People's Pilot, Volume 5, Number 11, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 5 September 1895 — DELUGED WITH RAIN. [ARTICLE]

DELUGED WITH RAIN.

THE CITY OF INDIANAPOLIS FLOODED. Many Thousand Dollar*’ Worth of Property Destroyed—Families Rescued by the Police Lightning Sets Fire to Telephone Exchange. Indianapolis, Ind., Sept. 4. —As the result of a veritable deluge which set in last night at 8 and continued until 7 o’clock this morning, this city was flooded and thousands of dollars’ worth of property has been destroyed, besides the inconvenience of suspended streetcar transportation and telephone communication. The business portion of the city was soon flooded because of the inability of the sewers and streets to carry the water away. At 4 o’clock reports began coming into the station of great damage in various portions of the city. In the neighborhood of Pine and Washington streets a lake of water appeared, and no less than a dozen families had to be rescued by the police. The water in many of the basements along Washington and Pennsylvania streets was five or six feet deep. Many of these basements were used as salesrooms and the damage is very great. At daylight lightning started a fire in the Telephone Exchange building, corner of Illinois and Ohio streets, and the entire system was burned out, resulting in extensive loss. Several other fires were started by the storm, but were extinguished before material loss was sustained. Up to 7 o’clock this morning the rainfall had amounted to 6.7 inches. At 8 o’clock the rain had ceased. At 10:30 the fire was under control. The smoke was unusually dense and suffocating, and many of the firemen were overcome, but not seriously injured. The cause of the fire is unknown. It was at first thought the loss would not exceed >150,000, but a careful estimate indicates that the.loss will reach >300,000, and possibly more. In the sheds destroyed were stored 5,000 bales of sisal grass, twenty carloads of hay, nearly fifty carloads of flour in sacks, sixteen carloads of merchandise and 7,000 bales of hemp and wool, all valued at over >170,000. The wharves and buildings destroyed were valued at >130,000.

STORM AT ROCKFORD, ILL. Heavy Rainfall anti Many Fire* Started by I.lglitnlng. Rockford, 111., Sept. 4.—The most severe electrical storm of the season passed over Rockford early this morning, rain falling in torrents for several hours. The fire department was called out half a dozen times to extinguish blazes started by lightning. The residences of Hosmer C. Porter was quite seriously damaged by Are and water. Thq immense smokestack on the city railway power house was struck, toppling over on to the pleasure steamers Queen and McDermaid, smashing them almost to pieces. The barns of the Forest City Baking Company and a number of houses were more or less damaged by Are, resulting from the lightning. Much hail fell during the storm, which was in the nature of a tornado. Storm Swept a Wide Section. Chicago, Sept. 4.—With terrlAc force the wind and electric storm that held Chicago at its mercy last night swept over a large section of country, leaving destruction in its wake. Throughout Illinois, Missouri and Indiana the fury, of the : storm was greatest, and in some places had all the elements of a hurricane. Much damage to property and to the crops is reported. Cyclone in Tenne**ee. Nashville, Tenn., Sept. 4. —A report has reached here that thirteen houses at Huntingdon, Carroll County, were demolished by a cyclone at 9:30 a. m. today. One man is reported to be seriously Injured.