New Britain herald., 1927-04-20
TOWNS, VILLAGES
 ARE ABANDONED
(Continued From First page)

NSpulluUcu IOlU | II St o6S( Virtually all 0, New Madrid's popu- la,ion has abandoned the town as a result Of flood waters from the Dor ana lovee break. The business sec ton Of New Madrid today is under from five 10 fifteen feet os water. Only a few families have remained in town and they have sought refuge in second stories of their homes.
 It is estimated at least l,SoO peo- pie have fled from New Madrid. some leaving in boats after flood conditions became se-jous. All busi- ness has suspended.
 New Madrid has a population of approximately 2.ooo. It Is about ten miles south of Dorena. where the Mississippi river levee broke Saturday morning. Damage to pro- perty will be great.
 Leyce Bursts
 Helena, Ark. April % CP' - The White River levee protecting Clare don. Ark, gave way early today ac- cording to information received from the manager of the telephone ex- change there.
 The rushing waters, held back by tn. leve. for days, burst through the cmbankment with a roar heard all over the city, river craft moor ed along the levce were carried through the crcvasse Into the town with such force that many of them were smashed against the courthouse and other buildings in the business section. It is believed, according to he meager messages coming through to Helena early today that some Of hese house boat dwtllerS may have been drowned. Residents Of the town, however. for the most part. had ltet for higher ground the day before
 Wallace Graham, manager cf the telephone company at Harendon.told the Associated Press that tn. water surging through the gap swept aside chstructions to it's rush and carried cabin boats through the center Of the town.
 Graham said he believed there had been loss of life. He was unable to leave his office six hours after the levee collapsed because Of the swift current.
 Everything Is Bad
 4 number Of persons were ma l oon"d in the county courthouse and above the roar ot the rushing water could be heard the screams ol frightened women and children who sought safety in the building.
 Everything is bad--very bad, Graham said.
 Clarendon is town of about g. 800 population, the county seat oi Monroe county.
 Other breaks in the White River lev.e were reported near the to" Il last night
 Springfield, Ill.,. April go LI' -- Line squalls, that extended like ln- visible tentacles from Greene county yesterday. one striking southeast ward, the other northeastward. left a known death list of ls, nine others listed as probably fatally injured. and about lo0 less seriously hurt.
 Damage Near Million
 Property damage in the five counties where the storm took life. and in half a dozen other counties which felt its force in diminished violence. was roughly estimated a' sl,oo0.o0O. Many buildings. most of them in farming communities, were destroyed, and considerable damage was done to crops.
 Greene county. almost directly north Of St. Louis. suffered most heavily in casualties. Nine were killed there. Another death resulted a few miles west in Calhoun coun- ".
 One arm of tho tornadic wind reached from Greene county sixty miles southw"stward into Bond county where one life vas lost.
 The main series of squalls, how ever. bounded northeastward taking four lives in Sangamon county and four more in Logan, which lies north of Sangamon,
 Large Area Affected
 While the loss of life was confined 70 a relatively small territory. most Of central and northern Illinois, as well as q part of Indiana. felt the wrath Of the high wind. namag" was reported nearly as far north as Milwaukee, Wis.
 The Greene county toll was dis tributcd in four small communities. Miss Ann Keller. teacher of the cen 'ervilie rural school near tarrollton. the Greene county seat, lost her 'i'" when caught under debris. although non" Of her pupils was killed.
 She had ordered them to take shelter beneath their seats,
 Al Wrights. another rural center in Greene county. four were killed. including 2 mother and her baby, while three others mct death not far away ~ Npodville. Another death occurred et Athsn~illA.
 Saneamon county had three deaths in the little hamlet of Ruf- fafo Far----vo men and au inIan'. 4, l. G,4-