TERRIFIC CYCLONE AT MADRAS.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XXXVII, Issue 3565, 21 June 1872, Page 3

TERRIFIC CYCLONE AT MADRAS.

(From Ihe Madras Times, Mag 3.)

Madras has boon visited by a cyclone so terrific in its nature that we have to go back many years to find anything like its parallel. In 1858 a similar storm occurred, and resulted in the loss of many vessels. The present disastrous circumstances cannot, however, bo said to have come upon us unexpectedly, and without some warning. The past few days have been dark and gloomy and rain fell at intervals, and the appearance of the sea and sky was ominous. On Tuesday evening there was such a heavy downpour of rain that the streets in town were completely deluged, and during that night the roar of the sea, betokening a disturbed state of things, was heard at a great distance. On the next day, the rain continued to pour in torrents, and the wind was observed to blow rather strongly. The weather became worse as the day advanced, and towards evening, many persons began to make up their minds that a great storm was to come upon us. At a little after 6 o’clock the wind commenced to blow with some violence, and its strength increased with the night, and on Wednesday night or this morning the cyclone, with its full force, broke upon Madras. The night was dark, and one was hardly able to see what damage was being done, but the frightful gusts of wind that now and again shook every house sufficiently prepared one to see signs or groat destruction in the morning. The sights that were everywhere witnessed

yesterday morning therefore did not take anyone by surprise, dreadful os they wore. Many houses hod been damaged, some having their wklls blown down, and others, having their windows and doors carried away? Substantial pundals were thrown down and shattered.

These were scenes sad enough to behold, but a still more dreadful sight was to be witnessed on the beach, from where one could see that almost every vessel that had been riding at anchor in the roadstead on the previous evening had suffered severely. About half a dozen vessels were wrecked, and others were in great distress, and others were fast drifting towards shore. By II o’clock the following English ships were found to be wrecks ; —Hotspur, Burlington, John Scott, Armenian, Sir Robert Scppings, Inverness, Ardberg, Missir, and Kingdom of Belgium. The Hotspur, John Scott, and the Armenian came ashore opposite to Messrs Parry and Co.’s oil ice, and of these vessels the Hotspur was furthest from shore. The Sir Robert ! Seppings and the Kingdom of Belgium were wrecked near the fort. Of the vessels that came to grief the Ardberg fared the worst. She ran against a groyne, and shortly afterwards went to pieces. And next to this vessel, with regard to the severity of the disaster that overtook her, was the Hotspur. All the other vessels ran far into the shore. Of the vessels that were wrecked, two had lives on board, and to them we shall now allude. They are the Sir Robert Seppings and the Hotspur. The Sir Robert Seppings, which is of 5‘J2 tons, and is commanded by Captain Coats, bad been engaged to convey emigrants from Madras to the Mauritius. The coolies embarked on Monday last, and the ship was to have sailed on Wednesday. She parted from her anchor at an early hour yesterday morning, and soon became a wreck. Very grave apprehensions were for some time entertained with regard to the coolies on board. The Hotspur, a fine vessel of 1,200 tons, is owned by Mr T. W. Smith, of London, and is commanded by Captain Thompson. She came ashore after ten o’clock. As she was three parts laden with a general cargo it can easily be understood why she did not come up so far in shore as the other vessels. It would appear that this ship was riding out the storm admirably up to nine o’clock, when an unfortunate circumstance occurred, and brought about a change in the state of her affairs. The Armenian, an iron-clad vessel, went against the Hotspur, and shook her somewhat, and it was after that that she began to feel herself in danger. She drifted, and came and grounded opposite to Messrs Barry and Co.’s office.

We have hitherto spoken of the destruct’on of only English ships. They were not the only sufferers. The native craft were still more unfortunate. Every one of the native vessels was destroyed, and it would appear that there were more than a dozen of them in the roads. Three English ships were fortunate enough to escape sharing the fate of the other more unfortunate vessels. They are the Bonnie Dundee, the Inverness, and the Evelyn. It would be premature to say exactly how many lives the dreadful cyclone that has happened has taken away. Information will have to bo obtained as to who were on board the native craft before we could say how many of them have been saved and how many lost. Then as to the Hotspur, two or three men are said to have been drowned, but there is as yet no evidence of this. We have already mentioned that the ship Ardbeg struck against a groyne and went to pieces. Only six of the crew escaped. Captain Hobson, the commander, and the remainder of the crew have not since been heard of. The bodies of two natives were found on the beach near the wrecks of the Sir Robert Seppings and the Kingdom of Belgium. One of the soldiers of H.M. 21st Fusiliers, while gallantly performing his duty iu assisting the distressed, was struck by a spar on bis head and was thus killed.

Passing on from the vessels that suffered by the cyclone, we have next to notice something else that was greatly damaged by the same cause. The pier has again come to grief. It has once more been divided into two parts, a wide gap, equal to that which once existed, lying between the disjointed portions. The damage was caused by two dhonies coming against the structure. The coroner held inquests on the bodies of five native men and one woman belonging to the ships wrecked yesterday. An inquest was also held on the body of Captain Hobson, of the Ardbeg, and on private Cox, of the 2-21st Fusiliers. There was another inquest held on the body of a native woman who was killed in the compound of the Madras Club by the falling of a branch of a tree, underneath which she happened to be at the time.