The Sun.
London, England, 1864-10-25 00:00:00

The Great Storms in the North.

LOSS OF LIFE & DESTRUCTION OF PROPERTY.
The storm which during the latter days of last week blew
with such terrific violence along the shores of the north of
Scotland, visited Edinburgh and its neighbourhood on Sa-
turday afternoon, and caused great destruction to property
of every description,
During the whole of Saturday heavy rains fell without
intermission, accompanied by violent gusts of wind.
:Towards evening the wind freshened into a gale, and the
rain swept over the city in torrents. Many of the streets
wese flooded in consequence of the gratings of the sewers
becoming choked with rubbish, and considerable damage
was in some instances caused by the water flowing into
cellars and underground places where property was stored.
Between 6 and 7 o'clock the gale increased to a hurricane,
which raged with the greatest violence and with disastrous
results until an advanced hour on Sunday morning. Ex-
cepting those whom necessity compelled to stir abroad, few
people ventured into the streets on Saturday evening dur-
ing the time the storm was at its height, The thorough-
fares were nearly deserted, except by cabs and omnibuses,
and those persons whom business compelled to turn out
made their way along the streets at great hazard and risk
of injury. Slates, stones, and chimney cans, wrenched
from their positions by the force of the hurricane, were
hurled violently into the streets, and some narrow escapes
to pedestrians occurred. In many parts of the city where
new buildings were being erected, the wooden sheds and
scaffoldings wore torn down by the strength of the wind
and blown about the streets, to the injury of neighbouring
property. Trees were uprooted, and branches scattered far
and wide by the action of the storm, and in the suburbs
much injury was done to gardens and stackyards. The
archway leading into Toddrick's-wynd, Canongate, had
some of the stones of the arch dislocated, and, as some
apprehensions were felt regarding the houses above, a
watchman was placed at the entrance of the doss to give
warning in the event of the damage being increased to
a serious extent. Considerable damage was done to the
roof of St. Mary's Roman Catholic Chapel, Broughton-
street, in consequence of a large stone cross which formed
Part of the outward ornament of that ecclesiastical edifice
being blown down. During Saturday night and Sunday a
good many people who had been injured were conveyed to
the Royal Infirmary, but no very serious case was reported.
Throughout the whole time that the hurricane lasted it
was accompanied by continous and lashing showers of rain.
The force of the water was such as to cause small landslips,
and in some of the streets the ground was undermined and
fol I in, creating great holes peculiarly dangerous to vehicles.
The constant torrents of rain that have fallen during the
last few days have had the effect of swelling the streams
and burns in the city and neighbourhood to most unusual
dimensions. The Water of Leith, which during the past
summer has had scarcely enough water in its channel to
indicate in which direction it was flowing, has come down
in floods, and brought with it the:usual wreck of branches
and roots of trees, broken timber, and the debris which had
been accumulated on its banks during many previous
months. Last night the water had risen higher than it has
been for the last seven or eight years, and showed a pros-
pect of increasing further in strength and volume.
On Saturday morning the river Almond was swollen to a
much greater extent than on Thursday, when it carried
away the central arch of the new railway bridge, and so
damaged the others that they must be rebuilt. It must
have been from 10 feet to 15 feet higher than the level at
which it stood on Wednesday last, the tall saugh bushes
which grow at the base of the high bank (erected by Mr
Hope Vere at great expense to keep the river from over-
flowing the fields along its course), from the entrance of
Gogar Burn downwards, being almost entirely covered by
the water. The Gogar Burn was forced b scliby the volume
of the Almond to a distance of fully half a mile from its
confluence, and butler its wide high banks must have flooded
several fields. A week ago it was a mere trickling thread,
which required to be dammed up before a pailful of water
could he obtained from it. On Saturday navvies were em-
ployed recovering the wood carried away from the railway
bridge at several points along the banks of the Almond.
Much, however, went floating past, mingled with branches
of trees and huge roots—the relics of former storms, and the
wreck of large but lesser floods than the present one. All
the ditches and drains are full, low-lying lands are in many
places completely covered with water, and it will be some
considerable time before tillage operations can be satisfac-
torily resumed on heavy lands, Where the potatoes are still
to lift, the expected attendant thereon will be greatly aug-
mented on account of the rains, and the tubers will not be
in so good a state for pitting as they were before.
The Princess Royal, which was to have sailed from
Granton for London on Saturday, did not leave the harbour
in consequence of the gale,
LEITH—SHIPWRECKS IN THE FIRTH OF FORTH.
At Leith the weather, which had been changeable for
some days, broke into a violent storm of wind and rain on
Friday evening, which continued till Sunday night. Fears
were ent‘rtained in the town that the breakwater in con-
nection with the now docks would suffer greatly owing to
its unfinished state, but, happily, it has withstood the gale
in a better manner than was expected. Part of the rubble
work has been thrown down, a portion of the piling and
staging has been damaged, and the piling machine carried
away. This, however, was the principal damage done, the
principal parts of the work remaining quite secure, notwith-
standing that the wind, being from the north-east, exposed
the whole works to the full force of that storm. Little
damage has been done in the town beyond the breaking of
numerous lamps, blowing down of a few chimneys, cans,

•
elates, &e.
The gale blew with great severity in the Firth of Forth,
and caused great damage to the shipping that happened to
bo in the estuary. On Saturday morning, when day broke,
several vessels were observed in the roads dragging their
anchors. One large ship, the Cornelia, of Leith, a large
timber-laden vessel, parted from her anchor and drifted fast
towards the shore near Newhaven Pier. She dropped
another anoher, but still she kept drifting nearer and nearer
the land. A flag indicating that assistance was required
was hoisted, and in answer to it the Alma and Garibaldi
steam tugs proceeded to the vessel's assistance, and were
just in time to prevent her going ashore, she having got
into shallow water not much more than 20ft. deep, while
she was drawing 19ft. The Cornelia was towed out into
deep water by the tugs, after which she was taken up to St.
Margaret's Hope by the Garibaldi, where she was riding in
safety when last heard from. A small foreign schooner was
at the same time to be seen dragging her anchor,and would
have soon struck the ground near Newhaven Pier had not
a steam-tug gone to her assistance and taken her into
Granton Harbour. In the forenoon the steamship Fingal
which was riding a short distance west of lnchkeith, first
broke one of her cables and then another, and to save her
the master ran her into Granton Harbour. Rumours were
current in the afternoon that a vessel had been lost down
the Firth with all hands, five in number, but the report
was not confirmed.
On Saturday evening, as the tido rose, the wind in-
creased, exposing the shipping in the Roads to increased
danger. Many feared the night would prove a disastrous
one, for before darkness set in 6 or 8 vessels were drifting
towards Granton and Wardle. When the day dawned on
Sunday the apprehensions entertained were fearfully
realised. A small schooner, the Dorothea, of Hanover, was
lying ashore at the east breakwater of Granton Pier. The
crew escaped with their lives, but were unable to save any-
thing at the time. Throughout the day, when the tide re..
ceded, she was high and dry, and the master and crow,
taking advantage of this, carried away their clathes and
such stores as they could secure. She was in ballast. As
she was lying on the rocks, fears were entertained that the
returning tide would break her to pieces, Not 50 yards
from where the Dorothea lay, a large brig—the Eliza Hall,