CLOUDBURST & FLOOD RESULTS IN DEATH & DESTRUCTION IN DOWNTOWN SAN ANTONIO
San Antonio, Texas (JFK+50) On September 9 & 10, 1921, the business district of San Antonio was left "a mass of muck and wreckage" after a cloud burst and flood swept through the city.
Forty-two bodies had been recovered by 8 o'clock on the morning of September 10 with troops from Camp Travis* and Fort Sam Houston** patrolling the streets.
More than a thousand homes in the Mexican district were "smashed to bits by the wall of water that swept down." Twenty blocks of downtown stores were left a virtual total loss with estimates of up to $20,000,000 in property damage.
*Camp Travis named in honor of William B. Travis, commander of the Alamo, is located in Galveston County, Texas. It was built by army recruits & slaves in 1836 to protect Galveston Harbor.
**Fort Sam Houston (a.k.a. "Fort Sam") is located in San Antonio, Texas & named in honor of Tennessee/Texas Governor Sam Houston. It was built in 1876 & comprises 400 acres.
SOURCE
"150 Believed to Have Perished in San Antonio Flood, Bodies of 42 Are Recovered; 5000 Made Homeless," The New York Tribune, September 10, 1921, Chronicling America, Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/
