The evening times., 1899-08-30
HAVOC AT HATTERAs.
Omcial Report of Damage by the
Late Hurricane.


Late Hurricane.
The following official report of the dam
age done at Hatteras by the recent hurri-
cane, was issued by the Weather Bureau
yesterday:
'On the morning of the 10th, easterly
gales were experienced at f1atteras, which
gradually shifted to east-northeast, and
finally northeast about p. M, the veloci-
ty ranging from thirty-six to fifty miles an
hour. At a. m of the 18th, the wind in
creased to seventy and at p. m. it was
ninety three miles an hour, with extreme
velocities from 120 to 140 miles an hour
At p. m. the annemometer cups were
blown away. but it is probable that the
wind reached even a greater force from
. p. M. to z. p. m. The air pressure fell
rapidly from a. m. of the 17th and by
p. m. reached 2S.62 inches, which is the
lowest ever recorded on the middle Allan
tic coast, and remained at that point for
an hour. when it began rising rapidly and
by midnight had risen one-haIf inch. At
f:S0 p. m. of the 18th there was a very
decided lull in the wind, and at d. M
there was only gentle breeze In a half
hour, however, the wind veered to east
and then southeast reaching sixty to sew
enty miles an hour and continuing at that
velocity till morning of the 18th. During
this morning the wind veered to south.
blowing gale. but decreasing somewhat
and shifting to southwest in the evening.
On the 18th the winds were squally, but
not Of high velocity.
This hurricane was the most severe
within the past seventy-fiye years. The
scene on the 18th was wild and terrifying
In the extreme By 8 a. M. the entire ISL
and was covered with water blown in from
the sound, and in three hours the depth of
the water had reached from three TO ten
feet. This tide swept over the island at a
fearful rate. carrying everything movable
before II, and at least half the people had
TO abondon their homes and property to
seek safety with those living on higher
land. The total loss at Hatteras alone
will amount to from $15, 900 to $40 0OO. The
fishing business which is the principal in
dustry has for the present been swept en-
tireiy away Out OF thirteen fish-packing
houses which We're on the water front only
three are standing. These houses con-
tanned all the gear and apparatus for fish
ing, and not one thing was saved from
those which were washed away This
means TO the people there a total cessa-
tion in their principal industry for a pe-
riod of two months or more, which, in the
opinion of business men, must entail more
or less suffering among the people. A
great majority of the houses were badly
damaged, and five or six were rendered
unfit for habitation. One church was COM
pletely wrecked, and will have to be re-
built before it can be used All of the
bridges and footways over the small
streams were swept away, and passing
from one portion of the island to another
has TO be by boat.
"A large steamship foundered one mile off
Hatteras beach on the night of the nth
and all
drowned. The name Of the steamer was
Agnes, and she was of foreign build. The
Diamond Shoals lightship station d If Hat
teras broke loose from her moorings and
was carried south by the gale; when the
wind shifted TO the southeast she headed
north and was carried ashore near Creed S
Hill life saving station six miles north of
the Weather Bureau office, where she lay
! high up on the beach. The entire. crew
was saved by the Creed's Hill lifesaving
force. '--0
| THE three-masted schooner Florence
Randall went ashore one mile north of Big
Kinnakeet life saving station on the night
of the 10th. The entire crew was saved by
| the lifesaving force. The schooner was
loaded with guano and will be total loss.
AT the Weather Bureau office the wind
vane and fagpole were blown down and the
annemometer was carried away. An out
building was completely swept away and
property stored was lost. Ample warnings
were issued to Hatteras, as the storm sig
nal flags were displayed and special warn
ings given several days before the storm
broke. All the stores, warehouses, and
other buildings in which property is placed
for safe keeping are situated along the wa
ter 'front.' and these were either flooded OF
entirely swept away No lives were lost al
Hatteras, though there were many narrow
/ ESCAPES several families being washed OH,
of their homes into the tide and storm
At Ocracoke and Portsmouth, sixteen and
| twenty miles south of the station, the storm
was reported about the same as at Hatteras
with corresponding damage TO property. 4
pleasure boat al ocracoke with party from
Washington, n. c., was lost and some of the
passengers were drowned. The highest We.
locity of wind previously reported at Hat