The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-09-03
ANOTHER DEUCE
 DRENCHES CITY; STREETS AWASA
Over Two Inches of Rain In 90 MinuteS---Stre In Busi- ness Section Fill Quickly
 as Sewers Overflow
By GEORGE WATSON

Almost equalling the deluge of 2 few weeks ago, Birmingham was struck by another near cloudburst yesterday afternoon. Some of the main streets of the city were badly damaged by the downpour that converted them into small rivers. Services of the trans portation, telephone and lighting sys- tens of the city were seriously ham pered.
 Weather Observer c. F. Horton an nounced that total of 2.5 inches of rain fell in the hour and a Ihalf period beginning at 2:30 o'clock This com pares with the record fall of 2.97 inches which was recorded in a two-hour pc riod dultng the heavy rain of a few weeks ago. The intensity of the rain was as great, but it did not extend over the same length of time.
 As a result of the unusually heavy fall the sewers in some of the, lower sections of the city were totally un- able to dispose of the water. At Fourth avenue and Nineteenth street and at Fifth avenue and Twenty-f first street the flood of water soon became several inches deep.
 Street cars were unable to make their way through the flood, and hundreds of people found themselves stranded in the business section of the city. Auto mobiles were able to navigate" only with difficulty. Water ran into the lobby of the city hall and the Hil!man Hotel. Every precaution was taken by the department stores and hotels to prevent a flooding of the basements. Due to these precautions, and the short CT duration of rain, no damage was reported from this source.
 The wood block pavement on Twen- tieth and Nineteenth streets was bad ly damaged. The blocks were forced out of alignment and many of them floated away.
 The electric display in connection with the storm was the most violent this year. according to the records of the Fountain Heights weather station During the hardest of the rain the fire department was called out three times on account of burning telegr iph poles The street car company reported tlat a number of cars were burned out by the lighting.
 The municipal lighting plant in North Birmingham was put out of commission. As a result, the city hall was thrown into darkness. Recorder S court WAS IOTced to auJOurn and the police and detective departments worked under difficulty.
 Telephone lines were down in many sections of the city and service wa: seriously hampered. The two telegraph companies reported no damage. The wind did not reach a velocity of over twenty miles an hour
 According to MT. Horton, Birming ham has already received more than the average rainfall for the year So far this year the fall has been 54.27 inches. The average for a year is 494S inches. August was month of ire quen. rains. 9.9 inches fell during the month. More rain is predicted for to- day.
 The cause of the accumulation of water in the downtown section is ascribed partly to the condition of the storm sewer where it empties into Valley Creek. The water in the creek soon rises above the mouth of the sewer obstructing the free flow of wa ter. There has been some talk of ex- tending the sewer further down stream but no definite action has been taken by the city commission as yet