Baxter Springs news., 1919-03-21
MISSOURI, KANSAS
AND OKLAHOMA
In Grip Of a Bad StOrm-Much
Damage Done - Baxter
Visited by Small
Twists
Flood Situation In Topeka

Flood Situation In topeka
Flood waters from Shunganunga
creek cover large portion Of East side.
Families are being moved out Of in
undated territory in row boats.
Sections Of North Topeka covered
several feet deep with surface water.
Soldier creek threatening to over
flow It's banks.
Rainfall in Topeka Saturday and
Saturday night totaled 5.13 inches.
Hundreds Of families driven into
upper stories Of their homes.
Bridges across Shunganunga creek
threaten to 60 out.
A foot bridge across Soldier creek
was washed out.
Street cars and automobiles are
stranded in all parts Of the city.
Saturday evening just before a
heavy downpour Of rain, a small
twister appeared at the Frisco depot,
picked up q truck loaded with express
and after promiscuously scattering
the express over the platform and
track and turning the truck over, GID
ed of as suddenly as it had appeared.
The storm was free for an hour and
contained some bad looking clouds.
The. first reports of the raging
storm came from northeastern Kan
sas and the last from Wichita which
was hit by the tail Of the cyclone
about 6 o'clock. In the meantime it
had passed through Oklahoma, where
the greatest damage was probably
done, resulting in one man killed at
Porter and almost total destruction Of
the town.
The storm reached its climax in
this vicinity at about 4:SO o'clock.
Points which it touched lightly in its
fury included Carl Junction, Smith
field, Crestline, Springtown and Webb
City.
Moscotah and Circleville were the
towns marked by the storm in its
passage over Kansas.
Unprecedented rainfall accompany
ing the tornado throughout Kansas
caused many small streams to 60 out
Of their banks, resulting in the flood
ing Of Atchison, Topeka, Lindsborg
and Abilene. Twenty blocks on the
east of Topeka are reported under
water. Warning of possible floods
throughout the entire Kaw and Smoky
Hill River valleys were being sent
out by the Topeka weather bureau
Saturday night.
In the Picher Field
Wind, rain and hail combined in a
fury of the elements that flooded the
Picher mining district, broke out win
dows, whipped mining derricks to the
ground, and passing toward the north
east seemed to gather momentum as
it went.
In the vicinity Of Carl Junction
eight miles north Of Joplin the storm
seemed to reach the peak Of its fury
after having wrecked a house and
scattered its parts over pastureland.
The funnel-shaped cloud in its mad
fight in this locality seemed to follow
Spring river, and while many trees
were uprooted, telephone and tele-
graph lines wrecked and small houses
overturned, no person was seriously
injured. At Carl Junction the cloud
raised and disappeared.
The failing elevator Of the Queen
Esther mill at Picher was blown down
and fell upon the office, wrecking it.
Several men were in the Office at the
time, but nobody was seriously hurt.
The home Of A. Bolts north Of Carl
Junction was twisted on its founda-
ton, and his barn was blown several
feet away.
Six men saved their lives in a new
home owned by Will and Louis Apple
man just north of Carl Junction. The
house was under course of construc-
ton, being almost completed. When
the men employed on the building
saw the funnel-shape cloud coming
their way they ran to the basement
and huddled in one corner. A minute
later the storm struck. The house
was picked from its foundation and
dashed into bits Of flying lumber.
None of the worlrmen were hurt.
A barn owned by Glen Smith mile
north of Carl Junction, was twisted
on its foundation, and trees near the
Smith home were uprooted.
Cliff Bowers q resident Of Carl
Junction was driving a horse attached
10 q buggy along a, road near Spring
town when the storm struck. The
whole outfit, including Smith, was
picked from the middle Of the road
and .alannmed AGAINST n fence. The