80,000 HOMELESS

Taranaki Central Press, Volume IV, Issue 341, 23 January 1937, Page 5

80,000 HOMELESS

TOWNS IN DANGER.

Crest Of Flood Reached As High As 66 Feet.

Press Association—Copyr J ght. New York, January 21.

Ten southern and middle western States reports heavy damage from floods, and it is estimated that nearly 80,000 people are now homeless. The estimate of the homeless is as follows: Ohio, 50,000; Indiana, 11,000; Tennessee, 4000; West Virginia, 3500; Kentucky, 3000; Illinois, Arkansas and Missouri, 4500. There are no estimates for Pennsylvania or the Mississippi.

The estimates of the damage increase hourly as the Ohio River, which rose three feet in 10 hours, to rise. The loss in Cincinnati alone is now set at £200,000. One man was drowned in that State. The crest of the floor is expected to be 66 feet, which is 14 feet above the flood stage. More rains are forecast in the Ohio Valley. One town in Indiana is reported to be completely submerged. Illinois and Pennsylvania are also affected. Thousands of Kentucky people have been forced to take io the hills, as the lowlands are flooded by the Ohio, Kentucky, Green, Cumberland, Mississippi, and Big Sandy Rivers. Highways and railway tracks are washed out. A passenger train was derailed near Slaughters in Kentucky, nearly a dozen people being injured. Many, schools are closed. All the employees of the State Highway Department and 300 National Guardsmen are prepared to aid the refugees.