VIOLENT WIND IN SYDNEY

Press, Volume LXXXIV, Issue 25638, 29 October 1948, Page 7

VIOLENT WIND IN SYDNEY

SHIPS BREAK ADRIFT, HOUSES UNROOFED SMALL PLANE WRECKED AT AIRPORT (Rec 11.30 p.m.) SYDNEY. Oct. 28 A terrific blast of wind reaching 78 miles an hour with torrential rain and Pi?- 11 some Places, struck Sydney late this afternoon and did heavy damage in the city and suburbs. Sweeping in from the west, the wind unroofed dozens of houses and other buildings broke an aeroplane in half, dragged liners and small craft from their harbour moorings, uprooted hundreds of trees and dislocated electricity and telephone systems. The blast lasted only about five minutes, but it did thousands of pounds worth of damage. At Kingsford Smith airport, a small privately-owned aeroplane was lifted into the air and broken in two, and two other aeroplanes were damaged Four overseas freighters broke adrift from their moorings, and an old paddle-steamer ran wild. Tugs eventually secured them all. Many small craft were swept ashore in the harbour bays. Houses were unroofed in a number of suburbs, and the interiors and occupants were exposed to blinding rain. Heavy damage was caused in the suburb of Tempe, where big hailstones crashed through roofs. Overhead tram wires and electricity and telephone lines crashed in a number of suburbs, and traffic had to be diverted. The wind caused a great amount of minor damage such as broken shop windows, fences blown down, and shop awnings ripped off. So heavy was the rain in the city that motor and tram traffic was halted because windscreen wipers were useless in the downpour. Thousands of summer-clap shoppers were caught in unsheltered parts of the city and suburbs and drenched in a few seconds. Many pedestrians were blown over.