80,000 Homeless

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 7, 23 January 1937, Page 5

80,000 Homeless

--PresB Aasn,

0HI0 IN FL00D Attempts to Defend Towns From Water CITIES EVACUATED

(By Telegraph

— Copyjright.)

(Received 23, 9-5 a.m.) NEW YORK, Jan. 21. Estimates of the damage increased every hour an the Ohiq river rose three feet in ten hours and continued to mount. The crest is expected to be 66 feet, which will be 14 feet above the flood stage. Ten southern and middle western States reported heavy damage. The estimafe -of the homeless has been raised. to nearly 80,000, divided as follows: Ohio, 50,000; Indiana, 11,000; Tennessee, 40Q0; West Virginia, 35QQ; Kentucky, 3000; Hlinois, Arkansas and Mxssouri, 4500. These are no estimates from Pennsylvania and Mississippi. The entir© population© of Lawrenceburg and Aurora, Indiana, are moying put. A special relief train is en route from Indianapolis, Three towns in Jndiana and five in gentucky are without electricity after the water© invaded the power plant at Troy, Indiana. Meanwhile near Portsmouth a ferry boat sank with 25 , aboard while engaged in rescue work. All leapt into the Scioto river and swam ashore ©afely. A sandbag wall has been plaeed around the northreast corner of Louisville (Kentucky) where the Ohio As rising at the rate of a foot each five hours. The Government meteorologist there said the flood would probably go higher than in 1884, which was tho worst in the city's history. . Only on© main highway entering the city is open. Twelve hundred families have been moved from the lowlands. At leagt 30.000 are estimated to b© homeless in five States. There is six feet of water in the streets of Pomeroy and many residenfs have been forced to ©vacuate Irojxton, New Richmond, Manchester, Rome and Ripley. Many villages are surrounded by water and boats ara evaeuating the r©1 sidents, most of whom were forced to abandon their possessions owing to the suddenness with whioh the water trapped them. The city manager of Portsmouth, 100 miles up stream, ordered the evacuation of all but hilltop districts and said it would probably be necessary to open the sewerg to allow the water gradually to enter the city for fear the pressure would break the 60-foot wall shielding the community. The evacuation is expected to afiect 13,000 of the eity's 43,000 population. The State Government made all faeilities, ineluding national guardsmen, availabla for flood relief. Th© Adjutant-General assigned guardsmen to duty in various river communities and ordered the swift distribution of cots and supplxes among the refugees. More rains are forecast in the Ohio valley. The Kentucky, Green, Cumberland -and Big Sandy rivers are tributaries of the Ohio, which in turn tlows into the Mississippi. The Ohio itself is a river of vast proportions, being nearly 1000 miles long with a drainage basin of 210,000 square miles^ The Mississippi 's length is about 2486 miles, but ineluding its longest tributary, the Missouri, it measures 5431 miles and constitutes th,e world 's largest river system.