ONE KILLED.

AT PALMERSTON. TERRIFIC STORM. HUTMENT SOMERSAULTS. TRAIL OF DESTRUCTION". (By Telegraph.—Press Association.) PALMERSTON NORTH, this day. A storm, one of the worst experienced in this district, struck Palmerston North and the Manaw-atu district late on Saturday night and raged with unabated fury till Sunday afternoon. Terrific southerly gusts, accompanied bv torrential rain, did incalculable dam- ' age. One life was lost and one resident was seriously injured and many had narrow escapes. Shortly after nine o'clock on Sunday morning a tragedy marked the storm when Mr. Benjamin Arthur Miller, aged 72, living at Elmira Avenue, was struck on the head by a .piece of iron off a roof which he was attempting to repair. Mr. Miller was knocked to the ground and killed instantly. He leaves a widow and an adult family. Many houses have been wholly or partly unroofed. Damage to trees," pardens and orchards is enormous. Telephone, telegraph and power lines bestrew the roads. Poles are broken everywhere. The power supply was interrupted for several hours, and telephone I and telegraph communication was badly ' disorganised, but is now being rapidly restored. City in Darkness. Most parts of the city were in darkless last night, but the service was speedily restored at essential points, including the hospital. Many thousand rounds would not cover the total damige. Some property owners face very heavy loss. Experiences during ■ the height of the -torm were nerve-wracking in the extreme. Much evidence of the fury of the -rale was seen at the A. and P. showgrounds. The entire roof of the large main stnad, which faces the south, was blown off. Iron and timber were scattered ov.-r a wide area. Damage is estimated at several hundreds. At the sports ground, in Fitzlicrbert Avenue, where the M.C.C. cricket match is set down for Tuesday, the whole upper work of the stand was wrecked, and large parts were flicked about like pieces of paper, to land several chains away. One section landed on the roof of a nearby house and crashed through the roof. It was then lifted again and tossed against the next residence. At Longburn residents had a terrifying experience. Large trees were down everywhere. The hall was unroofed, and St. Chad's Church was battered to picccs, only swaying walls remaining. Debris had to be cleared off road and railway. Three railway hutments mounted on piles at the station were blown over. Serious Injuries. A man named - Morgan, one of the occupants, received injuries and was taken to hospital. Morgan's hutment somersaulted several times, hurling him about inside with a heavy stove which became loose. Mrs. Morgan had a miraculous escape. She had just emerged from the hut when it was lifted. She toppled over and was blown into a clump of willows. She had to be extricated by the stationmaster. Imprisoned. Another hutment, occupied by a man named Donohue, was blown over, imprisoning him. He cut his way out through the floor. Close by, on Mr. W. J. Fawcett's property, a horse was cut in two by flying -heets of iron, which were blown in all directions. They wrapped themselves iike paper over wires and crossarms and around the tops of power poles. A br,ack chimney collapsed into the bedroom of a dwelling, but the family cscaped injury. Later only four walls of the house were left standing. The scene of havoc in this area is almost indescribable. The highway runs through a tangled mass of iron and broken wire. Poles, trees, timber and fencing are all in confusion. It was remarkable there was no loss of life on the route from the city to Foxton, where there are similar scenes. It seemed as if a giant axeman had been at work. S, l ' ces an d fences were levelled, crops were flattened.^ . The railway station at Karere has disappeared. A farm building was unroofed and wrecked. Telegraph and electric lines were strewn over the roads and many poles snapped off like carrots, making travellers most wary. . Peculiarly, Foxton escapeu the full fury of the hurricane, but as one proceeded further south again evidence of the destructive force of the visitation was evident in the vicinity of Manakau, Kuku, and Leviii, where Maori houses considerably.