Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1916-01-31
Death List From Floods Near
San Diego Placed at About
Sixty Though More May
Have PeriShed,
GREAT M0RENA DAM
FAILS TO STAND STRAIN
Marines and Sailors Are on
Guard and Stricken District
Is Armed Camp; SlghtSeers
Turned Back,

10y soRslNo IousNkl srseisl laAssn wlssl
san Diego. Cal, Jan. 80 (Dy Radio
to san FranciscoD --Lootlng described
by Rear Admiral William r. Fullam.
commanding tho Pacific reserve fleet,
as "thc worst | have ever acen," broke
out In the stricken Qtay valley today
while sailors and marines from war
ships in San Diego bay toiled to re-
cover the bodies OF the fifty estimated
victims OF the lower Otay reservoir
flood, Al sundown twenty bodies.
some mutilated, had been gathered to-
gether
Ncw Flood Arrives.
A new flood poured down the Tia
Ju0na river today standing four feet
high near It's mouth. which IL at the
foot of san Diego bay A telephone
message from Tecatu said Il was re-
ported there that the Morenn dam.
sixty miles back IN the hills, had burst.
Officials here believing that II the re-
port was carreot. Fifteen billion gal
Ions OF water imp0unded by the dam
would tear new channel for tho river
across Coronado strand into the sea.
ordered residents Of Imperial Beach,
II hamlet on the strand three miles
north of the river, to fleo for their
lives.
Death iist About SIXTY.
Reports late last night that the
cloudburst IN San Louis Rey and san
pasqual valleys probably cost no moro
than ton lives reduced tho probable
total death list In this region to about
sixty.
Of the twenty-nne bodies recovered
IN the Otay valley only six have been
Identified They are
REGA, CARLOS, employe Of the
Daneri winery
DUDE. JOHN JAMisON. raucher
DtBE, MRS. MARGARET H.. his
wife
GALLAGHER. WILLIAM GEO.
pipe walker at lower Otay dam.
MOSTO, JOSEPH. employe Doneri
winery.
MOSTO, ROSA, his daughter.
Ordered 10 Shoot I,ootcrs.
The lower Otay valley was an armed
camp today. Marines and sailors from
the battleshlp Oregon and tho cruisers
Milwaukee and South Dakota patroll-
ed all approaches and penetrated into
the valley with orders To shoot lo0ters
on sight. Each carried twenty rounds
Of ammunition. The marines, under
Capt. Charles r. Westcott, Jr., CAMP
ed in the valley The sailors under
Ensign Hamilton O'Brien, of the Mil
waukee took quarters in the little
brick school house at Otay CITY. me
United states destroyer Lawrence act,
cd as base snip ana hospitai squau
IRON the milwaukee, operated III con-
junction with both forces
First news of tho reported collapse
of the Morena dam camo through An
drew Ervast, city engineer Of Corb-
naUO and chief engineer Of what arc
known as the Sprccklee interests IN
TINS vicinity. ErVast Trying 10 rehch
the Mexican town or TIA Jualln lodhy'
met Japanese running along tue
bank OF the TIA Juann river.
Get back, cried the Japanese ~
broken English, Tell people lots
water coming.
Ervast could see Il four-foot wave
coming down the river. lie turned
his automobile ana spread the warn
ing George Cromwell, city engineer
of sun Diego. and others, said that
nothing but the breaking or the Nor
ena dam could cause the flood.
Dam Believed Secure
That tho dam should go out was
generally unsuspected. 1t stood soo
feet high IN narrow gorge ana Was
butt OF masonry ana concrete poiteu
with iron rods. The top OF the dam
was Twenty-Five feet WIDE ana II WAS
braced with luoHe rock on the uoWh
stream side The rock illl on thc
upper side Of the dan was der
ricked aud hand plaeed. water
supply was drawn from the reservoir
behind the dam by the tunnei through
solid rock and was conducted
through little wntefHhtd INTO
creek which fod the lower otay danl'
tho one that iirFt went OUT Inc
natural chanhni Tor the water hon
ever was down Cottonwood creek IN
10 the Tia Iuana river. IL was SUE
gcsted by some that q cloudpurat
might have brought today iiood. uul