A MAURITIUS CYCLONE.

Timaru Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 5450, 28 June 1892, Page 4

A MAURITIUS CYCLONE.

In a Melbourne paper we find a description of a Mauritius cyclone that ia interesting reading. It was written before particulars of the late disaster reached Melbourne, to give people an idea of what the winds on the sugarcane island can do. The writer says people who have never witnessed • these fearful circular storms of the tropics cau form only a faint idea of the havoc they leave behind them. Unlike the tornado that, without warning, sometimes cuts a track clean through a North American forest, or opens up a "new road " through a city, the cyclone gives due notice of its intended visit. The tornado is a thing of half an hour, but the cyclone is an unwelcome guest whose visit extends over from 60 to 70 hours. This ia owing to the diameter of the circle within which the atmosphere revolves, and the slowness with which th 9 body of disturbed air moves alone;. One haß only to imagine a whirlwind between 200 and 300 miles m diameter, revolving near its centre at the rate of from 90 to 120 miles an hour, and moving aloug the sea and over Biich unfortunate islands as happen to lie ia its track, at the rate of about three miles an hour — which is a slow walking pace 1 — m order to conjure up m one's mind a very respectable cyclone, ; The writer describes how ships are aecured m the hurricane season (December to April inclusive). Each vesaelis moored to four anchors, two each at head and stern, and when vessels lie near each other, as they often do, they are lashed together, m bundles as it were,'so that they form a compact mass secured to 8, 12, or 16 anchors as the case may be. Duriag tha season topgallant yards and maats are sent down, and when all doubt | thatacyclone iareally bearingdown on the island is removed, a gun is fired from the fort, which means that all masters are to repair on board their ships, and that vessels riding outside should slip cables and put to sea. The nextsignal given is r " Get Jower yards dv deck andstrike topmasts." After that "tha deluge." Many hours before thia happens every wheeled vehicle has disappeared from tha streets of city, village, and country roads. The trains have ceased running, and any pcr r Son who has been caught far from homethat is, beyond walking, running, or roiling distance — has to make up hia mind to .stay'jiiat where he is. Some incidents are mentioned of a particularly bad cyclone m 1868. A central span of an iron railway bridge, weighing over 100 tons, was tumbled off the piera, and a side section of the aame weight was curried more than 100 yards and dropped on the side of the ravine Spanned by the bridge. The roof of die Phpenix railway station, on tho same line, about 12 miles from Port Louis, was lost. But livu clays .after^ardß it was diBC >vered, nlnmat uninjured, m tha middle of acane field three quarters of ft mile away. (The wind presoure ia the 1808 oyclnno waa not so great us the maximum m tho recent one.) ; •■: ' Moat of tlio' hi.uaes m Mauritius are Constructed of wood, on fuuudatioua of granite, and are roufed with Bhingles, not ahe Australian ahinijle used m the back blocks, buf. good .sawn teak shingles, short, and half an inch thick, imported from India, aud especially fastened, with a view to reaiat the inevitable hurricane. H-uaea of brick there are nosiii, and those of stone WdUld escape wall the loss of verandahs and roofs The oornerß and ail j.os'a at tho an«lcs of huusea, aa Weil ;ia every vurandah post, are very securely 'clamped, to granite blocks m the foundation with tw-> or threw iueb flat iron, and it requires mi enormous pressure to move mem. Koufs of verandahs are similarly secured, though, as a matter of course, they suffer aioat. Every building worthy tha name «if a "house" is fittei with what ia called "hurricane doora." Tbat means that douM and wiridowß are secured, m addition to the ordinary appliances, by outside shutters'.* These are very strong, arid are held m place by bars of one inch square iron. These are closed and secured when a hurricane comes ou, aud it is daGgeroua to open oue of them, except occasionally "on the leeward side of a building. If the wind got m the roof would go off. Cooking had to be dispensed with. The kitchena are outside the dwelling house, "arid for' one or two daya one lias to do the beat he may. Gold Canned meats, bread/and claret or bottled beer, have to do duty for hot -faints and curries" while the hurricane lasts. Everything inside is darkness then. If you like to light a lamp or a candle you may do ao. If, on the other hand, you prefer to ait m the gloom you may have the pleasure o' watching the light come through the cracks of your dwelling. The planks part, the wall paper is torn, aud the daylight and some moisture get at you m that way. For you must understand that it rains during a hurricane aa it only can rain m the tropics. It is the wo.naeu and children who, as a rule,' have this-, sort of enjoyment. Generally, the men prefer to be abroad watching the damage that ia going on. Soaked lo tho skin, they, watch the pror cesn of destruction. If they have anything at stake they don't like it. Otherwina a "rattling hurricane" is rather exciting if you cdn keep your feet, and dodge Ihe flying timbers. Iti the town, on the wharves, you will see a thousand people looking at the ships, and speculating as to which of them will . go ashore. The damage done by a cyclone to the orop depends upon the manner m which the storm passes over the island. If the centre ia some distance nut at aea, ihe island is ao small, being only 40 mil«B across, that the wind Hill asveep along m nearly a straight direction, aud the cornea will be merely laid, and comparatively few of them upro'ited. It) auch a ciae tho planters will oma out with a collective loss of from £50,000 to £100,000 Sometimes, however, after having paaaed over, tho storm recurves and goes back from the opposite direction, when great quantities of canes will be uprooted. "But if the centre of the cyclone Btrikes the island it playa sad havoc. The aame writer, treaung at a later date of the details received by mail gives a table of wind changes and velocities, the highest velocity being given at 121 miles per hour, jW.bjch gives a pressure of 731ba per square ioot. .Here is an extract from a local paper :

|— The town of Port Lciuis, ronowned.for the cleanliness of its streets arid tha nicety of its houses, is nonthe very image of a rained city. The few buildings which are still standing are more or less injured, with the exception of those m the Uhaus- ; srie and m Royal street and the commercial part of the town which seems to have enjoyed some privilege of immunity. The eastern part has suffered great damage, ' but it is far from showinp the desolated aspect of the western part of the town. The Ohamp Delort section beara resemblance to a town which has been bombarded or burnt down. The description which we have read of i the Fire of Moauow is not more dreadful. To make the illusion complete, the trees 1 uprnoted and laid across r he streets, thosa 1 which are atill standing but diveated of 1 their foliage, bear on their branches that ' earthy reddiah colour which is found on 1 plants which fire has scorched. We can aIBO give, aa accurately aa possible, an [ idea of the disaster, by the number of | houaea broken down or damaged which wn have enumerated ourselves m our principal I streets : — St. Georges-ntroot 35* i Wellington-itreet ... ... ... 61 Madame-otreet „, ... ... 19 ; Bnnislullen-Btreet 15 ! Deß Roches street ... 23 D'Artois-street 76 Ternay-street 58 Pouce-atroet ... ... ... ... 61 Des Fowe-'treet 20 La Bourdonnaisand Bt. Doniastreetn 106 Government street. 28 Poudri&ro and Hazard streets ... 31 . ' Cor'derie-ntreet (higher part) ... 80 : Bourbon-Btreet ... ... ... 20 b Ghuroh-street 18, • In the Tranquebar Bectinn not one hou'ie c ia standing. It is difficuU tn givo exactly | the nurak-r of fallen hnusi-., as the ruins heaped up on hII sides do not allow of de- ' te'rmining the precise apot where they ' stood. But it may be auMv estimated that * one-third of the town (.vest part) doea no 1 more exist.