The Miller press. [volume] (Miller, S.D.) 190?-current, 1913-03-27
HALF OF CITY SWEPT, OTHER
TOWNS RAZED, AND DEATHS RE-
PORTED FROM NUMBER OF
MIDDLE WEST TOWNS.
LARGE DEATH LIST NOT
CERTAINLY KNOWN YET
Lightning Fires Ruins-Wires Down
and Details Hard to Get-Res-
cuers Struggling to Strick-
en- Towns Over Washed
Out Roads.

Omaha, March 25.-At least 200 per-
sons are dead, 700 are injured, 100000
900 worth of property has been de-
stroyed and 1000 persons are home
less as the result of the worst tor
nado that ever struck Nebraska, and
which swept a strip five miles long
through the northern part of the city
Sunday evening at 6 o'clock.
Full Horror Known.
The full horror Of the storm broke
upon the city when Governor More
head, Mayor Dahlman and Police Com
missioner j.. ]. Ryder authoritatively
stated that the death list would reach
200 in Omaha alone. Surrounding
towns were swept from the map by
the tornado which really consisted of
two storms. The first and main storm
struck Ralston, three miles west of
South Omaha, shortly before 6 p. m.,
and moved in a northeasterly direction
through the city OF Omaha.
The only point at which the force of
the storm struck the business section
was Twenty-fourth and Lake streets.
Here the Diamond theater, a moving
picture concern, well filled, was
wrecked. According to the best avail
able figures at least thirty of it's pa
irons were killed. Between forty and
fifty more were killed in the wreck of
a pool hall nearby, which was patron
lied by negroes. The fashionable
West Farnham district and the we'll
known Kountze place were wrecked.
The ~well-defined path of the storm
ended at Carter Lake, near the Mis-
souri, river, north of the city.
Fire Breaks Out.
Fire broke out in the debris and
wrecked buildings. The fires burned
themselves out, except in instances
where flames were brought under con-
trcl by volunteer bucket brigades."
The second storm swept across the
Missouri river about $40 p. M, doing
great damage in Council Bluffs, Iowa,
where nine were killed and a score
injured.
Six relief stations have been estab-
lished in the vicinity of the ruins and
every drug store is giving literally to
aid volunteer nurses In caring for In
jured persons. An entire regiment of
militia will be on the scene before
night and will aid the government
troops in going through the ruins in
the gruesome search for bodies.
Reports from outlying towns tell of
horrible deaths taken by the tornado.
Fears are entertained that Gretna,
Ashland and Louisville were in the
path of the storm. 1t is believed the
storm originated along the Platte river
near Louisville and swept up the
stream to Ashland, then cut across
country to Gretna, striking Ralston
before Omaha.
After a night of terror, in which
women and children, frantic with grief,
walked the streets, cold and homeless.
Omaha awoke to a scene OF almost
unbelievable devastation. Entering
the city from the southwest. after
wiping Ralston entirely from the map.
the tornado swept past the county
hospital to the west and swept in a
northeasterly direction, taking every
thing in its path. II travelled east to
the river and lest itself some place in
the Iowa bluffs.
Buildings were blown down or
up and hurled with terrific
force, many yards, trees were leveled
and smaller structures were COM
wrecked by the wind. Some
OF the finest homes, those recently
erected by several of Omaha's wealth.
lest men, are today a mass of ruins.
Hundreds of families saw their
homes swept away or damaged so
badly that they were uninhabitable
and the occupants were forced to the
street during the %torrential rain that
followed the twister.
Twenty-Five Houses Burned.
Following the tornado and the rain
came an even greater menace in the
fires that broke out In a score of
places. At least twenty-five houses
were destroyed by flames. To add to
the horror Of the night, the electric
lights failed, wires went down and not
only the house light, but the street
lights were extinguished. leaving only
the ftful flare from hundreds OF liant
erns to light up the scenes of horror