The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1906-10-19
STORM HITS HAVANA
Communication Between Cuban
Capital and United States
Cut OF by Hurricane.
FLORIDA CITY IS IN PERIL.

0lofn1-Wtre SefNtce 10 Eotn ~iacsS
Interrupted After Operators Announce
Approach of Danger = Vessels Off
Lower Atlantic IN Cyclones Track.
New York, Oct 19. Extreme anxiety
was expressed here for the fate of Ha
vana and other cities in Cuba when It
became known that for many hours
fearful storm had interrupted cable
communication between the island and
the United States and that the last
message received from the Cuban capi-
tai said the storm had assumed the,
proportions OF cyclone Insfhat mests
sage, which was cut short wifh a bruptS
ness that Increased the fears at this
end of the wige, the Havana operator
said the storm was beating fnriously
on the cable hut and was breaking
down the inland wires Apparently
his own line gave way under the fury
Of the tempest at that point, or perhaps
the hut was destroyed or the operator
killed.
Meanwhile fears almost as grave
were expressed for Miami, Fla, which
was struck by the cyclone. and cut off
from Jacksonville. The same dramatic
incident marked the interruption Of the
domestic telegraph as in the case of
the cable service. In the instant when
the Miami-Jacksonvilie line was broken
the Miami operator was. describing the
80 he $50
tence ran that hurricane had pounced
on the city, flooding many streets, in
dicting great damage and covering the
floor of the telegraph office with two
feet of water
Hundreds of Deaths Runaored.
UneonArmed reports that many hun
dreds of persons were killed in Havana
and Miami spread persistently through
Wall street. None could say whence
they came, and they were contradicted
vigorously by persons who said there
was not he least Foundation for them.
Business men with interests in Cuba
expressed grave alarm, and their worry
was Increased when attempts to COM
municate with the Island republic
through Mexico proved futile. Definite
knowledge of heavy loss might not
have been as hard to stand as the baf-
fling conditions that confronted ali who
tried to obtain news Of the storms
havoc In Havana and at other points.
Fiorida coast Stricken.
The storm was evidently approach
ing its worst in Havana when the last
infolv nation from the cable operator
arrived here The big blow was de
scribed inp Washington dispatches as
"a tropical disturbance Of small diam
eter, but of great severity in and near
the vortex" Itjumped to the Florida
coast and caused much damage there.
st. Augustine's streets along the bay
front were under water, and reports
from other points along the coast
showed that the hurricane was increas-
ing infseverity The tser endous. wind
was aecomp by downpour usu-
ally experienced only in the heart of
the tropics 1t was not long ere all
the wires south of Jacksonville were
down, and as Miami is 800 miles be-
low that city there was little hope of
news from there until telegraphic COM
munication could be restored.
Anxiety was heightened by the frank
admission of the weather bureau in
Washington that the storm held great
er danger for ships at sea. 1t was an
nounced officially from the headquar-.
ters of the meteorological service that
It would be hazardous for even the
largest vessels to navigate in the At
ianfie anywhere off the lower Atlantic
coast The storm when last observed
was moving north by northeast, which
direction was likelyto take it clear of
north ATLANTIC ports, but tended to
make it bisect the steamship lines be-
tween the United States and Europe.
Our Troops orenched.
Early, dispatches from Havana indi-
Gated that danger was approaching.
Heavy rain and high wind were re-
ported, and it was said the United
States troops in Camp Columbia, out
side Havana, were suffef1 1lg greatly,
their tents yielding poor housing from
the tropical storm. Then reports from
the Florida coast began to filter in.
The rain was described as torrential.
1t was feared hundreds of buildings
would be blown down, scores of yes
sells sdnk and hundreds of lives lost
By land and sea.