New Britain herald., 1927-11-04
Death List Mounts to Eighteen-Fear Many Trapped in H o m e s Unable to Escape Communication Badly Interrupted.
Snow and Dropping Tem- peratures Add to Suffer- ing-HOmes in Sections Completely Under Water Red Cross Aids.

Boston, Nov. { ,lpL-The most sud- den and unexpected flood that has ever struck New England had taken many lives today and the total kept mounting as reports came in from sections cut off from previous com munication. Early this afternoon the death list stood at IS although this included some which had not been wholly confirmed.
 The damage will total several mil lion dollars--how many millions cannot be told until wires to many places are restored. With scarcely any warning the storm struck Yer mont and western Massachusetts yesterday accompanied by a torrent Of rain which continued through last night and today and worked its way eastward.
 Streams Rise Rapidly.
 Streams. especially in the moun- tain sections Of Vermont and New Hampshire, rose with startling ra- pidty and swept bridges and dams before them. Overbufdened reser- Voirs gave way and sent walis Of water hurtl:ag into villages in the lowlands. Highways and railroad lines Were washed out and covered deep with mud from landslides. New England was cut off from mail com munication with New York 10 the south and Canada to the north.
 Three persons were reported drowned at Beckett. in the Berkshire Hills Of western Massachusetts when . reservoir banking gave way and the water swept through the little village. destroying 25 houses and several industrial plants. Three more were caught in the flood at sharon. Vermont, when a dam gave way. A woman and her little daugh- ter Were carried 10 their death with a bursting dam at Smith Village In Millbury. Mass. Other deaths were reported from Westfield Worcester, Boston, Barre, Nt, and Pittsfeld Vt.
 Hundreds Rescued
 Hundreds of families were rescued from homes surrounded by water. White River junction and Wells River, Vt, both important railroad centers, were among the places which suffered the most severe dam age. North Adams. Mass. was an- other. Communication was still cut off from several Vermont cities where it was known that the dam age was heavy.
 Vermont Seriously Affected
 The whole state of Vermont was seriously affected. Streams running down from the long range of the Green mountains which divide the eastern and western parts Of the state rose with almost unbelievable rapidity after rainfall which eX- ceeded all records. Across the Con- necticut river in New Hampshire the streams rising in the White moun- tains acted in similar fashion. Tho Connecticut river itself, one of the great waterways ot the east, was over it's banks in many places, and II was expected that the Merrlmack river in New Hampshire and Massa- chusetts would show serious flood conditions as 1t received the waters from it's swollen tributaries.
 Western Massachusetts. also q re- zion of mountains and hills, suffered severely. as did Worcester county in Massac chusettS. which is threaded by innumerahle streams. All commun- lcation was cut off from several Yer mont cities, including Rutland. where the storm wrecked it's. fury yesterday and hundreds of families were forced from their homes by the water racing through the city streets.