The True Story of Our National Calamity of Flood, Fire and TornadoMarshall, Logan
History
The True Story of Our National Calamity of Flood, Fire and Tornado
Marshall, Logan
Floods -- Ohio River Valley; Omaha (Neb.) -- Tornado, 1913
With a great roar the levee at the foot of Broad Street let go shortly
before eleven o'clock, sending down a deluge of water that swelled the
Scioto River and covered a great area. Several small buildings
collapsed. Just before the break the police ordered all persons in the
lowlands to leave their homes quickly and flee for high land. All fire
and police apparatus assisted in the work. The residents were told not
to stop for clothes or valuables.
The Sandusky Street levee also collapsed, permitting the water to wash
out a railroad embankment and pour into all the low districts between
the river and Sandusky Street. With water to the hubs, a horse-drawn
wagon galloped out West Broad Street filled with police, who shouted as
they went a warning to all to fly to the hills.
While being swept down the channel of the swollen Scioto River just as
darkness was gathering late in the day, a man, woman and child were
rescued from the roof of a house that had been torn from its foundation
by the flood. Two other children of the same family fell into the water
and were drowned.
THE MILITIA IN CONTROL
State troops at the order of Governor Cox patrolled the streets in the
flooded sections of the city and scores of automobiles were busy
carrying the suffering to higher ground.
Meantime, the rain which began Sunday night continued, at times
moderately and at other times in torrents. The fact that the water had
already destroyed several bridges and broken a levee gave cause for the
alarm that other levees might break and further damage result.
Because of the proportions of the flood, which washed out nearly every
bridge of steam and electric roads leading out of Columbus, nearly all
train service was annulled.
Floodgates were closed against all trains coming in or going out of
Columbus on all roads except the Norfolk and Western. A train on that
road practically swam into the Union Station at 9 P. M. after having
crept along through high waters for most of the run from Portsmouth to
Columbus.
During the day several trains on roads from the East were detoured
through Columbus over the Norfolk and Western, but this was discontinued
because of washed-out bridges between Columbus and Pittsburgh and other
points. Norfolk and Western officials said they had no assurance that
they would be able to operate any trains from here.
Ten solid miles of Pullman and other trains, including the Twentieth
Century Flyer, on the Pennsylvania Railroad, extended from Lima to
Lafayette, held up by a wash-out. Repairs allowed the trains to move on
about eleven o'clock.
In taking charge of the relief work Governor Cox issued an order
directing Adjutant-General John C. Speaks to call out the entire
National Guard of the state for duty in the flooded districts.
BRIDGES SWEPT AWAY
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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