Imperial Valley press., 1935-03-14
MAY SURPASS
DISASTERS Of
RECENT YEARS
Water Reported Rising To Rec
ord Stages With Additional
Rains Due Over Area
MILITIA DO RESCUE WORK
Life And Property Endangered
As Rising Streams Threaten
To Break Through Levees
(By United Press

tDy OthtCu AiCSct
Thousands of townspeople and
farmers, residents along tributa-
ries of the Mississippi river, today.
fled from rising waters that threat.
en- the worst flood conditions In
so years.
Government engineers and ma
tional guardsmen along the Black
and st, Francis rivers in southern
Missouri and northern Arkansas
sounded a warning. The situation
In this area was described as worse
than the disasters of 1927 and 1881.
Water from the hills near the
Arkansas state line have turned
brooklets into raging streams. Gov
ernment engineers predicted the
st. Francis river within 48 hours
would break over its 65 miles Of
levee with two-foot wall of flood
waters.
Hundreds of families were NOV
ing out of the lowlands. Refugees
from Dunklin county, lowest ele-
vation in Missouri, were accom-
modated in Red Cross tents, rail-
road boxcars and public buildings
at Kennett.
CAIRO, H., March IA. Up)-Na-
tional guardsmen and river forces
of five states fought frantically
against time today to evacuate
hundreds of families from river
lands menaced with flood un-
equalled since the Mississippi tore
through thousands of acres in 1927.
Both the Ohio and Mississippi,
weighted with waters from RAM
paging tributaries swollen by four
days of rain, threatened to go over
their banks momentarily.
Army engineers said the Missis-
sippi will be seven feet over flood
stage at Cairo by Saturday.
At Cincinnati the Ohio stood at
49.4 feet, less than three feet be-
low the flood line. The current was
rising 1la inches an hour.
Four companies of national
guardsmen worked in the $4,000
acre Mingo basin of Missouri to res
cue families and livestock imperil-
ed by the st. Francis river, which
smashed a Stoddard county levee.
Residents of Shawneetown and
Mount Carmel, ILL.,, and dozens OF
other small communities unprotect-
ed by leveeS prepared to flee their
homes. The Ohio this morning
had risen IL feet since Monday. It
was expected to pass flood stage
before noon. The normally tran
quill Wabash menaced Mount Car
mel, rising four feet in "a hours.
Hundreds OF families left home
less in Missouri, Kentucky and
Tennessee were denied the solace OF
early prospective returns by pre-
dictions of new precipitation over
six states draining into the flood
area.
Northern Kentucky and southern
Illinois highways were impossible.
Mines and schools closed in West
Virginia, Indiana, Pennsylvania and
Kentucky
Danger that the Mississippi would
repeat its wild 1927 performance
WIS ullIluillleu ny pIOSpcCtlNt COio
weather in its northern reaches.
where melting snow might furnish
the volume in warm weather to
send the lower river over hundreds
of square miles.
The army engineers checked re-
ports constantly to catch the first
sign of weakness in levees and
banks.
SUCCESS, Ark, March IA. W.p)--
This little town of $50 persons was
trapped by water at least 8 feet
deep on all sides today as flood
menaces increased on Mississippi
tributary rivers in southeastern
Missouri and eastern Arkansas.
MANY persons had to break up
through the roofs of their homes
to escape the rapidly rising flood
waters and call attention to res
cuers,' Mayor E. W. Cochrane told
the United Press today.
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