Free trader-journal and Ottawa fair dealer. (Ottawa, Ill.) 1920-1927, 1921-09-23
FLOODS COST MANY
LIVES DURING PAST
THIRTY YEARS IN US.
Rains Caused Indiana and Ohio Tor.
1 rents In Which $50 Persons Persisted
In 1918 - Johnstown Catastrophe
Stands Foremost In Memory Of
country-Texas Has Been Frequent
Sufferer From Swollen Waters
Pueblo Twice Visited.

SoeHty-' eNae IDS bccn frequent
Sufferer From Swollen Waters
Pueblo Twice Visited.
Several disastrous floods In this
country In the last thirty years have
had death lists running into the
hundreds, but only two of them have
been caused by torrcntial rains. one
was the flood in 1913 that ran up a
death list of 730 and property loss
OF S1SO,S13,WO in Ohio and Indiana.
In 1903 about 800 lives were lost in
cloudburst at lIeppner ore. Two
Hoods at Galveston caused n loss OF
life running into the thousands.
The food that stands foremost In
che memory of the country as cntas-
trophe was that ut JohnstOwn, Pa, on
May 81, 1889, in which 2,2O9 lives
were lost and Sl0,OOO,0U worth OF
property destroyed or swept away.
This was not due to storm but to
the breaking of the reservoir Of Lake
COnemaugh a body of water two miles
and Il half long, mile and a half
wide and more than 100 feet deep.
This held then larger volume of
water than any other reservoir in this
country.
The dam that held the waters in
this pocket was 1000 feet long, 40
feet high, 80 feet thick at the base
and * feet wide Mt the top. The
capacity Of the original lake had been
quadrupled by this dam, but the
menace Of food had been so great
since the construction Of the immense
stone wall that citizens of the valley
frequently had caused inspections 10
be made
The reservoir, far higher than Johns
town, belonged TO n hunting club. II
had been constructed CareleSSly. Com
plants often had been made to the
owners. The dam OF the reservoir was
made of earth, with no masonry re-
enforcement There had been long CON
tlnued rains prior to May 81, and
when the danger was seen gangs of
men were put to work to open a suice
But they could not work fast enough
to keep the pace with the rising
waters
inhabitants Warned.
At noon on May 81 n messenger was
sent to JohnStown warning all the in
hahitants to fee, The warning was
not taken seriously. When it became
certain that the dam was going an en-
gneer named Traks mounted fast
horse and rode through the valley to
JohnStown eighteen miles away, shout
ing an alarm as he went.
At 3 p. m, the whole center Of the
dam give way in a break 300 feet
wide. The flood, half mile wide and
forty feet high, rushed on its way to
.rnhnstown II tore down everything
In It's course, taking up whole villages
in few seconds and carrying the tons
OF binding materials like so many
chips.
Two wings of the food struck Johns
town almost simultaneously. The de-
struction was complete, Persons who
escaped were prompted to run at the
last moment when they heard the rush
of water in the distance. Bodies
fioated In the roplds and whirlpoOls
and were not found for days.
The distance from the lake to
Johnstown was eighteen miles and it
was estimated that the food covered
this distance In about seven minutes.
1t was the highest pressure flood in
history, and even after sweeping
Johnstown the water rushed on SO
swiftly that bodies were found next
morning in the Allegheny river at
Pittsburgh, seventy-eight miles away.
Another great flood due to the
breaking of a dam occurred in the
little town of Austin, Pa. A cement
dam, 40 feet high, 80 wide at the base,
and $50 feet long, storing water for
a paper-pulp mill gave way, releas.
ing 400,OOO,00O gallons. The inhahi'
tants of Austin, eleven miles below
the dam, were warned by telephones
Fewer than 100 persons lost their
lives. Fire followed the water.
5000 Lost In Texas Flood.
The worst of the food disasters
along the Texas coast occurred or
Sept. s. 1900. causing a loss of 600t
lives and nearly S20.0Oo.0OO damage
This flood was caused by hurricane
from the Gulf of Mexico. which hurled
great masses Of water miles inland
The greatest force of this flood struck
at Galveston and for thirty miles alons
the shore, both above and below
Galveston.
Thousands of persons were made
homeless, and c,ilage and robbery o.