The Johnson City comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1916-1917, 1916-07-13
THE DAMAGE
IS ENORMOUS
APPROXIMATELY 81 PERSONS ARE
DEAD AND MISSING
1000 ARE DESTITUTE
AS RESULT OF THE SOUTHERN
THAT ARE RECFDiNG,

with the passing northward of the
tropical hurricane which struck the
gulf coast last Wednesday, leaving a
list of dead and missing of approx
mately eighty-five persons and prop
erty damage of from seven to ten
million dollars.
A weather bureau announcement
that what remains of the disturbance
is now over Illinois leads to the be-
lief that the worst has been told of
the disastrous weather conditions that
have enveloped the south for the last
six days.
Rains that had fallen steadily for
more han hundred and welve hours
have ceased throughout North Caro-
lima, South Carolina, Tennessee, Geor-
gia, Mississippi and Alabama and the
rivers and small streams that had
broken over their banks and flooded
thousands of acres of farm lands are
subsiding. Persons driven from their
homes in the Chattahoochee and Cc-
mulgee lowlands of Georgia are re-
turning and conditions in the Tennas-
see river valley are almost normal.
The French Broad river which ov-
erflowed in Buncombe, Henderson and
Pennsylvania counties, Nroth Carroll
ma, is falling. In Mississippi, small
streams swollen by tn continued
downpour, are again in their banks.
Central Alabama of all the flooded
sections, failed to show decided inn
provement. The Alabama river is
still rising at Montgomery and Selma.
Water covers part of North Mont
gomery and many negroes have been
forced to leave their homes. Four
miles north of Montgomery the Talla-
poosa back waters are over the state
farm and hundred conycts are ma
rooned on a small section of dry land.
The overflow is receding from the
streets Of Wetumpka, where the Coo
sa river reached the flood stage sew
eral days ago. The Autauga creek
which covered the streets of Pratt
vile, is at a stand.
Half the population of Selma is do
ing relief work among the two thou
sand families made destitute in that
region by the overflowing of the Ala
bama and Cahaba rivers.
Communication has been re-estab-
lished with Brewton, Ala, which has
been isolated since Wednesday. Re-
ports say Escambia county was liter
ally inundated for four days by the
overflow of the Escambia river and
crops in that section were virtually
ruined. Every piece of property in
Brewton was damaged.
Mobile suffered property damage Of
81 1000 in the hurricane, according
to conservative estimates by business
men here. The loss was principally
to the shipping, merchandise, telc- q
phone, telegraph companies and rail-
roads. No lives werelost in the city
proper.
Commissioner of Agriculture Wade,
at Montgomery. today estimated that
the damage to growing crops in Ala
bama on account of the floods and
wind storms would be mot less than
from $5,6OO,O5O to $1,000, ,0o0." No
estimates have been made from other
safes, but Beorgia and Mississippi
crops are known to have suffered se-
verely.
The safe arrival at Biloxi today Of
three schooners carrying twelve men
was offset by news from Mobile Of
the finding of several additional bod
les off the coast and that some small
craft have not been accounted for.
The known death list throughout
the storm area is approximately thir-
ty persons, about equally divided be-
tween those drowned in the gulf and
those killed by lightning or drowning
in the interior of Alabama, Mississip,
pi, Georgia and Tennessee. The miss
ing are all sailors on ships long over
due at gulf ports and known to have
been in the path of Wednesdays gale.