OVER 1000 KILLED

Grey River Argus, 14 September 1931, Page 5

OVER 1000 KILLED

BY HURRICANES IN BRITISH HONDURAS City Wrecked (Ans. & N.Z. Cable Assn.j NEW YORK. September 11. Word of the destruction of Belize. British Honduras, by a hurricane on Thursday was continued to-day. in I radio advices received by the Tropij cal Radio Company. About one hun- | dred and fifty are dead, and several hundred are injured. WASHINGTON, September 11. The Red Cross was informed toj day that one was killed and several i injured and 200 houses wore unroofed by a hurricane which struck San .Tuan (Porto Rico), on Thursday night. The hurricane approached Belize ,on Thursday afternoon. gathering ’ force quickly as it neared the city. ' which was largely built of wooden ist rue ures on flat ground. The storm I apparently became a whirlwind of ' destruction and death just before striking?; ihe city. The United States Weather Bureau staled to-day that the Wes! Indian hurricane was moving towards Haiti, and would probably pass near the city of Santo Domingo o n Friday. SANTA DOMINGO. September 'll. A tropical storm of moderate intensity caused widespread damage to crops i n the Dominican Republic today. Some buildings wore damaged. WASHINGTON, September 11. • The State Department reported a | terrific hurricane and tidal wave devastating the city of Belize. Communi , cations are destroyed but occasional i weak radio reports indicate that 150 ; are known to bo dead, and hundreds are injured. The majority of the popu lation are homeless. The toll of fatalities, it is feared, will increase later. The property damage isenormous. Relief of all sorts is requested urgently. A pan-American airways plane attempted to deliver medical supplies, but was unable to. land on the water, duo to the high waves. It will later endeavour to drop supplies on land. Latest reports from Porto Rico, in- j di eate that a; San Juan the hurricane did great damage, but only one is injured. Governor Roosevelt’s mansi - on is reported to be badly damaged particularly his collection of rare tapestries.

DEATH ROLL MOUNTS. 400 IN BELIZE. (Received September 13 a* 5.5 p.m.) NEW YORK, September 13. Advices from Miami, in Florida, state that radio messages which have been received by the Pan-American Airways estimated the number of dead i n Belize at four hundred. Over 100 Killed OTHER PLACES MENACED. NEW YORK, September 13. The hurricanes from the Caribbean ' Sea reported yesterday have wrecked the city of Belize, in British Honduras, ' South America, causing loss of lives in excess of 1000 and incalculable damage. The hurricanes now menace other places to the north in the West Indies and towards the United States. Death Roll Mounts Up SHIPS SWEPT ASHORE. CATHOLIC COLLEGE DISASTER. WASHINGTON, September 12. Five hundred are feared to be dead at Belize. Those jnelude a number of American priests, who were killed, with the students, in the destruction of St. Joseph ’s College in Belize. NEW’ YORK, September 12. The Pan-American Airways has received a report to-day from its Radio Station at Belize that unofficial estimates place the dead at seven hundred. BELIZE PARTLY WIPED OUT. BELIZE, September 12. The hurricane has wrought untold havoc here. Houses were piled up like toys, and an area in the heart of the city, comprising six blocks square, has entirely been wiped, out. Ships and barges have been swept lup high on dry land. Houses have I been washed out to sea. Latest Report MORE THAN 1000 DEAD. BURNING OF BODIES AND WRECKAGE. J (Received September 13 at 7.10 p.m.) BELIZE, September 12. More than a thousand were reported dead here on Saturday night as the result of Thursday’s hurricane, and there are many bodies, still to be recovered. The Government is unable to keep up with the rising death toll. It has been decided to burn those areas whore the destruction and deaths are the worst, in order to prevent an outbreak of disease. The danger of this is said to be great, because of the scorching sun. j Several small food riots occurred on Saturday, but they were immediately I squelched by the authorities, j Relief kitchens have been set up. The city presents a pitiful sight. Ships of hundreds of tons burden have been washed up on to the dry I land by a tidal wave. A two hundred ton dredge rests on I what was the roof of the Customs landing shed. St. George’s Island, a holiday resort,

nine miles cast of Belize, has been ruined completely. At least twentyfour were killed. Fears of the Storms — THREE HURRICANES MOVING. NEW YORK, September 13. The entire Carribbean area is uneasily watching further developments. There have been three distinct hurricanes, two of which struck Belize and Porto Rico. These may be ended, but it is possible that they may regain their strength, so that Haiti and San Domingo Islands are preparing to face to-morrow. Moreover a third hurricane is believed to be heading towards Western Mexico. SPIDERS GIVE WARNING. HAMILTON (Bermuda), Sept. 12. Local natural weather forecasters, who assert this to be a “hurricane year.’’ base forecasts on the actions of huge native spiders, which, it is claimed, when the weather will be good build great webs in the tree tops and on the telegraph poles; but, in the face of the approaching hurricanes, they resort’ to low shrubbery bushes. This season these spiders are staying near the ground,