New Britain herald., 1916-07-17
INDUSTRY IN GRIP |. 0F SOUTHERN FLOOD
River Freshets and Breaking
 Dams Lay Waste Large Area
FILLMORE WORLD BY ITSELF

From surrounding Territory by
 Mile of Water-Many Thought
 Drowned and Hundreds Homeless.
 Asheville, N. C., July 17.-Scores of large industrial plants around Asheville lay idle today in the grip of the flood that followed last weeks rainstOrms and hurricane which swept in from the Carolina coast and flooded portions of North and South Carolina and adjacent territory of Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia drowned, fifty are missing and hum dreds are homeless, while railroad service virtually is suspended in large section on all sides of Asheville
 The SWannanOa and French Broad rivers that rose out of their banks in this section yesterday, flooding the village of Biltnore and leaving Ashe- Vile without gas or electric light and power, were said to be receding to- day and it was thought that the great est danger to this section had passed Estimates of property damage already
 
 to $10,000,0OO while the total loss to crops, lumber mills, cotton mills, highway and railroad bridges and ; miles of railroad track throughout the l area that has felt the flood, was ex- pected to grow as belated reports came in.
 Fears for Lake TOxaway Dam The area that felt the effects of the flood extends from eastern Tennessee through southeastern West Virginia southwestern Virginia, across North Carolina roughly to Wilmington, and i embraces virtually all of South Caro- lima. Should the dam at Lake Toxa- 1 way yield to the flooded waters press 1 ing against it devastation in that sec- tion would be followed by floods down the Savannah river watershed that ] would imperil Augusta Ga.
 The immediate cause of floods l around Asheville Sunday was the i bursting of the dam at Hendersonville, 1 N. C., and that at Lanuga. Volumes f of water swept down the Swannanoa river, engulfing portions of the Van- derbilt estate and the village of Bilt- i more, laid out twenty-five years ago 1 by the late George w. Vanderbilt. l It was at Biltmore that three persons i were drowned, while twb nurses from i the BiltmOre hospital are thought tO have been drowned. Persons here fa n'iliar with the Biltmore section ex- 1 pressed the belief that damage to the Vanderbilt estate might have been heaVy and thought the Biltmore nurseries probably were flooded Biltmore Isolated by Flood b1Itmore is cut off from Asheville by a mile of water. Down the French Broad Valley swept another flood 1 from the broken dams until lower Asheville was inundated and scores of Industrial plants damaged Several hundred mill workers are being cared for here their homes having been washed away. The Southern Railway depot here and the Glen Rock hotel. both a mile and half from the busi- ness section of Asheville, were covered with water several feet deep Two la borers were drowned trying to carry food to persons marooned in upper floors of the hotel
 Near Charlotte, N. C., which also reported heavy damage, eighteen men working on a railroad bridge were carried away when the bridge went down, and either were drowned or are marooned in tree tops. At Charles ton, s. C., approximately thirty men composing the crews of six barges are missing. The barges were torn from tugs during the hurricane.
 It was thought today that several days must pass before railroad service could be restored to Asheville and Hendersonville
 Women Found in Treetop.
 Miss Nellie Lipe and Mrs Leo Mul- holland, reported drowned yesterday when the home of their father, J. c. Lipe a Biltmore, was washed away. were found today, tied in the top of a tree, according to reports received here. No reports of further loss of
 tied, probably showers tonight nanoa and French Broad rivers are falling rapidly today.
 Dam Reported Gone.
 Atlanta, Ga, July 17.-It was per-