OHIO’S TORNADO.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume L, Issue 16495, 30 July 1924, Page 11

OHIO’S TORNADO.

SCORES KILLED WHEN THEATRE

COLLAPSES

DAMAGE EXCEEDS £6,000.000,

CLEVELAND, Juno 30— Ninety-four persons are knuwn to be dead in Uinfe as a. result of Saturday’s severe wind, lain and electrical storm which swept the coast of Lake. Erie from Sandusky to Lorain, wrecking a large portion of Lorain and parts of Sandusky. Although the loks of life was not as great as at lirst believed, relief workers said that the list of dead may grow. Several hundred persons are reported injured, several score of them seriously, and the property damage is estimated at more than £6.000.C00.

Jelmny Kilbane, former featherweight champion of the world, was in Lorain when the tornado struck and is now reported to he missing. Scenes of the wildest terror and confusion were enacted in the cities as the furious winds blew men and buildings into the lake, blew railroad ears off their tracks, and pushed structures over.

Refugees were clogging the roads out of Lorain and Elyria to Cleveland, said reports, while relief workers and newspaper men were rushing into the stricken area.

Governor JJonahev at Columbus ordered Northern Ohio units of the National Guard to proceed at once to the three cities to preserve order and prevent looting. IJriek and frame buildings alike crumpled before the fury of the storm when it struck the business section of Lorain. Rain had been falling, “just like an ordinary summer rain” if was thought to be. A wind was blowing, but not a severe one.

(lut. of tho west came a dark, yellow tinged cloud, which quickly darkened the citv.

HOUSES CRUMPLE UP LIKE PAPER, Then, suddenly, like an explosion, the tornado struck the city. The air was tilled with Hying bricks, slate, limbs of trees, tin roofs, automobile tops. Houses twisted and crumbled or were rolled over. Walls collapsed. Huge trees were uprooted and twisted off at the base. The downtown streets, filled with Satin day shoppers, became a bedlam. Men, women and children rushed 1 into stores and buildings, some of which became death traps. In five minutes the wind had subsided to gusts, but a drenching rain followed and the unroofed buildings offered no protection from the downpour. Electric light, telephone and gas connections all were demolished by the tornado.

In darkness, without lights or means of quick communication, Lorain proceeded to imther up her dead and injured. TABULATION OF STORM’S TOLL. Following is a tabulation of the O'hia. storm damage : Lorain—Seventy dead, several hundred probably injured, and property damage of £5,000,000. Five thousand homeless. Sandusky—-Six dead, about 100 injured with property damage estimated at over £ZCO,COO.

Cleveland—Seven dead, with small property loss. Mantua —Three dead. Akron—One dead and property damage estimated at between £IOO.OOO and £200,000. Salem—One dead. French Creek-Three killed, twelve houses demolished or badly damaged. Weymouth—Two children drowned. Youngstown—One dead. Alliance—No dead, hut 100 reported rescued by police from flooded Homes. The storm first struck Sandusky, doing most of its damage in the eastern part of Dio city, and then jumped almost twentyfive miles to Lorain, where the greatest loss of life occurred.

At Lorain, where about 125 city blocks were destroyed, the greatest loss of life occurred in the State Theatre, a motion picture show, which collapsed and crushed many of the spectators. SEVERAL DAYS TO CHECIv LOSSES.

Mndic.nl aid, burial for the dead and housing for the homeless occupied the attention of doctors, nurses and lied Cross workers to-day. Several days will be required to clear away the wreckage at places where the storm hit the hardest. Rescue workers raid they believed' the death list would probably have been greater at Lorain but for tbe fact that-most of the factories and shops destroyed’ there had been emptied at the noon hour for the usual Saturday half holiday.. Several lake boats for which fears had been entertained! were reported safe. The wind reached a velocity of eightyfive miles an hour at Lorain.