| Show cause of record floods Assi assigned to topography y crowded valleys helpless victims of rivers washington record floods causing enormous property damage in western pennsylvania and western 31 maryland aryland call attention to the peculiar topography of these regions where the industrial and commercial sections of 0 the largest cities are crowded along steep river banks in narrow valleys says the national geographic society when excessive rainfall and melting snow raise the beadi headwaters vaters of the principal streams floods follow with terrifying suddenness in such closely walled rivers as the monongahela allegheny deaver beaver conemaugh the upper ohio and the upper potomac with no lowlands god and almost no islands to spread upon and lose force hood flood waters quickly attain are all within the reach of 0 flood waters about once a decade basements are flooded end and river shipping endangered tile the principal menace even in times of minor floods however la Is to health healt li because rising river waters back UP the he sewers and sometimes contaminate drinking water thickly settled valleys during a flood about ten years ago a newspaper in mckeesport McKee sport pa bad to put reporters linotype operators and other employees to work hurriedly removing huge bug ge rolls of newsprint stored in the basement b ir if the rising water had reached this paper the rolls would h have ave swelled and wrecked the building one of the contributing factors to floods in western pennsylvania Is the growth of towns and cities thus diminishing the number of trees and shrubs that help the soil to retain moisture whole hillsides hill sides along tile the monongahela Monon gabela also have been nearly denuded of verdure by and by constant clouds of acrid fumes and smoke from industries I 1 in D the valley the valleys are thick thickly I 1 y settled and rainwater flows rapidly from roofs and paved streets into sewers and rivers although Althou sli there are a number of government dams in the ohio monongahela and the allegheny they are low lov structures used principally to provide a sufficient depth for the heavy barge traffic on these streams |
