WATER 111 



from that in the East. In both sections of the country, however, 

 excessive rainfall is the most powerful single force causing 

 floods. Man cannot prevent excessive rainfall, but he can protect 

 himself from the floods that come from cloudbursts by building 

 levees and dams. 



Another cause of overflowing streams in both the East and 

 West is the destruction of ground cover at the headwaters of 

 the streams. Man can do many things to remove this cause of 

 floods. 



But if the causes of floods are much the same all over the 

 country, the kinds of floods differ greatly. Just how different 

 they are you can see when you read this series of newspaper 

 dispatches which describe a flood in Los Angeles in 1938. 



"Los Angeles, March 2. Torrential rain drenched Southern 

 California today with its worst flood conditions in twenty 

 four years. 



"Six were known dead, while several others were reported 

 killed and thousands marooned. Traffic was paralysed. Schools 

 were closed. Streets and highways were converted into tor" 

 rents. There were scores of land slides. Houses were washed 

 away. 



"The Los Angeles River, ordinarily a dry bed, had a twenty 

 mile-an-hour current. 



"Twelve thousand men working on flood control projects 

 were mobilised by Army engineers and rushed to aid Red Cross 

 officials, police, and firemen in evacuating flood-marooned 

 thousands. 



"Most flood control dams were full and overflowing. Many 

 streets of Hollywood and Beverly Hills were fair sised rivers." 9 



"Los Angeles, March 3. Southern California's toll of dead 

 and missing in the flood disaster reached 1 24 today as paralyzed 

 Los Angeles struggled to restore public services and survey the 

 full loss from a record-breaking storm. 



9 Hew ror\ Times, March 3, 1938. 



