Evening star., 1942-10-16
Flood

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office ordered sandbags prepared tt
barricade Seventeenth street, below
Constitution avenue NV. Ths
street cuts through a dixie there
which was built after the 1896 flood
The situation in Fredericksburg
where the Rappahannock had gone
over its banks, was reported serious
The city was cut of from the north
because bridges and roads had beer
washed out, and was reported to have
only, 20-hour supply of drinking
water.
More than 500 Fredericksbure
homes have been evacuated and the
Red Gross has set up emergency
relief stations. Part of Falmouth
Va, was under water.
/ Valley Points Hard Hit.
Communities in the Potomac Rive,
Valley above Washington were hare
hit. In Harpers Ferry water was
rising 10 inches an hour and the
main street was under 6 feet OF
water. 1t was expected that two
thirds of the town would be flooded
by nightfall. Brunswick, Md, and
Point of Rocks, Md, also were in
the floods path.
The American Red Cross sent siz
field directors and representatives
into West Virginia, Maryland. anc
Virginia to aid homeless in the val
leys of the Potomac, Shenandoh
James, Rappahannock, Little Rap
idan and Savage Rivers.
Railroad travel was disrupted in
the affected area. Trains were tied
up in Union Station here, unable to
proceed south out of Washington
and other trains, north bound, were
held up below Fredericksburg
Westbound trains, moving through
the flood area in Maryland, were
running behind schedule in many
cases.
Washouts on the Chesapeake &
Ohio Railroad on its span of the
Blue Ridge forced diversion of that
roads traffic over the Southern
Railroad to Lynchburg and thence
back to the West.
Water Rising at Washington.
The water was rising around
Washington. At 12:40 pm, 1t was
more than feet above flood stage
at the Wisconsin avenue guage
Families living in homes in the low
ground near the C. 81 o. Canal saw
the water tapping close to their
steps. The river already has flowed
over its banks in that area and
into the canal. s.
Commissioner Young this after
noon announced that he had re-
ceived orders from President Roose-
welt to take precautions against
disaster here.
President Roosevelt sent word to
me today to spare no ecort or ex-
pense in protecting the city from
the possibility of a food" he an
nounced. 1--WE gave assurance that
we are doing everything that our
engineers recommend"
Policeman Witnesses Drowning.
Bethesda police reported that Mr.
Buell., who operated an auto repair
shop at 1910 Wisconsin avenue, was
drowned at 1:30 o'clock this morn
ing while attempting to pull a
stalled auto from water which had
flooded River road just north o.
Seven Locks road.
w. C. Trigger, Bethesda police
man who witnessed the drowning
said Mr.. Buell. had attached 9
cable to the stalled auto and hac
ordered his helper, Hammond Tess
ler, to start the crane on his wreck
er in order to pull the machine
from the flood.
Mr.. Buell. was standing in the
water beside the stalled car, Mr.
Trigger said. When the wrecker be-
gan pulling it, the machine moved
few feet, and then strong currents
swept it from the road into a deep
hole in Cabin John Branch.
'Mr. Buell. and the car disap-
peared," Mr.. Trigger said, "and were
never seen again His body was re-
covered at 6:35 o'clock this morning
about 200 feet south of River road
by Harold Fremean of the Bethesda
Volunteer Fire Department.
Mr.. Buell., drowned near Cabir
John. Md, lived at 1925 Rosedale
avenue, Bethesda. and had been ir
the garage business there for the
past II years. He was a native ol
Maryland and was born at Takoms
Park. He is survived by his widow
Mrs. Pauline Lee Buell.; his parents
Mr.. and Mrs. Max Buell. of Fall.
Church, Va; two children, John Lex
and Nancy Perry Buell., and {
brother, Alden Buell. of Washington
May Pass 1886 Mark.
The Weather Bureau estimated
that high water at the Letter gauge
near Sycamore Island would be .28.5
feet above mean low water aroune
s am. tomorrow. In 1886, the crest
there was 28.1 feet above mean low
The Weather Bureau said that Al
inches of rain had fallen here be-
tween Monday and noon today ant
the forecast was for continued rain
Ben L. Savage, a junk dealer a
3405 K street NV, along the men
aced Georgetown water front, begar
moving more than $4,000 pounds o
metal, rags and paper stored in hi
yard and was transferring it Il
other dealers for safekeeping. Mucl
of the material was collected In th'
recent scrap drives here.