LOUISIANA LASHED

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22439, 20 September 1947, Page 5

LOUISIANA LASHED

HURRICANE ON 20-MILE FRONT NEW ORLEANS READY FOR FURY

(N.Z.P. A.—Reuter— Copyright.) (10.30 a.m.) NEW YORK, September 19. The nine-day-old hurricane, which left. 50,000,000 dollars worth of damage in its wake in South Florida, struck Louisiana this morning with 100 miles an hour gales.

The storm’s centre is now 30 i near the mouth of the Mississippi high-velocity winds. Meanwhile, nearly 30,000 sto into public buildings and every a The Mayor of New Orleans ] and ordered everybody to roman: Ships Tied Against Storm i Storm warnings were speeding along 500 miles of coastline where more than 1,000,000 people live, including 600,000 in New Orleans. Between 50 and 100 vessels are tied up at this great port, protected against the approaching storm. Thousands of refugees are flocking into the city from the Louisiana flatlands. A huge shelter with 800 beds has been opened in the municipal auditorium. The hurricane in 1915 took 350 lives in and around New Orleans. The Mayor, in a special broadcast, declared the city in a state of emergency, c;mcelled all police leave and ordered fire brigades on double duty. The winds drove the water up a foot on Lake Borge and tidal marshes adjoining the city.

miles north of Burwood, Louisiana, i. It- has a front of 20 miles, with inn refugees have been crammed vailablc shelter. proclaimed a state of emergency i indoors.

Army trucks with loud-speakers awakened 4500 people living in a wartime housing project along Lake Ponchartrain and took them to shelters shortly before dawn. Flight of Refugees

One thousand residents have been evacuated from Pensacola waterfront and thousands of fugitives from northwest Florida are still fleeing into Georgia and Alabama.

Greenville, Alabama, alone reported that hundreds of vehicles are streaming inland.

In greatest danger was the southeast coast of Louisiana, where frantic residents were boarding up homes and commercial buildings all the way from Panama City, Florida, to Morgan City, Louisiana,

At least four persons were killed in Florida yesterday and last night six others were missing. The Red Cross reported that a preliminary survey of property losses on Florida showed that 204 homes were destroyed and 3202 damaged. In addition 200 other buildings of various t\ r pes v/ere destroyed and 3031 damaged. ‘The hurricane that struck Florida yesterday also destroyed or damaged all the docks on the west end of the Grand Bahamas, which is the most westerly of the Bahamas Islands. Charting Path of Hurricane The storm also struck Abaco Island, Harbour Island and Bimini, but these islands escaped serious damage. No casualties are reported. , . Weather Bureau experts m Washington learned so much from the hum cane that they may be able to chait the path of future tropical storms two days al The most significant discovery reported by American Army pilous and meteorologists who fiew through the storm as it approached Florida is that a tremendous mass of warm air precedes the hurricane and indicates the direction in which the stoim is moving. When a hurricane is moving at a tan speed, the air mass often reaches out as much as 800 miles ahead of the stoim Ce A re Weather Bureau expert. Bob Simpson after two days exploring ol Urn hurricane off the Farida coast in an Armv Super-fortress, said he learned that the violent winds of the huincane were bottled up inside tremendously hi«h towers of cumulous clouds. He attempted twice to fiy over the hurricane but. gave up each time when he reached 37.000 ft. without finding the top of the storm.

4,000,000 Dollars Loss in Miami The Red Cross at Fort Lauderdale reported that 188 buildings wore damaged and 27 smaller ones destroyedThe police estimated property damage at Miami at 4,000,000 dollars and also 4 000,000 dollars worth of citrus fruits destroyed at Fort Pierce where the water stood knee-deep on the Indian River drive. The Weather Bureau ordered hurricane warnings to he extended westwards from Pensacola, Flonda, to Morgan City, Louisiana, today as the hurricane centred about 190 miles south of Apalachicola, Florida, now threatens a 500-mile stretch of coast from Cedar Keys to Morgan City. Lowland residents along Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana coasts were warned to evacuate. Early today the Miami police stated that widespread looting had been halted. A looter, who was shot and killed, was attempting to seize liquoi valued at 28,000 dollars. While St. Petersburg!!, on the west coast, was battened down, transport workers struck for higher pay, stranding hundreds of citizens anxious to escape the storm. . , Lake Okeechobee, the rich vegetable district, is reported to be in a deplorable condition. ... The small number of casualties is attributed to the careful plotting of the hurricane by meteorologists, with prompt action by the State and local authorities. —'