Salt Lake Telegram | 1940-04-20 | Page 2 | Ohioans Flee as Floods Hit Cities; Kentucky, West Virginia Menaced

Ohioans Flee as Floods Hit Cities Kentucky West Virginia Menaced d CINCINNATI Ohio April 20 UP fl T Hundreds of families fled their homes Saturday as Ohio's Hocking valley suffered its worst flood since 1913 and the rain-burdened rain Ohio river swept Into lowlands and entered entered entered en en- Marietta Ohio city of Athens and Logan Ohio virtually virtually virtu virtu- all ally were Isolated with roads Im Im- Im passable A boy was drowned In one me of many swollen tributaries flowing into the treacherous Ohio Much of southern Ohio was was under under under un un- un- un der water after nearly a w week ek of rains totaling more than four inches More rain was fore forecast ast Four inches of water covered the first floor of the Gordon Cordon hotel at Glouster Ohio as Sunday creek left eft its banks and poured down the main street Business houses th there re and in Nelsonville moved stock and equipment to second floors Residents Resident Flee Two hundred families In the Athens Nelsonville area abandoned ned I lowland homes 5 Six hundred were were homeless homeless' In Morrow and South Lebanon South Newark h had d homeless as s the Licking river covered all n but two roads leading into to Newark Pomeroy Ohio anticipated four or five feet of water in its business district by Sunday Sunday- A Aown town own of district is s built along the w waterfront te Martins and East Liverpool Ohio expected lowland floods The weather bureau set a tentative tentative tentative ten crest of 58 to 59 feet for forWe We Wednesday in Cincinnati put but ut emph emphasized emphasized em em- ph that it all depends on rain which seems to be continuing The river already was approaching flood stage of 52 feet here Cities Threatened The bureau predicted the Ohio would go one to five feet over ver flood stage next week at H Huntington W. W Va Portsmouth Ohio and Maysville and Ashland Ky Twenty persons were rescued by boats b a in low residential sections in Washington Court House Ohio A landslide at Hartford W. W Va blocked Baltimore Ohio Ohio railroad tracks and nd forced rerouting of pas passenger passenger pas pas- trains of ot ab about ut 28 feet bet between e n l 10 p. p m. m E. E S. S T. T and midnight Saturday night the same crest reached two weeks ago Flood stage here Is 25 feet The stage at noon at the point of the triangle where triangle where the Allegheny Allegheny Allegheny Al Al- and Monongahela rivers merge to form tile the more ominous ominous' Ohio was Ohio was feet Fifty miles down the Ohio at Wheeling W. W Va a crest of 40 feet four four feet over the flood markwas markwas markwas mark- mark was predicted for Sunday U. U S. S army engineers at Pittsburgh said they expected the high water to roll on down the Ohio without extensive extensive extensive ex ex- ex- ex damage to the West Virginia Virginia Virginia Vir Vir- ginia city At Johnstown the historic flood city laid waste In 1899 and again in 1936 the Stoney creek and Conemaugh rivers were falling after reaching crests far below flood stage