Birmingham state herald., 1896-09-30
STORM-SWEPT SAVANNAH Seven Lives Lost, a Million Dol
 lars Destroyed. TERRIFIC IN ITS INTENSITY The Hurricane Exceeded That of the Great
 Cyclone of 1893.
THE SHORTNESS OF ITS DURATION
rything Within Its Range Devasta- ton Marks Its Track-Telegraphi
 Communication Is Gut Of.

lost and million dollars worth of prop erty destroyed is the record of the cyclone which swept Savannah from 11:30 a. m.
 until 12:15 p. m today. The loss of life and damage to property are yet mere estimates, and both may be greater than now known. The storm, which has been lurking in the eastern gulf for the last two days, swept rapidly across Florida; at 8 o'clock this morning it was at Jack sonville, and without warning burst upon Savannah at 80.
 In half an hour it had done its work The streets were filled with wreckage; hardly house in the city escaped with out more or less damage, though there are comparatively few total wreclss.
 Three hours before the storm was at its height the weather observer said that the wind would not exceed a velocity of thirty miles an hour. It began to rise at II o'clock. Half an hour later it was blowing sixty miles an hour and the air was filled with flying debris. When the wind reached velocity of sixty-six miles an hour the instruments at the weather station were blown away. At noon the barometer dropped to 29. 20, and 2.15 D. m. it was 2S.95
 The storm was terrific in its intensity exceeding that of the great cyclone of 1893, which devastated the South Caro- lima coast. The shortness of it's duration was all that saved a complete annihlla- tion of everything within it's range.
 The storm came from the southeast and swept directly over the city. Hardly a public building escaped its fury The forests around the city were laid in swaths. The parks are in ruins, and many buildings were razed to the ground
 The immense Plant System passenger depot was the first building in the path of the storm and was complete wreck The magnificent prize train of the Plant System, exhibited at the Cotton States exposition and stored in the shed, was wrecked and the cars are almost a total loss. The Central Railroad and Georgia and Alabama railroad freight ware houses on the opposite side of the city were unroofed and the walls demolished The public market was blown in The theater was partially unroofed, and the Second Baptist church is almost a total wreck. The Savannah hospital and the Georgia infirmary were unroofed. Tho City and Suburban Street railway car sheds, in which were stored twenty cars were blown down. The Georgia Hussars armory was badly damaged Nearly every store in the retail section of the city was more or less damaged.
 The Danger to the Shipping
 was less than in 1893. The Norwegian bark Rosenius, anchored in the harbor, was capsized.
 The German bark Cuba, loaded with naval stores for Hamburg, went aground below the city.
 The bark Mizpa, loaded with naval stores and ready for sea, was blown against the retaining wall five miles be- low the city, and is lying on her side.
 The tug Robert Turner went to pieces against the government jetty near the mouth of the Savannah river Three of her crew and the captain, c. E. Murray are supposed to have been lost. The oth- CTS were rescued by tug.
 Two vessels at Quarantine were blown across the river and are high and dry.
 The United States revenue steamer Ty- bee sustained slight damage.
 Small boats were thrown about in ev- cry direction. The Flora left at a. m. with a/heavy cargo for Brunswick. She is in charge of Captain Jenkins, her own CT. The steamer Governor Stafford, Cap tain Strobhar. was to leave Beaufort for Savannah at 10 a. m. Grave fears are en- tertained for the vessel. She was due at Tybee at 12 o'clock, and 1t is thought that The storm at that hour was at it's height at the island.
 The steamboat Star arrived from Bluff ton at Il o'clock, getting in just in time
 The bark Hilda, owned in Savannah, left last night for Brunswick in tow of the tug Cynthia, and no news has been received of her. S100,000 to $150,000 is be- feved to be low estimate of the dam- age to the shipping.
 Telecranh Communication Was Cut Of at the beginning of the storm, and not 8 wire has been working i'll any direction since noon, this report being sent out by train for transmission from Mlllen, Ga. The Western Union Telegraph company has it's forces of linemen out in all direc1 tions to re-establish communication.
 The only train to arrive in the city since the storm began is the north. 0und Plant System fast mail which arrived two hours late, and is still here awaiting in formation as to the condition of the track north of here. A special train was sent out late this afternoon over the Plant System but is not yet returned. The Central railroad will run out a special train tonight No trains have passed over the Florida Central and Peninsular railroad.
 One of the most complete wrecks is For sythe park, which was the pride of the city. Three-fourths of the trees are blown down or torn up by the roots, and are laying in every direction. The city Is in tangle of wires. The street car lines stopped running soon after the blow be- gan and the cars are standing on the tracks in every part of the city, blocked in by trees, and the debris of fallen buildings. The warehouses on the river front were heavily damaged.
 The Savannah Guano company's mills. Conner, Hull & Co.'S. guano works and the Southern Cotton oil company's mill and storage sheds on the river front were badly wrecked. The heaviest damage was sustained by Conner, Hull & Co., their mill being amost total wreck
 At Gordon wharf, a flying timber from building a hundred feet away struck Wallace Johnson, a clerk, killing him in- stantly. w. s. Thompson was killed at the wreck of A. s. Bacon & Co.'S. luRlber. mills Several negroes were also injured in the destruction of Gordon wharf.
 Four negroes in Southville, a colored settlement in the southern portion of the city, were caught under a falling roof and killed.
 There Is yet no communication with the adjacent surrounding country. Forces of men were sent out on the suburban car lines to the nearby resorts. but have yet been unable to reach them, every road and car track being impossible owing to the fallen trees
 No news has been received from Ty- bee island, which suffered so severely in