| Show I 5 5 Known Drowned As Sudden Floods Hit Oklahoma City Streams Leave Banks and Inundate Homes Business Buildings Guardsmen Guards Guards- men Are Called Ry J Associated Press Pres OKLAHOMA CITY June 3 3 Three women a boy and a aman aman aman man were drowned and there were unverified reports of other deaths as a sudden flood swept Oklahoma City early today trapping scores of sleeping families Sent roaring out of their banks by a half foot of rain the waters of the Canadian river and Lightning creek surged over a wide area in the southern part of the city Water poured through the business district inundating basements while families already living in camps for the destitute fled homeless I IThe The bod body of or a year old girl was taken from Lightning creek at Southeast South South- east cast Twenty third street J. J M 1 Meads former deputy sheriff reported reported re reo ported that the body o of a woman about 45 years old was taken from froma a tree on South Twenty first street and that of another woman about 40 was recovered at South fifth Twenty street and Santa Fe SEES WO WOMAN I V DROWN L. L L. L Estes a south side resident said he be saw a woman who was clinging to a housetop go down when her home floating downstream collided col with another There was an unverified report of another womans woman's body on a railway trestle which could not be reached and a woman and child were reported drowned in Melrose park in fri the far south part parl of town Hours of darkness in the southern south south- em ern suburb of Capitol Hill and the failure of telephones and 6 60 toll loll lines added to the terrors of ol families struggling to leave leav their flooded homes Some looting was reported in downtown business streets where basements were flooded Scores of persons were in hospitals hospi receiving treatment for exposure ex cx- a number were reported missing missing miss miss- ing and hundreds more were receiving receiving ing food and attention in hastily arranged arranged ar are ar- ar ranged emergency shelters Half Hal a hundred national guardsmen guards men were called into duty by Lieutenant Lieutenant Lieu Lieu- tenant Governor Robert Burns The community camp tent city of jobless and the Lightning creek bottoms bot bot- toms appeared hardest hit lilt Houses were swept away and persons sought refuge on roofs and in tree tops At Atthe Atthe the camp refugees waded out through neck deep water fathers and mothers I carrying children on their shoulders Invalids in some sections were taken out in ambulances s. s Police searched for or one woman reported trapped in a cellar in the camp The rain kept coming down at midmorning midmorning mid mid- morning although the flood waters had receded Ernie Webb a fireman and former Oklahoma City university football star saved a family of six Living with his wI wife e and four children chil dren in a tourist park Fred Brink found his home isolated and finally torn from its foundation It floated three blocks and then caught on a tree trec Webb swam to the house and carried the marooned family to safety Continued on Pare Pace Two To I OKLAHOMA CITY HIT BY FLOOD Continued from rage PaCe au One one by one while workmen on the bank pulled him to shore with a rope Her back broken and In a cast one woman was removed from the community com community camp through h water two feet deep Three children with broken le legs lees also were carried from the camp The body of a year old boy was taken from five feet of water in in the block on Southeast Twenty third street TRIES TO CROSS A man on horseback who attempted to cross deep water near the Taylor school for boys where 65 youths were marooned upstairs was report report- reported ed drowned The backing up of flood waters caused a shutdown on nearly every well vell in the north end of the Oklahoma Okla Okia homa City field as well as pipeline and pas gas compressor stations Hundreds in the community camp fled lIed their tent homes Many destitute desti destitute destitute tute families living outside the camp were homeless At one time water stood two feet teet deep at Main and Broadway in the heart of ot the business district One house floating downstream was wis roped by police and a family of five rescued Reports said water was caves eaves deep near Twenty ninth street and South Robinson avenue and that householders householders householders house house- holders were clinging to house housetops tops Pumping trucks were on duty at al daylight in the business section and merchants were there earlier trying try trying in ing to save basement stocks and sweeping water from the main floors In the basement of oC the Huckins hotel furniture was floating in four feet of ot water and there was as much In n the cellar of ot the new First National Na Na- ional Bonk Bank and Trust company sky scraper Officers in East Easl Capitol Hill southern south smith em ern suburb squelched an attempt by jy two men to loot an abandoned house louse on Lightning creek The men fled LIed YUMA Ariz June 3 Hun P P Hun of ot freight cars loaded with rock and crews of men were v held in readiness here today as the Colorado Colo Cob rado river era gradually dually rising increased increased increased in in- creased its strain on the levees protecting protecting protecting pro pro- the rich Imperial valley vaHey The peak of ot the flood Hood is due late ate tonight or early tomorrow The only danger irrigation district officials oUi said is the possible break of the levee system Guards were posted at nt short Intervals intervals In in- Intervals along the levees to detect any possible break or seepage The river was flowing lowing better than second feet at Yuma this morn morning in The peak of the flood is expected to brin bring the discharge to second feet I |
