The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-09-01
NAPHTHA FLEET GONE.
TYBEE'S CLOSE CALL.
Loss of the Railroads.

The biennial cyclone seems to have
singled out Savannah this year as a shin
ing mark It was nurtured into life off
this section Of the Georgia coast, and did
the main part of its destruction here.
Preceded, as it was, by rainy, buster
ing day there was some apprehension
about a hurricane. In fact, the question
was asked all Tuesday afternoon, rs
there going to be a storm?' Nobody SEEM
ed to know until about O'Clock, when
the weather bureau hoisted the storm
northeast signal The rain and wind con-
tinued into the night but not until within
an hour OF midnight did anybody have an
idea that there were chances for a storm
Of such severity as developed between that
time and morning.
The shipping men were looking for moth
ing Of the kind, and vessels were not held
back. Property owners did not expect it,
and those who were short on storm insur-
ance did nothing for the protection of
their property. The consequence was 1t
was at the mercy of the wind when 1t
reached its greatest velocity.
It may be said that the storm was who'll
~ unexpected, and the way in which that
Is accounted for by the weather bureau
Is that il developed right in. this section.
That being the case there was no way OF
telling what it would do until it had done
It, There were some indications of blow
over In the Gulf few days ago, but moth
ing seemed TO come of them, nor was
much attention paid to the fact. But when
the gale started in 1t developed rapidly in
Intensity. From 45 miles an hour at mid
night 1t jumped up to &c miles at 2:so
O'Clock In the morning and blew at that
rate for a period OF about ten minutes.
At one time 1t blew as high as eighty miles
an hour. The lowest point reached by the
barometer was 2s.2a about o'clock.
The fact that the high speed of the wind
was maintained for only a short period
made this storm somewhat less destruct-
i've than others Of recent date. The highest
recorded velocity of the storm of Aug. q.
1888, was y miles an hour and
the highest in the storm OF 1896
was Is miles an hour, but in
those storms the wind blew with the same
intensity for some hours and its persist
ent efforts brought about more damage
than was accomplished in this storm.
The destruction, however, Is enormous
There Is hardly property owner who has
escaped. Tin roofs were blown off in every
part of the city. Private residences and
public buildings were treated alike. Some
houses were unroofed entirely; others Just
In the course of construction were COM
ME
not unroofed, and even where their tin
roofs remained, the driving rain was
blown in through some crack, and walls
and plastering and furniture and carpets
were soaked. Many escaped from this
damage, but there are few who will not
have some loss to count up, either as the
result of the wind or the rain.
It Is impossible to accurately estimate
the damage to the property in the city,
and along the water front, It will run
way up in the hundreds Of thousands.
Walk down the street and almost every
man will say he lost a chimney. a tin roof
or something of the kind and that It will
cost him $25 or $50 to repair H. Others
find their damage viii run up to 500 and
some 10 $1,000, while a few 80 to stlll high
er figures, as In the case Of the residences
of Messrs. j. Perlnski and Jacob T. Co
hen, where the roofs were blown entirely
away, and the houses flooded from garnet
10 cellar
Averaging the damage at $50 per prom
erty owner and adding the destruction 70
the shipping ana boats in the river rs
well as the general damage througbost
the city, and the loss would foot I'D eas.,,
$4,000. Estimated at per cent. of the
value Of the property in the city. and Il
would be even more than that amount
The losses are all in small amounts. but
when small amounts are added together
they grow amazingly; when they are mul.
tiplied they grow almost beyond the powe,
of conception.
Though the wind blew with such inten.
sity as 70 shake houses and carry away
roofs, and blow up trees by the roots
fortunately there was no fatality, as the
result Of the storm, so far as is known
There is one exception, that of sailor
on the Italian bark Noe. whose death