The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-12-10
SEVERAL DEAD IN FLOODS RESULTING
 FROM TEN INCHES
 OF RAIN IN SOUTH
Thousand Homeless Near Meridian-MObile Partly Flooded - Montgomery Power Dam Gives
 Way

Iv1CE DC~ClA0CA
 Special. With more than 1000 people rendered tempo rarily homeless and traffic paralyzed on six railroads, Meridian and this immediate section is experiencing repe- tition of the disastrous floods of April, 1900, when the vari- ous railroads entering this city entailed an incalculable loss in track damage and suspension of business for a period of 10 days as the result of 1O.57 inches of rainfall in AS hours.
 In practically the same length of time, since Sunday afternoon, when the rainstorm broke with a cyclone that practically wiped out the small town of Marion, five miles east of here, the precipitation has been i0;1o' with rain still falling.
 A | 4 that circles Meridian from the east to the west on the south is under water, and the inhabitants of the val lev. mostly negro families, have been homeless since near midnight last night when they had to abandon their homes as the water>entered. Rescuers were compelled to wade more than waist deep and carry the women and children to places of safety during ip of done with only one loss of life so far as known. A negro. Milton Jones' was working with a party of rescuers and started alone across a swift current to the rescue of woman, Maggie Thomas He has not been seen since and it is supposed he was carried away with the current The Thomas woman, however, was saved by another party
 Many manufacturing plants are lo- cated in the valley and all were idle today, being either surrounded with water or flooded. The property dam age in this district. which covers an area of several miles, cannot be esti- mated at this time or until the water recedes Thousands of feet of lum mher has been washed from yards in the flooded area, the Mississippi-Alaba bama fair grounds have suffered heavy damage In the loss of the fence that enclosed the grounds, three sides or if current. Many of the buildings and stables inside the grounds were washed from their foundation.
 ROADS RUINED
 The fine macadamfzed roads in the flooded district are practically ruined. inc surfacing having been washed away. Especially is this true of the Arundal road that parallels the New Orleans & Northeastern tracks for distance of about five miles. where the full force of the flood water was felt. The road to Bonita, east of Meridian and the village of Bonita suffered heavy damage, the water rising into the stores. To the north of Meridian and not in the flooded district. three artificial lakes. that of the Country club, the Queen City Fishing club and Handley's Lake at Highland Park, the dams broke. altogether entailing a loss of about s25o0o and hundreds of thou sand of fish with which the lakes were stocked from the government hatch cries
 The damage to streets and sidewalks and the loss of bridges inside the city will be enormous. The heaviest suf- ferers, however. will be the railroads. each one of which is hit hard not only ir the loss of business that indefinite suspension of traffic will cause but in W
 Supt. c. A. Pigford of the Mobile and \ Ohio road tonight stated that it. would be impossible at this time to give lny- n thing like a correct estimate of the dam ' age the Mobile and Ohio would suffer and that it was problematical also when traffic south of Meridian could be re- sumed So far the Mobile and Ohio -oad is the only yone that is able to operate any kind of d service. and this is to the north Of Meridian. and which is expected to he interrupted in the next few honrs. To .he south the tracks of the Mobile and Ohio. New Orleans and Northwestern Alabama and yicksburg and Meridian and Memphis roads are under water for many miles and the extent of numerous wash outs will not he known until the water recedes On the Alabama Great Southern and Southern roads. running north ot Meridian, traT.c is tied up indefiniteiy because of washouts and inundated tracks between Toornsuba and York.
 News from Enterprise and the North ca stern and Mobile and Ohio roads, is that she waters CT Chickashav and Chun- key rivers are rising rapidly. ChunkeT river and Okitibeha creek coming together just above Enterprise and making Chick ashay and that the people on the flood side of Enterprise have moved their stocks of goods to places of safety. an ticipating that the stores will be floodcs' even as high ss the second stories. within \ the n.xt 4S hours. The people of Chun'sey, t ,n The Alabama and vickshurg road, have also taken the same precautions.
 IL is predicted that the water will gr even Higher than it did in 1900, because
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