The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-08-30
A blast OF DEAIH
At CHARLESTON.
Six Lives Lost in Sunday
Nights Cyclone,
PROPERTY LOSS ONE MILLION.
The Beautiful Battery
a Mass of Debris.
WHARVES NEARLY ALL SMASHED
Shipping in the Marsh, on the
Wrecks of Wharves and
at the Bottom.

The Topography of Sullivan's Island
Changed-A Great Number of Houses
Wrecked Both in the City and on the
Island-Fort MouItrie a Haven of
Refuge-Water in the Lower Part of
the City Several Feet Deep-steel
Bridge Across the Ashley Smashed.
Charleston, S. c., Aug 29.-The old
earthquake city is once more engaged in
rebuilding her waste places. The cyclone
of 1893 arrived here on Sunday last. 1t wa
entirely unexpected, and of course caught
everybody unprepared. The wind had
been blowing from the east for several
days at the velocity of about twenty
miles. At about o'clock Sunday
the fury Of the gale set in,
and sby z o'clock it was blowing at
the rate of 100 miles an hour, accompan-
led by a drenching rain BY p. m.
pretty much all the streets and lots south
of Calhoun street and west of Coming
street were under water, just as they
have been a dozen times during the sum
mer, when the drains have been con-
gested by unusually heavy rains.
ENTIRELY UNPREPARED.
At that time, however, the situation
assumed phase that became much more
serious. The.hour of high water was s :O7
p. m, and, judging from experiences in
former cyclones, the elimination of the
blow and the receding of the water was
confidently looked for at that
time. Nobody was prepared for
what followed. BY 4 O'Clock
the salt water had joined the surface rain
water, washing clean over the causeways
and low bulkheads along the river front.
In an hour the water had risen to depth
of four feet in Lynch and Gadsden streets,
and at s o'clock the entire western sec
tion of the city was from six to ten feet
under water.
APPALLING SITUATION.
Here was a condition that became at
once alarming. Night added to the ter
rors of the situation. AS the gas meters
In many of the houses were submerged by
the rising food, the inmates of the houses
were deprived of light and cut off from
communication with the rest of the world.
Ingress or egress from the houses was
impossible in many cases. The inhabi-
tants were as completely isolated as if
they were on an island in the Atlantic
ocean. Houses in the western part of the
city which were built on the ground were
flooded on the lower floors to the depth of
from three to six feet. Those which are
built on pillars from eight to ten feet
high escaped this disaster, but
their inmates were still cut off
from all communication with the
rest of the world. AS the night
advanced the situation became appalling.
Eight o'clock, the time of high water,
passed, but there was no lull in the fury
oil the wind. On the contrary, the gusts
came on in shorter intervals and with
increased fury, and the frame houses
shook and trembled and swayed to the
Jury Of the gale in a way that carried
fear and terror to the hearts of the
inmates.
II will be remembered that many houses
hIled with women and children were in
utter darkness owing to the flooding of
gas metres. In many instances the men
0l The family we're away, without any
possible means Of getting to their resi-
uences. All around them the apparently
endless water tapped the floors of their
nigh piazzas and threatened with
browning those who might escape being
crushed beneath the walls and roofs
winch threatened momentarily to yield to
'ne force and fury of the wind This
continued till noon on Monday, when the
water subsided and the people had a
Chance to look around.
OVER ONE MILLION LOSS.
Inc city was a scene of utter wreck
eul ruin ne 4l.~ - ii --. --.- s--.-