Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-09-14
Air Pressure Made All Deaf.


Air Pressure Made All Deaf.
Zone very peculiar feature of the hurri-
cane was the deafness experienced by
every one during the storm-possibly the re-
suit Of the reduced barometric pressure"
our consul to Martinique reported to the
State Department.
During the storm there were ncessant
flashes Of sheet lightning, unaccompanied
by thunder. and Immediately after the
storm there were two distinct shocks of
earthquake at intervals of about five sec
onds." Nne-tenths of the buildings of St
Pierre We're unroofed and flooded with
water, and 100 persons were killed on the
island. Every vessel along the coast was
either wrecked badly damaged The
shade and forest trees were totally de-
stroyed along with the seasons crops.
Our Own Victims.
In our own territory these hurricanes
blowing up from the tropics have wrought
inestimable havoc A terrific one in 1875
swept away Pensacola. Fla. on Santa
Rosa Island. Since then each years
havoc has been recorded in our newspaper
chronicles. appearing from year to year at
about this season. One of the grea test hur-
ricanes devastating our territory In modern
times was that which wiped out a large
portion of Porto Rico in 1893, killing hun
dreds and leaving thousands homeless at
the beginning of their second year of Amer
lean sovereignty. This was but a repeti-
tlon OF many ravages of this storm demon
in our West Indian possession. one of the
earliest chronicled by the white man hav-
Ing been in 1925. In 1878 an English fleet in
the land-locked harbor Of San Juan was
almost entirely destroyed just as it's COM
mander had ordered the fortress to sur
| render. In 1902 fate turned upon the Porto
Ricans by destroying their own fleet in the
same harbor just as 1t was on the point OF
sailing to attack an English squadron.
But our most terrible hurricane catastro-
phe occurred September s. 1900. when one
of these gigantic whirlpoois of air shooting
up from behind the Antilles got caught in
the Gulf of Mexico and destroyed Calves
ton. with the horrible result still familiar
to us all. The severest hurricane which has
visited any of our ports since that time was
that which ragged in the vicinity of the gulf
from the Odd to the 9th of last September
Indeed. according to Prof. +. B. Garriott of
the weather bureau who has made a spe-
cial investigation of these catastrophes
tropical storm developments were eycep-
tionally active in American waters one year
ago this month. when three distinct hurri-
canes swept up from the tropics.
Measuring Wind by Landscape Signs.
The weather bureau classes as hurri-
cane any wind blowing more than &c miles
hour. as shown by its Instruments
Reaching so miles an hour. the wind exerts
pressure or 151a pounds per square foot
on whatever it hits, and rising to 100 miles
per hour this force is As pounds, sufficient
to PROSTATE everything within its path save
only the most solid buildings. wind We
iocity of G6 to 70 miles per hour the bureau
classes as Storm" 81 to 65 miles per
hour a whole gale" 40 to 80 as a
strong gale" and IL to 4S as fresh
gale"
A table of landscape signs by which one
may readily estimate the velocity Of the
wind by the movement of objects has been
worked out by the weather bureau Ac-
cordng to this. when there is no visible
horizontal motion to inaninate matter there
Is a calm When smoke moves from the
vertical the winds velocity Is one to two
miles per hour: when the leaves only of
trees move. three to five miles: when small
branches of trees move and dust blows up
six to fourteen miles; white caps on the
sea, fifteen to twenty-four miles; trees
swaying and small branches breaking.
twenty-five to forty miles.
Above forty miles per hour the wind is
dangerous for sailing vessels. and between
sixty and eighty miles per hour exposed
trees and frail houses are Frustrated
Whenever you see. flying on the breeze
two square red flags with square black CEN
tiers, displayed above the other YOU
may know that Uncle Sam has hung I'D his
hurricane warning" indicating the expect
ed approach of the storm demon of the
tropics. JOHN ELFRETH WATKINS.