Evening star., 1937-01-21
Rivers Nearing
Record Crests
in Midwest.
MANY TOWNS
AREINUNDATED
Relief Is Rushed to
Stricken and
MarOOned.
Ry the Associated Press.

ay the Associated Press.
Heavy rains heightened sharply the
river menace to widespread East ana
Central West areas. driving some
streams to crests which threatened
to equal record floods of 1918.
Property loss and human misery
mounted with the rising waters. IN
Cincinnati alone police estimated
damage in excess of sl,0o0,o0o.
More than 10000 abandoned Ohio
Valley homes and sought refuge on
higher lands. Hundreds banded to-
pether to maintain dikes and levees,
while others formed emergency crews
to transfer merchandise from perileo
areas.
The floods covered miles OF land
IN PENNSYLVANIA, West Virginia, ONO
kentucky. Indiana, Illinois Ten
nessee Missouri and Arkansas. yellow
waters crept up city streets anu
flooded Easements in scores OF COM
munities.
Ordered to Leave Homes.
Riding high on an accumulatloh
of heavy rains, the Ohio River de-
scended on Portsmouth, Ohio, ana
caused City Manager Frank Sheehan
To warn all residents. except tnose
in hilltop districts, to prepare 10
leave homes and business houses. The
citv has a population of more than
10000.
The river rose two-tenths of foot
an hour at Cincinnati toward a crest
the Weather Bureau said might equal
that of the 1918 inundation, which
cost Southwestern Ohio millions OF
dollars.
The village of New Richmond, 80
miles west OF Cincinnati, sent a call
for aid, and boats and crews were dis
patched to evacuate families sur.
rounded by water. Fifteen hundred
families already had left their homes
In Northern Kentucky cities.
Indicative of the sweep of the flood
was a report that $500 of the 1000
houses in New Richmond we're flooded.
Water swirled S feet deep in the
streets.
Almost the entire population OF
Aurora, Ind, worked to remove stocks
from stores. Fire sirens brought them
from their beds at midnight.
Indiana Levee Breaks.
Bursting through a levee, Wnlte
River waters took over the village OF
Hsdeton. Ind. It's 500 residents stood
on hills and surveyed the wreckage
under II feet of water.
Flood waters swept over the Ken
lucky lowlandS, in some places reacn-
ing the 1888 mark. driving hundreds
from their homes and derailing
Louisville and Nashville train at
slaughters. The National Guard was
mustered in Frankfort to assist evacu-
alton of areas flooded by the Ken
lucky River.
Rising levels of the Mississippi and
Its tributaries forced lowland dwellers
to flee in West Tennessee and North
eastern Arkansas. Tents, box cars
and public buildings housed the home
less.
Winter rain and mountain snow
sent the rivers in Western Pennsyl-
vania toward food stage today. The
south branch of the Potomac River
washed out temporary bridge near
Springfield, w. Va.
Confusion descended on Newtown,
20 miles east of Cincinnati. The water
threatened to engulf most Of the
towns. Scores of families started
mass movement to higher ground.
Pomeroy, Ohio, up river, was under
8 feet of water with anotEe. 18 inches
expected. Residents there, usually
accustomed to high waters, expressed
concern for the first time since the
1918 food.
A steady rain continued over most
of the Southern Ohio Valley region
during the morning.
Women and Children Rescued.
Twenty-six marooned women and
children, huddled together in the rain
all last night on small island north
Of Senath, Mo, we're rescued today by
crews working in motor boats.
John Sando, Senath druggist. said
some of the refugees were brought to
Senath and others were taken to Ken
nett, where they were given medical
attention.
They were driven from their homes
to the island by rapidly rising back
waters which constantly pour into the
lower districts from half dozen
breaks in the st. Francis River levee.
The Cumberland River, far above
Hood stage, threatened waterfront
buildings at Nashville, Tenn, and
routed many householders. Backwater
from the Mississippi inundated West
ern Tennessee lowlands. Illinois and
North Carolina were other States
plagued with flood waters.
p, Point Pleasant and Huntington, in
West Virginia, feeling the brunt Of
the high waters, watched tha slowly
(See FLOODS, Page A-2)