1912 Cloudburst cont...

Veith told a Courier reporter, "Mr. Dunn of Booth & FIinn, called me at 2:15 PM this afternoon and told me to warn the people, and I did."

At 3 o'clock there was reported to be three feet of water in front of the Dunbar House. The gas main burst and Dunbar was out of fuel and light. Telephone and telegraph poles were carried away and scores of lines torn down.

By late afternoon, the residents, watching the destruction from the hills, saw shanties, houses and furniture being carried away on the crest of the flood. Great quantities of cinders, ashes, and other debris floated down the Youghiogheny River past Connellsville. Houses between the two railroads were in danger, and at 3:15 PM four men, who had witnessed the flood from the hilltops, started to wade through the water in an effort to render assistance. The water was up to the men's waists, as they waded over Connellsville Street. Children were being carried across Connellsville Street from the lower sections of the town, where the houses were partly submerged. The entire business section of the town was badly damaged with the loss estimated to exceed $200,000.

Back ....