Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1892-10-07
Terrlble Hurricane.


In May a hurricane of almost un-
exampled violence laid waste the
beautiful island of Mauritius, in the
Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar.
Although Mauritius is one Of the
most charming bits Of land on the
globe, as all readers Of paul and Nir-
ginia" must be aware, yet 1t lies,
unfortunately, within the boundaries
of hurricane district, and so occa-
siona!ly suffers from the fury OF the
winds. On the occasion to which we
refer there was almost no warning
of coming disaster. The hurricane
swooped down upon the island and
upon the little city Of Port Louis,
levelling houses and trees, and driv-
ing the sea-water upon the land and
into the streets of the town.
After great destruction had thus
been wrought, and many persons had
lost their lives, the wind suddenly
ceased and blue sky appeared. But
while the dismayed inhabitants OF
Port Louis were yet maryelling at
the unexpected blow which had be-
fallen them, the roaring OF the tenn
pest was heard again, and amid
darkness and a deafening confusion
Of noises the hurricane once moro
swept over them, with even greater
destructive power than before.
But this time the wind came from
a direction opposite to that in which
II had blown at first. The effects
werc terrible. No structure seemed
able to withstand the fury of the
blast. and under the crashing walls
of houses hundreds Of victims were
buried.
The strange sequence OF events
Just related, based upon reports that
have come somewhat tardily from
the stricken island, possesses "a special
interest because it illustrates very
interesting popularity Of hurricanes
at sea.
The hurricanes of the Indian
Ocean, the West Indies and the
China seas are rotating storms, and
the velocity OF the winds whirling
around the center Of the storm is
sometimes so great that, by kind OF
centrifugal action, they are kept of
from the center, pursuing q circular
track around it, as water pouring
with whirling motion through a
sink-holc in the bottom Of a basin
leaves an empty air space in tho
center.
In the central part Of such a hu1-
ricane there is, accordingly, a region
of calm around which the winds are
blowing In a broad circle. On one
side of this central calm it is plain
that the direction Of the wind must
be Numerically opposite to its direc-
tion on the other side.
But while the winds in hurricane
thus circle around the center, the
storm as a whole moves slowly for
ward. Thus it happens that ships
have been involved in the calm center
o. hurricane, which is known as the
"eye Of the storm
AS the center passes over them
they experience first furious blow
of wind, the precise direction of
which depends upon their position,
followed by a dead calm, which in
turn is succeeded, if they have passed
centrally through the eye of the
storm, by an equally fierce wind
blowing in the opposite direction.
No more perilous experience can be-
fall vessel than to pass through the
eve Of a hurricane.
If the reports from Mauritius cor
rcctly delincate the peculiarities OF
the storm which devastated that
island, it seems probable that the in.
habitants of Port Louis werc involved
in such cyclonic eve as has just
been described.