The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1881-08-06 00:00:00

A TERRIBLE TORNADO.

A most devastating tornado Hs visited the district
of New -Ulm, a pretty German town in the Minnesota
Valley, demolishing some 200 houses and killing many
people. The information, which is dated the 19th of
July, says the wind blew from the west, bringing with
it a peculiar darkness that prevented friends recog-
nising each other even at a distance of but ten feet.
The northern portion of the town was visited with the
greater severity. In this district the poorer people
lived, and in the short space of two minutes all the
dwellings were swept down and laid level with the
ground.
The scenes of terror and confusion were described
as terrible, which was added to by horses and other
animals breaking loose from thcir fastenings and tsar-
ing through the city mad with fright. 'I he Lutheran
church and the Catholic church and schools were totally
demolished. The wind was also accompanied by vivid
flashes of lightning, which struck about a score of
buildings. The tornado lasted about fifteen minutes,
after which there was a slight lull, succeeded by
another terrible storm.
The total extent of the damage could not be ascer-
tained at latest accounts; but the corpses of some 13
people were found. Amongst these were six members
of one family named Finly. Only one of 'the family
escaped alive. • It was estimated that at least 500
people had been rendered homeless by the visitation,
and there was said to be much suffering amongst them
in corsequence. The town of New Ulm has a popu-
lation of 3,500.
The fury of the wind was fearful, houses being
hurled along at a rapid rate and dashed to pieces.

A correspondent who visited New Ulm, the scene of
the recent disastrous cyclone, gives the following de-
scription of the ruin wrought :—The first place where
any of the effects of the storm were seen was about
three miles west of New Ulm. Here it tore down a
house and killed a number of cattle and horses. The
members of one family saved themselves by going to
the cellar before the storm reached them. Where the
storm struck the railroad track the ground is lined with
bedding, furniture, waggon wheels, farm machinery,
&c. West of New Ulm the wind tore down the tele-
graph poles and completely ruined the crops; the heads
of wheat were cut off as clean and smooth as though
done with a heading machine. From the place where
the storm first struck into New Ulm everything was
swept away for a width of about one mile. The
sight is sickening. Trees were torn up by the roots,
and neither a house nor a barn is left standing in the
line of the storm. A gentleman who stood on a bluff
two miles north of Ne* Ulm, and witnessed the cyclone,
says it was the grandest and most terrible sight of
which he was ever a witness; one cloud came from the
north-west and one from the north-east. When they met
appeared to be a contest as to which should have the
right of way. The storm struck New Ulm at 4.48, and
lasted just twelve minutes, and in that brief time not
less than 300,000 dole, worth of property was destroyed
and a number of persons killed and many wounded.
During the storm there was a perfect blaze of fire
balls. It would have been almost as dark as night had
it not been for the continued flashes of lightning. It
would take columns to give a full list of the lost pro-
perty, but an estimate of 20 men places the damage at
300,000 dole. The three churches were completely
destroyed, and Turner Hall was partly demolished.
Glass fronts were completely wrecked. No less than
100 horses were killed, many being lifted bodily and
carried a long distance."