Hurricane turns into a puff of wind

Press, 12 August 1980, Page 8

Hurricane turns into a puff of wind

NZPA-Reuter Houston Hurricane Allen, whose advance billing as one of the most intense Atlantic-born hurricanes on record sent more than 200,000 people fleeing the Texas Gulf Coast, pulled its punch as it moved ashore yesterday. One death was attributed to the storm, and preliminary surveys showed that damage was far less severe than had been expected.

A main reason for this was that the hurricane’s strongest winds spared most coastal population centres, meteorologists said. Instead, they roared across,

sparsely developed and largely uninhabited areas between Corpus. Christi- and South Padre Island. “If. you had to pick an area for it, to:hit, ..-this was the best place,” said a meteorologist at -the National Hurricane 'Centre in Miami. , Even so, the storm wreaked widespread destruction, particularly, in Corpus Christi, ‘and remained dangerous as it moved .inland. By the afternoon, Hurricane Allen’s characteristic cyclonic formation hadstarted to break up and its winds were slowly diminishing. Its centre*- had turned away from; the course that had been taking .it towards

San Antonio, and resumed a' more westerly track toward Laredo., ■

By evening,, the . National Hurricane Centre had downgraded the hurricane .to a tropical storm.. . But the storm still carried very heavy rains, and people in 'Laredo. were -.evacuated from ' -low-lying areas in anticipation of the flash floods ..that .follow heavy, rainfalls, there." ■ i" - •

Along the waterfront in Corpus Christi, the largest city struck by the hurricane, broken glass, blown-down signs, uprooted trees arid flooded highways were left in. the storm’s wake.