The Washington times., 1929-03-15
T " SAVED
BY GUARD,
H0PEFQR
RES
CONTINUED from Irlrat Pasel

OF water, subnerging the tops lof
automobiles, surged through the
big courthouse sqtiAre.
over the 32.niile stretch from
Troy, Ala, to Elba all bridges are
washed away and much Of the
territory In the Elba vicinity is a
vast expaTfses OF swirling water.
Atlv volunteer rescue caravans that
started out from Enterprise, Ala,
is miles from the stricken. town,
were turned back by the flood. A
party Of troops sent from here
were reported to be Inatooried
themselves between Enterprise and
the scene Of disaster.
Four thousand persons, huddled
on the upper floors and roofs OF
floating houses, face death unless
rescued immediately.
THE town was completely cut off
from commercial lanes of eonTnuIli.
cation. and virtually all telegraph
and telephone lines west Of Mont.
gonlery were down.
1t was stated that the national
guard contingent that reached islha
Travelled the last six miles of the long
It was believed that the rescue work
would prove slow task.
Emergency supplies of flood and
medical supplies were rushed from
here today, However, 1t was re-
garded as problematica1 whether the
small motor caravan Of mercy that
set out early in the day could reach
the scene of disaster, due to the rise
of the flood waters and the gaping
washouts along the way.
-. No W0rd 81 Second Unit
1t was stated. at the governors
office that it was not known
whether another unit OF guardsmen
dispatched to the stricken Coffee
county seat BY another route had
ever reached there, No word has
been received from this unit, It was
said.
In the meager message received
by the governors office here, it was
declared that the water was from - 9
to Is feet and a mile and a half
wide. Those Who had not been
rescued were huddled In the top
stories Of the largest of the buildings
in town, it was reported
It could not be learned whether or
not any persons had been drowned
when the town suddenly BECAME del.
uged by an overflow from The Pea
River ana White Water Creek.
According to the story OF woman
who escaped from Elba in motor
boat. $50 students Of the Elba Ele-
mentary School have been n1arOOt1ed
since yesterday. and have fled to
safety i'm the second story OF the
: building.
She said when she Left the place
early iii the morning the children,
most of them stiIl in their teens,
were frantic and screaming for help.
All information regarding ths
critical situation there. was received
through Enterprise and Big Creek,
Ala, and was relayed to the outside
world by couriers.
one of these couriers at Dothans
Ala. reported that although the
water around the schoc1house where
the children were n1arooned was
reported at IS feet The school was
a sturdy structure, and unless the
water rises higher will not be car
ried away in the current.
The overflow from the numerous
rivers and small creeks in south.
eastern Alabanlas extended as far
as DothaH. Fset1H men were believed
to have been drowned when their
boat overturned near Troy, Ala.
They were Tom Jacobs, Roy Hutchi.
son, Willie Holllns and Ross Clark,
all Of Trey
Fear for Other Towns
Apprehension efaSy theafety
of the pedple zen other
towns ia the SO As reports
wsrk received describing the extent
of the overflow Of various streams
in the section.
Communicates with 4 sceFe of
small towns In southeastern Ala
hama was cut OF, and the extent
of the Hood damage could not be.
determined
crave tear was felt, for the little
town of Geneva, Ala, In the ex.
trenia southwestern corner Of the
state. 1T lies at the fork of the
Pea and Chactawatchee rivers.
BirmfnshArfi today was respond
Ing to the call for help sent out for
flood sufferers. Collections OF money
and supplies were being taken UP
to rush into the stricken area.
Worst in 20 Years
TorrsntiaI rains amounting to frcm
four to seven inches which fell
during the past 36 hours covered
the southern part of the state with
the worst flood in 20 years.
Two troops Of Alabama National
Guard were sent to the stricken
district. The troops were forced to
halt their march after reaching q
point about seven miles south OF
Troy, nearly 80 miles from Elba,
their goal
shortly after passing Troy a
bridns across the Conecuh River
was washed oile, leaving the SOL
diers without any sources Of supply
and with much 6f the equipment in
accessible.
The Warrior River at Tuscaloosa
was two feet over flood stage today,
and It is expected to rise 12 feet
higher.
AZ Wetumpka, Ala, 10000 cubic
feet OF water was passing over Mar.
Tin Dam. The flood OF last week
was retained IN the basin behind
the dam, but the deluge coming |
Thursday proved too much and the |
flooa gates were opened releasing
enormous quantities OF water which
must level out in the lowlands |
south OF Montgomery.
: At Geneva. Ala. N the extreme