officials to give warnings ana
many of these were not needed.
Within thirty minutes the creek bed
was filled to overflowing and half an
hour later the water was rushing over
the bridges spanning the creek, AMI
| tapping into houses in the lowlands on
either bank almost the entire five
miles the channel runs through Den
YER.
| The tramway cars were placed out
of commission on minority of the
lines. Thousands at gardens and city
pleasure resorts were marooned until
after midnight.
Storm sewers were flooded and dis
charged their overflow into the
streets. The damage suffered by the
commission men on Market street and
in that district probably will run into
the hundreds of thousands, counting
damage to buildings and merchandise.
The city streets and driveways were
Torn up by the rush of water and not
less than fifty miles of roadways are
ruts and gulleys where they presented
even surfaces before.
Union station was flooded to a
depth of three feet and incoming and
outgoing passengers has TO be trans
ported to the street car or to the sta
ton on trunk trucks. At least 5000
excursionists who arrived before the
flood reached its full force escaped the
Inconvenience and dangers faced by
An unknown boy eleven years old
was drowned at Twelfth and Califor-
mia streets. He had been playing
about the corner before the water rose
to that point. He was seen just be-
fore he was drowned. running along
the street, trying to avoid the water,
which was gradually rising throughout
the neighborhood and filling base
ments and low houses. By flash OF
lightning he was seen to slip and fall.
was heard to cry family, and then all
was still.
By direction of Mayor Arnold, Den
ver's Auditorium was thrown open
Just as the flood which devastated
| thousands of homes in this city was
at its height. to a small army of men,
women and children, mostly from the
poorer districts, who were crowded
out of their homes by the onrushine
waters into the street. and who be-
sieged the Auditorium in a final effort
TO gain succor and refuge from the
flood.