TRAIL OF THE TORNADO

Otago Witness, Issue 3889, 25 September 1928, Page 51

TRAIL OF THE TORNADO

DEATH AND DESOLATION. WHOLE TOWNS WIPED OUT. NEW YORK, September 19. The hurricane has apparently spent its fury by inflicting minor damages near the coastline. Heavy rain, winds reaching a velocity of 75 miles, and mountainous seas disrupted the aviation services and shipping, driving many small vessels on to the rocks. New York city suffered considerable damage' to trees and windows, and the motor traffic was much impeded. Guadeloupe and Porto Rico continue to report increasing misery, and thousands of dead cattle lie rotting in thesun, spreading disease. The morale ot the population appears to be of a high order, but women and children are suffering greatly, and many are going insane, while suicides are increasing. Florida lake town? have been wiped out, particularly in the Okeechobee region, where waters swept in the wake of the wind drowned hundreds. The suffering there is intense, and an epidemic of pneumonia is threatening. Rescue squads are toiling through debris, and they report over 170 dead. At present the property losses in Palm Beach alone total £30,000,000.

FIFTEEN THOUSAND HOMELESS. NEW YORix, September 19. Fifteen taousan I are homeless in this country in consequence of the hurricane. National guardsmen and civilians are recovering bodies ano burying many unidentified negroes where they are found. Refugees report that the “ conditions arc horrible beyond description.” Many families have been found living in two to three feet of water, their only food bring peanuts, the unfortunate people being huddled among the dead. The flat, swampy country is inteworven with canals, which makes rescue work most difficult. The citizens are contributing generously to the Red Cross and other, relief workers. A complete estimate of the destruction by the storm is still impossible, for many districts are without any communication, while other parts of the stricken area are reporting with difficulty. HAVOC IN WEST INDIES. RUBY, September 20. A further report of the Lavoc done, by the West Indies hurricane was received by the Colonial Office to-day in a telegram from the officer administering the Government of Jamaica. It states that the Commissioner of Turks and Caicos Islands reports that the first news received from Cockburn Harbour, Turks Island, indicates that the hurricane damage is serious. Seventeen lives were lost, including those of eight married men. There is no news from the Caicos Islands yet. Replies were received to-day from the Governors of the Leeward Islands and the Bahamas expressing the grateful thanks of the sufferers to whom the King sent messages of sympathy when the first news of the disaster was received.

The Governor of Leeward Island, in a telegram thanking the Colonial Secretary for the telegram of sympathy, adds: “ Although the damage as reported in my telegram is very serious, and many are homeless, relief work is well in hand, and cases of immediate distress are being dealt with and assistance rendered as far as possible.” FIGHT TO PREVENT DISEASE. NEW YORK, September 21. News from West Palm Beach says that the relief units are working to prevent epidemics among the refugees. The death roll is placed at 860 lives by the Red Cross officials. The roads are almost impassably flooded, therefore the workers are attempting to move sup plies by boat to the devastated centres. The dead are being buried hastily, and the flooded marshes are believed to hold other bodies to add to the toll. The extraordinary measures which have been taken to prevent a typhoid outbreak among the refugees are expected to be successful. The milk is being pasteurised, the water chlorinated, and a large part of the population given typhoid vaccine. A LATER MESSAGE. NEW YORK, September 21. A message from West Palm Beach says that the deaths as a result of the Florida hurricane reached 1085 to-day. APPEAL BY RED CROSS. NEW YORK, September 22. A message from West Palm Beach says that the British medical representatives among the hurricane relief groups state that they know definitely of 1385 dead, while some doctors place the death roll as high as 2500. The Red Cross has announced that it must have contributions to the extent of 3,000,000d0l to aid the relief. Mr Hoover is supervising the emergency rehabilitation, LATEST ESTIMATE OF DEATHS. NEW YORK, September 22. A message from West Palm Beach states that the Governor estimates Florida’s total deaths as the result of the hurricane at 1500.