The San Francisco call., 1903-09-12
SIXTY SHIPS
LOST, FIFTY
LIVES GO OUT.
Storm Ruin Over
Great Britain
General.
Coast Towns and Agri-
cultural Districts
Suffer.
Bodies Washing Ashore Con-
tinue to Swell List of
Fatalities.
Special Dispatch to The can.

LONDON, Sept 12-Stories CT disasters
caused by Thursdays storm occupy COL
umns of the morning papers. More than
fifty lives were lost and some sixty
wrecks are reported. Damage in this line
alone will amount to thousands of pounds
sterling. An enormous number of tele-
graph and telephone wires are still down
throughout the United Kingdom
While the details of the havoc wrought
by the storm are necessarily Incomplete
reports come in from all parts of the
United Kingdom showing that the devas-
tation was general All sorts OF vessels
were caught in the gale and many found
ered several with their entire crews A
great number OF minor craft is believed
to be lost and the bodies washing ashore
continue to swell the terrible list of
fatalities.
The gale sprang up with sudden fury
from the southwest and the wind blew
with velocity at times reaching fifty
miles an hour and fhisr2setiuu4s several
hours.
All the coast towns suffered more or
less and the agricultural sections in the
interior report incalculable damage, ow
ing to the late harvest. The beautiful
hop gardens of Kent have been ruined
and in many places the valleys of the
Thames and the Severn are submerged.
quantities of sheep and cattle being
drowned.
TELEGRAPH LINES DOWN.
For some time telegraphic conmunica-
ton was completely stopped and the land
lines are still in terrible shape. The tel
egraph companies report that the wires
and poles are down everywhere. Great
numbers of fine trees in the parks Of Lon
don and other cities were torn up by the
roots or stripped of their branches, and
the list of minor damages and casualties
is amazing In addition 70 the deaths
from drowning reports from inland give
many fatalities resulting from various
causes incident to the storm.
Dispatches from France and Germany
indicate that widespread damage has been
caused by the storm on sea and land.
Telephone communication between Lon
don and Paris had not yet been restored
and there is much delay in telegraphic
DISPATCHES owing to the damage to the
continental land lines.
The suburbs of the metropolis are lit
tered with trees and branches which have
been blown down. The tents of the First
ARMY Corps. which was under canvas
preparatory to taking part in the maneu-
vers were almost blown to pieces. 1t
IS possible that the whole force may be
recalled from Aldershot.
BREAKWATER DESTROYED.
The breakwater of the new harbor in
course of construction at Dover has been
entirely swept away, involving a loss of
many thousands of pounds sterling The
channel steamers from France arrived
late this morning after perilously rid
ing out the storm for six or seven hours
Manv lifeboat rescues were made and
several fatalities and many accidents
were recorded Much wreckage is being
washed up all around the coast.
From Dungeness 1t is reported that a
Ketches crew, numbering eight men,
were all drowned.
At South Sea several bodies have been
washed up. Poole, Whitestable and Ports
mouth all report wrecks and fatalities.
derelict yacht has been towed into
Portsmouth. The fate of her crew is not
known.
Much damage has been done at Bath
and Hastings.
A vessel is in distress off the Goodwin
Sands where the lightship is adrift
The lifeboats have been busy all along
the coast. The hop crops have suffered
great damage.
A Lloyds dispatch from Cowes, Isle Of
Wight, reports that the American steam
Yacht Enchantress was badly damaged in
the English Channel.
A South Sea lifeboat went out to a dis
tressed bark off Weymouth. There were
no signs of life on the vessel and it is
supposed that her crew was drowned