HURRICANE AT SAMOA.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19218, 6 January 1926, Page 8

HURRICANE AT SAMOA.

A NEW YEAR VISITATION. LOSS OF LIFE REPORTED. GREAT DAMAGE OCCASIONED. THE LADY ROBERTS ON REEF. A most destructive hurricane occurred at Samoa on New Year's Day. The extent of the loss of life through falling native huts and trees has not yet been fully ascertained. The small steamer Lady Roberts was thrown up on the inner reel, and lies thero wkh four feet of water in hor engine room. The trading launch Siliafai was totally wrecked. Thero was wholesale destruction of breadfruit trees. The storm was worse than that of the famous hurricane of 1889, when three United States and three German warships were wrecked. On that occasion the British cruiser Calliope steamed out' to sea and escaped destruction. The following radio message has been received »iri Wellington by Sir Francis Bell, Minister of External Affairs, dated January 2: — " A tremendous storm struck Samoa on New Year's morning, serious damage being done to the food supply of the natives by the wholesalo destruction of breadfruit trees. " Some loss of life and a number of injuries were sustained by the natives as the result of the fall of fales (native houses) and trees. " Have sent round the islands of Upolu and Savaii to ascertain details of the extent of the damage. " Tho steamer Lady Roberts was carried on to tho inner reef, where she now lies with four feet of water in her engine room. Will advise further as to her condition at the first opportunity. " Tho trading launch Siliafai is a total wreck on tho outside reef at Watson's Island, where she was carried by the force of the seas when making for shelter at Muliriuu. I

"No casualties have so far been reported from the wreck, although several members of tho crew of the Siliafai were severely injured before being saved, as the vessel turned completely over when striking the reef, the mast and deckhouse being carried away. " The sea-wall fronting the beach road at Apia is standing the test, although some old inhabitants state that the sea is worse than that during the stqrm of 1889. " The green light on the eastern reef, weighing twenty tons, consisting of reinforced concrete and set four feet in the roef, was carried away bodily." GREAT VELOCITY OF WIND. THE GALE RAGES ALL DAY. FALLEN TREES BLOCK ROADS. A. and N.Z. STTVA, Jan. 5. Apia reports state that the steamer Lady Roberts dragged her anchors before sho went ashore on the inner reef. Nelson's launch, the Siliafai, was wrecked while attempting to get to a safe anchorage. The gale raged all day, switching from south-east to south-west and back again. Roads were blocked by falling trees. Telephone wires are down. It is feared that tho damage on the south coast is severe. There has been some loss of life. The greatest velocity of the wind was 72 miles per hour. The lowest reading of the barometer was 29.14.

PREVIOUS HURRICANES. THE DISASTER OF 1889. CALLIOPE STEAMS OUT TO SEA. The present hurricane in Samoa recalls the disastrous hurricane which developed on March 15, 1889. There were gathered in Apia Harbour on that day the American warships Trenton, flagship of RearAdmiral Ivimberly, Vandalia and Nipsic; the British ship Calliope and tho German ships Adler, Eber, and Olga. By the evening of March 16 only one of these vessels remained afloat—the Calliope, which, by her superior power and by magnificent seamanship, was enabled to put to sea in the face of tho hurricano. During the gale several merchant ships were also driven ashore. The brave Samoans, who were then at tribal variance, buried the hatchet and rushed into the surf to rescue the perishing Americans and Germans. Many of the villages wore considerably damaged by the violence of the storm, while the luxuriant vegetation of the islands also suffered. The memory of the great cyclone is ever present. In the shallows of Apia Harbour are always to be seen the bones of the German corvette Adler. Among all the thrilling things that have heaped up history on the two-mile beach of Apia perhaps the great storm is the most often recounted. Deeds of heroism "were performed on that day which have never seen the light of print.

Savaii is the largest island of the Samoan group, being somewhere about 150 miles in circumference with a height approaching 4000 ft. In spite of a considerable rainfall it possesses only one river owing to the porous nature of the soil. Upolu is the' middle island of the group on which Apia, the capital, is situated. It is about forty-five miles long and about fourteen broad and is less regular in shape than Savaii. A chaiu of mountains runs through its centre from east to west, whose slopes are interspersed with rich valleys gradually trending toward the shore. Nearly the whole of the mountains, valleys and flat stretches are covered with forests of evergreen trees and neatly laid out plantations. Apia is a picturesquely situated little town, lying on a delightful beach, two miles in extent. Apart from many dwelling houses, Apia contains a large hospital, Vailima, the former residence of R. L. Stevenson and now the official residence of the administrator, the Market Hall, courthouse, Roman Catholic Cathedral, London Missionary Society's buildings, and a public school. Near the beach are numerous thatch-roofed habitations of the natives. The islands are rarely affected by hjirricanes. The last serious one was that which spent itself in the Manua group in 1915, when the islands were devastated. The force of the hurricane was not felt to any great extent in other parts of Samoa. There was also a blow in 1913 of short duration, but it did moro damage to the native plantations than tho one in 1889. The hurricane of 1903 also did much damage to plantations.