Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-04-13
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eastward through the middle
west. leaving destruction, suffering ano
death in It's wake, will long stand In the
front rank Cf national .disasters-stand
as the nations most unhappy exper'
ence with nature in her cruelest mood
1.-The official; records of the weather
bureau at Washington, running back FOL
more than haEf century. hold no sucn
tale of widespread ruin as has been writ
ten for itself by this abnorality or whirl-
wind and torrent. for abnormality II
surely was, combining what are rarely
concomftaut in storms, the worst phases
of windstorfn> and of rain cloud.
Ssf
II IS remarkable tha'esa storm of this
southwestern type" as H. is called by
Tho officials OF the weather bureau, which
is also designated by them as being the
hest rain-producer the country anordA.
should have been In company with such
terrific atmospheric commissions as those
tornadoes that worked havoc at Omaha,
rerre Haute and score Of lesser cities,
for the types are of widely diverse nature.
Storms with the violent characteristics
of the tornado type, as a rule, soon ex-
haust themselves, but this ill-omened
southwestern. with malicious deviltry,
reserved its most diabolic energies until
d had swept more than halfway across
the continent and, after five days OF
s+ornv existence seemed all but spent.
Then II opened its f1oodgateS upon the
deYoted states of Ohio and 1nd1ana anu
all but submerged them. There exists no
rain in this nation, extending over such
an extent of country, as that Wnlch
overwhelmed these unfortunate states.
THE flood disasters in the middle west
Alfred ]. Henry, chief meteorologist OF
the weather bureau when asked MS
opinion regarding the conditions there;
"And that was the wholly unprecedenteo
rivers in Ohio and Indiana tributary to
mot only was the railfall there UMPIRE
cedented, but the fact that 1t completeiy
covered the streams, from heaaWaIers .h ~
mouth, naturally made the rising OF the
floods much more sudden. For forty
eight hours following the morning OF
Monday, March "a, the rain was contlnu-
Gus in the western half OF ONO ana the
greater part of Indiana
.spo YOU think the denuding of the
country of it's forests had any bearing on
the magnitude Of this food-or ever has
any bearing upon the flood question OF
the United States?" Prof. Henry was
asked.
at do not think So" he replied. Il know
that theory is often advanced and that,
too. by persons whose views are enttled
m great weight. But have never found
any proof that cutting off the timber mao
anv appreciable effect upon the VloiehCe
or suddenness of floods. II the ram IaLis
IT is going to run off. after the grouno
has become saturated, wnether " oo
clothed with grass or trees.
ssIs it not claimed by some, however,
that floods are more violent now imam
they were, say, generauon ago. ..
"Oh, yes" he answered, that cialm -
that feeling, rather common In some ma
lures. that everything in the past was
Tar better than it Is today. that we ana
the whole country are going TO the ooss-
True, they point out, ana correc.ay, ~
age than they did generation ago; put
that is simply because there are more
men and more property to be DAMAGE.
"a flood such as lately devastated pay
ton. If occurring with like violence hun
dred years ago. probably would nave
swept away horse and a couple or pigs
out of the barnyard OF the sontary resi-
dent of the place at that time, ana nave
done no further damage, because there was
nothing else to damage. Now, flood has
thousands of human beings, many or
them women and children, together with
millions of dollars worth OF property,
upon which to vent Its fury: Inats why
Were there any factors at all. IN your
opinion. that assisted in the suddenness
and violence of these fioods?
Yes, l think So" replied the scientist.
Some that assisted in emphasizing the
swift gathering of the waters into the
river channels. 1t is probably true that
the construction of roads and the drain
age of lands have much to do with hasten
portion of rainfall that swiftly finds its
way into a regularly flowing stream or
river.
THAT this run-off is also now greater
than formerly, on account of this, is
doubtless true. Where formerly a large
quantity of the rainfall would find its way
TO swamps and thus make it's way but
slowly to stream. or where it would
fall on an ill-kept road and be churned
into mud it is now quickly directed to
the streams by drains and bitches along
such swamps and roads. thus helping to
swell the river flood more rapidly.
But the more rapid arrival of the rain
fall in the streams from these causes is
I'm no wise connected with the supposed
increase in floods from forest denudation.
II is analogous to the situation one sees
I'm a paved city. well supplied with sew
ers where half an hour after a heavy
downpour. the streets are dry and the
great bulk of the water is hurrying by
through artificial draining channels to the
nearest river. That same rain, in the
unpaved and undrained country town,
would keep the locality muddy and damp
for day, probably.
Again, the improving of the rivers
themselves. especially in the case of
small streams. by curbing them with
levees and artificially narrowing them
in order TO deepen the channel. all assist
such conditions the rising river, which
formerly dissipated much OF the flood
waters by wandering out into flats or
side channels must now remain within
its prescribed bed. This is well Illus
trated in the case of the levees on the
Mississippi. The more complete that
levee system becomes the higher and
now restrained from roaming off into
swampS and bayous
Yet all these are but adjuncts to the
main determining factor of a flood which
is the sudden fall of a great quantity of
rain. There is nothing in the way of
human power that could have prevented
the recent western floods. Do YOU think
you can comprehend the amount of wa
ter that fell in that forty-eight-hour pc
Rod / spoke of in the territory flooded
and tributary? We have calculated IL
with rea. enable exactness; 1t was $1,000 :
90 acre-feet. BY that is meant that the
amount was sufficient to cover a tract of
100000 acres one foot deep with wa
ter Can you grasp that enormous vol
urle?"
III was difficult for the professors WIS.,
itor 10 do so from the angle Of acre-feet,