The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-06-01
WIND TORN MAURITIUS.
TWELVE HUNDRED PEOPLE KILL
ED AND 1000 WOUNDED.

The Hurricane Preceded by Vio-
lent Magnetic Disturbancs-Scsrcely
a House in the Colony Escaped
DamaGe-The Sun aud Blue sky
Appear During a Treacherous Lull
In the Storm.
MARsEILLEs, May 3l.-Mails which have
just arrived from Mauritius confirm the
statement that 200 persons were killed and
1000 injured 10 the recent hurricane. The
hurricane was preceded by violent mag
netic disturbance. The sea rose nine feet,
the highest level since the cyclone Of 1918.
Scarcely house In the colony escaped
damage. Many churches and public build
ings we're destroyed. The fine church Of
the Immaculate Conception is in ruins. The
cathedral, however, by u strange chance
| escaped.
The dead include large number of Iead-
ing inhabitants.
Fearful sights were witnessed In the
streets. One factory collapsed, killing 200
Indians.
One-half of the sugar crop was destroyed.
The losses of the planters are incalculable.
A special relief loan OF EGO, 900 will be OBJ
tatned from the imperial government to b9
| repaid In twenty-five years.
BREWING OF THE STORM.
During the whole summer the weather In
Mauritius was unusually hot On April
~, two days prior TO tho hurricane, the
heat was dreadful. This, together with the
roar OF the surf on the coral reefs, which
was heard for miles inland, Indicated that
something unusual was about to happen
On Friday, April 20, the day broke
stormy, yet there was no thought OF
very serious results. business men went to-
| Port Louis, leaving their wives and
families In the country. The observatory
| reported that the storm would be only of a
| short duration. The first intimation OF
| trouble was the non-arrival of trains and
the cutting Of the telegraph wires. Sud-
| denly at about noon there was heard q
| furious Kissing, aud then the pent-up storm
| broke, rushing upon the town from the
northwest. For ninety minutes the pitt
| less tornado ragged, accompanied by a
| deluge of rain. Buildings collapsed roofs
were blown off and trees blown down.
A TREACHERoUs LULL.
The barometer fell one inch and then sud-
denly began to rise; the wind lulled,
the blue sky and sun appeared,
| and many people went out, believing that
| all danger was past. The more experienced,
| however, predicted that the worst was to
come. The sea had already surrounded
| and made islands Of the chief buildings At
o'clock, without warning, the wind hurst
upon the town again in teufold violence
from directly opposite quarters. The ve-
| locity was 100 miles an hour and its fury
was maintained for two hours. Each blast
J was worse than the preceding filing the
! psople with terror. The center of the storm
| was directly over Port Louis.
FIRE BREAKS OUT.
At 6 o'clock the weather was again calm
except for an occasional gust, and people
we're enabled to go out TO see the WORK of
destruction. Fires then broke out in the
eastern suburbs and destroyed what the
wind had spared. A survivor says that the
whole dosolation in Labourdonnais street.
was caused by single deadly blast. Tha
| occupants Of houses there rushed about with
piercing shrieks, but to meet death or tort-
ure, or escaped being crushed under the
ruins OF their homes only to beinaimed by
flying debris. and then to lie huddled to-
gether until rescue was possible.