Thousands Homeless In Indiana, Ohio

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 28819, 13 February 1959, Page 9

Thousands Homeless In Indiana, Ohio

(Rec. 9.30 p.m.) NEW YORK, February 12. Ice-jammed floodwaters broke levees and crunched into cities and hamlets in Indiana and Ohio early today as reser.e crews battled to evacuate about 4000 persons.

Governor Harold Handley of Indiana declared a state of emergency in 13 northern and central Indiana counties flooded or threatened by the rumbling waters of the Wabash river. *

The Wabash, backed up by a 10-mile Ice jam downstream, burst through sandbag levees on both its banks at Peru, Indiana The freezing waters swirled into the south portion of the city where National Guardsmen and Air Force men evacuated 1000 persons, many by boat. Governor Handley estimated that 3500 people would be evacuated by dawn. The city’s Mayor declared a state of emergency as emergency power equipment was rushed in.

Late last night, Governor Handley wired President Eisenhower asking him to extend to the State’s newly flooded areas a previous order which declared emergency conditions in five southern Indiana counties flooded last month.

Id Ohio, an estimated 1000 of the 18,000 people of Fremont had

to leave their homes after a Nat ional Guard demolition tean blasted away at another mlle-lont ice dam.

The ice had prevented floodwaters in the Sandusky river from seeping through Marshland into Lake Erie. Upstream was another jam, five feet thick in places. Fremont is still tn a state ol emergency from a flood last month

The storm, the second major one -this year, had early today moved into New England, bringing the heaviest snowstorm of the winter

It has left a heavy toll of death and destruction, including 22 dead in a murderous tornado which struck St Louis on Tuesday

Deaths in other States in the Middle West had now increased the death roll to a total of 41, according to-United Preu Interwtinwl . . 4?