The True Story of Our National Calamity of Flood, Fire and Tornado Part 18

By Sunday the outlook for Cincinnati was brighter. No trains had gone out of the city except south to Kentucky by way of Covington, and rail and telegraph communications were still badly demoralized, but fair, warm weather which had continued since Thursday had greatly helped the complex situation. It was predicted that the river would reach its greatest height at Cincinnati on Monday.

EXPLOSIONS IN THE CITY

Spreading over a vast expanse of territory in Cincinnati, as well as an almost equal amount in the various towns that lie along the river on the Kentucky sh.o.r.e, the Ohio continued to rise.

During Sat.u.r.day night the central part of the city was thrown into a semi-panic by an explosion that could be heard for miles. The Union Carbide Company, at Pearl and Elm Streets, had been destroyed in an explosion caused supposedly by the carbide coming in contact with water.

The river reached the stage of 69.3 feet at noon, Sat.u.r.day, and continued to rise at the rate of two-tenths of a foot every two hours.

Two companies of the Ninth United States Infantry, stationed at Fort Thomas, Kentucky, were held in readiness to march at an instant's notice to Covington, where Mayor George S. Phillips feared the city might be in need of military protection due to high water that virtually surrounded the town. When the river stage reached more than 68 feet on Friday the gas plants were put out of commission and the city was in darkness.

Of the few important towns in Kentucky, opposite Cincinnati, only one, Newport, maintained direct communication with Cincinnati. Through Newport communication was obtained with Covington by a circuitous route.

In Newport there were already under water nearly one hundred and twenty square blocks, located in the section along the south bank of the Ohio River. The other towns, Bromley, Dayton and Ludlow, were still without outside communication, but reports from there were that there was no immediate need of a.s.sistance.

THE CRISIS

The river continued to mount. It rose two-tenths of a foot during Monday night and early Tuesday the stage was 69.8 feet. The weather forecaster, Devereaux, said he expected the river to rise another tenth, after which it probably would recede. Up-river points reported the river either stationary or falling slowly.

At midnight Tuesday the river began to fall. The whole city breathed a sigh of relief. The Government stated that the river would be inside its banks within a week.

FLOOD DAMAGE

The direct and indirect damage caused in Cincinnati by the flooding of the river-front and low-lying residential sections was very great. An estimate of the indirect loss can never be made, while the direct loss is placed at more than $2,000,000.

Across the river in the Kentucky suburbs conditions were deplorable.

Estimates were that one thousand homes there had been inundated and that more than four thousand persons were homeless.

CHAPTER X

THE FLOOD IN WESTERN OHIO

DISTRESS IN BELLEFONTAINE--PIQUA DELUGED--TROY A HEAVY SUFFERER--MIAMI ON THE RAMPAGE AT MIDDLETOWN--HAMILTON HARD HIT--BIG RESERVOIRS THREATENING--OLENTANGY RIVER A LAKE AT DELAWARE--FLOOD AT SPRINGFIELD--NEW RICHMOND UNDER WATER.

The rus.h.i.+ng torrent of water that swept down the Miami River, surging over Dayton, devastated a score or more of towns in its mad course from the creeks around Bellefontaine to the point southwest of Cincinnati where the waters of the Miami merge with those of the Ohio.

DISTRESS IN BELLEFONTAINE

Cries of distress arose from Bellefontaine on Wednesday, March 26th. At that time millions of gallons of water were pounding against the banks of the Lewiston reservoir, fifteen miles from Bellefontaine, and it was feared that if the increasing flood should burst the banks the lives of every inhabitant of the Lower Miami Valley would be imperiled.

The immense reservoir at Lewiston did burst its banks between Lake View and Russell's Point and swept through the great Miami Valley like a tidal wave. It was this vast quant.i.ty of water, added to the already overflowing river, that inundated the cities of Sidney and Piqua.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Photograph by Underwood & Underwood, N. Y.

The engraving shows a view of Broadway, Watervliet, New York, the princ.i.p.al business street of that city, covered with eight feet of water]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Copyright by Underwood & Underwood, N. Y.

The bridge shown in the ill.u.s.tration leads to the Carnegie Steel Company at Youngstown, Ohio. Ordinarily this bridge is far enough above the water to allow the large river steamers to pa.s.s under]

At Sidney there was no loss of life, but the town was badly flooded and early reports of loss of life ran high.

PIQUA DELUGED

The flooded Miami swept over Piqua in a great deluge. The water reached the first floor of the Plaza Hotel, which is situated in the high part of the city. Panic-stricken the people fled from their homes or sought refuge in the upper stories of high buildings. Fire broke out in many places. At one point in the city the water was twelve feet deep. Many persons were drowned. Many lost all their possessions.

Relief measures were taken by city authorities. The property loss was great, as most of the manufacturing plants were destroyed by the flood.

A company of militia from Covington maintained order and cared for those made dest.i.tute by the flood.

TROY A HEAVY SUFFERER

The town of Troy was also a heavy sufferer. The state troops who arrived in the town on March 27th with provisions for Dayton were stranded.

One-third of the town was cut off from gas, electricity and water supply. A train load of provisions arrived. The provisions were carefully distributed.

One-half of the state troops left on foot for Dayton, following the tracks of the railroad.

FLOOD EDITION THE PIQUA DAILY CALL Vol. 29 PIQUA, OHIO, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 26, 1913. No. 134

Calamity Strikes Piqua; Our City Bowed in Grief Appalling Loss of Human Life, and Great Destruction of Property.

Thousands Are Homeless

City Under Martial Law--Communications Cut Off with Outside World--Relief Station Established at the Y. M. C. A.

Piqua is today a stricken city; a city bowed down, broken with grief. We have been visited by the greatest calamity in our history. The loss of life that has been suffered from the flood cannot be estimated now.

It is sufficient now to tell that relief measures are being taken. The Business Men's a.s.sociation, the Y. M. C. A. and citizens generally are co-operating with the city and military authorities to bring order out of chaos to rescue those confined in houses still standing in the flooded sections to house and feed the homeless.

The city is practically under martial law. Company C. and Company A. of Covington are here and patrolling the city under the the direction of the city authorities.

Last night, we regret to say, there was a beginning of looting and plundering in the south part of the city.

Rigorous measures will be taken by the military and the police to repress and prevent such in the future.

Piqua still is cut off from communication from the outside world. All the telegraph and telephone wires are down. Bridges and tracks are down on both railroads and no trains are running.

The only outside communication possible has been by using a Pennsylvania freight engine to Bradford from which point it has been possible to use the telegraph.

All the traction lines still are crippled and unable to run their cars in or out of the city. How soon it may be possible to re-open these lines of communication it is impossible to say.