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E XPRE S S E WSFINAL95th Ycor, No. 43SAN ANTONIO. TEXAS. SUNDAY. JULY 23. T961176 PAGES IN 12 SECTIONSSlt;5ctioii20cHundreds Flee HomesynmiiisS.i FLOODAlt; leas! ont person was dxown-d. 125 familt^ were evacuated rotn their homes, arxi water oured into downtown busiues laces in a flash flood that re ulted from a 4!4-mch rainfall in period of three hours Saturday ighL*n€ drowoing vktini was Deany ^alrymple. 16, Waco. Police ere still searcbing for his body ite Saturday night.Police Sgt. Richard May said itnesses told him the boy and his !tcle. B. J. Dftlrymple. 35. of 29(25 Oman Avc.« Waco, had parited i«ir car .on a lot at Houston id CamaroR Su. and were irlnting to catch the next show the nearby Alameda Theaterwhen they btkh tripped and fell over a log placed on the bank of San Pedro Creek to keep cars from going oi'er the edge.The man and boy floated a block dowD the creek and grasped 'some object, but the boy Jost his grip and was swept away by the torrent The uncle also lost hJs grip, May said, and floated to Buena Vista St.Bystanders rescued the older nrn but could not reach Die boy. The elder Dalrymple was admitted to Santa Rosa Ho^ital, where he reported in satis-factory condition late Saturday nijdil.rising wafers of Alazan and I would be evacuated before ilieApache Creeks throulcnod toflood Alszan*Apache Courts, bousing project operated hy the San Anlrnio Housing Authority in the 1000 block of R Brazos St. Water actually eoiered the first floors of many buildings io the courts before ovacuaDon was completed. The evacuees wore token to J. T. Brackcnridgc Elementary School. J24 Guadalupe.Laic Saturday oighl rescuers evacuated 25 families from a low*-lying secilon of Fredericksburgnight was over. Crews from theRd. near King Hl^way. Others, trapped in water-surrounded homes, were relct^oning for help. P(^icc directed Ihe evacualionj Omcers said ii was probable Of some ICO families when thajthiit other West Side familiescity Fire Dept.. Public Works Dept, and Beicar Civil Defense assisted in rescue work.Police reports indicated serious flooding OT downtown Houston St., especially near the San Antonio River ai^ San Pedro Creek. Ex-ceptiunaJly high water was also reported in ihe 5700 block of San Pedro Ave. and along Hariy Wurrbach Hwy. on the far North Side.Numerous barriers were erectedto warn mcrtorisu away frtwn flooded places. Stalled cars were scattered about ths city, Includjnp the dow'nlown business district. Early in the evening a car wasreported swept into a ditch in the W Wock of W. Theo but it was BOi known whether it was occupied. The heaviest flooding was reported on the west and north side the city.The rain struck hardest at the dwolown section. Starling just before 7 p.m.. the downpour had reached 4.S inches by 10:30 p.m. on the gauge at Fire Static No. 11, 333 S. Frio, in the west downtown spctkm.Other readings late Saturday nlgiu were 4.09 inches at Fire SUiion No. 1. 801 E. Houston; 3.1 inches at Fire Station No. 19. ISli W. Hltdehrand; 3.20 e( Fire Station No. 25. 242 Dwight Ave. inFire Station No, 18. 1463 S. W,W. St. near San Pedro Creek. Wale White Kd. also poured Into the basement o(the 'main Public LibraryHarlfindale. and only 2 inches atiRain began to fall at the Weather Bureau at iniemutional Airport by 6:25. and as early as 5:45 in the northwestern part of the city. The reading at the air-, port at 10:15 p.m. was 3.44 inches, after which the fall became moderate.Veteran pHlce officers could not remember a more severe flood in the downtown section since the inundations o( 1946 aod 1947, when water ran in the loh-^es of major hotels oo Houston and Travis Sts.Ihis time the hotels were not affocied^ but water was a loot deep in stores along CommerceaiMarket and Presa Sts., endangering valuable book cQllect)dalt;c. The river was eight or 10 feet above Uie river walk in the downtown district but stayed below the r taining walls at most pointa. Four feet of fbod water brokedoivn a steel door at the rear of the Wootworth Store, 715 W. Houston, and washed quaniitfes of mcrchardise out into the Tiie merchandise was sal rod by looters as quickly as It floal'ed uui of the store. Police arrived shortly and were still fending offSee FLOOD, Pase 14-A
Newspaper Details
San Antonio Express and News
San Antonio, Texas, US
Sun, Jul 23, 1961
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
Sarah G.
USA 13 Jul 2018
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