The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1910-10-18
ISLAND OF CUBA
DEVASTATED BY
HURRICANE
TroulcaI Stern Does immense
Amount Of Damage.
BIG WAVES SWEEP HAvAAA
Loss Of Property Will Aggregate Mil
lions-only Few Fatalities
Reported

Havana, Oct. TO- LIZ
Cuba has probably sustained the
greatest material disaster in all her
history in the practically continuous
cvc,one which began with light rains
on Thnsrday morning, developing III
70 torrential floods and devastating
hurricanes and continuing until ias'
evening. The western half Oh lhe
land suffered more severely IMAM ths
cast The first cyclone of when
thara was some warning, had harul!
iaba+ed on Sunday night when sudden
1v the wind. which up to then hau
heen southeast. changed to southwest
and with renewed fury the cyclohlc
blasts swept over Matanzas, Pinar
del Rio and Havana provinces, com
Melting the destruction wrought D!
the first storm.
II is impossible to estimate even
roughly the amount of the damage
which doubtless viii aggregate many
millions of dollars. In addition 10
the great destruction to sugar and 70.
bacco plantations, many thousand OF
peasanls In the three western prov
inces have been rendered homeless
and destitute by the loss OF thelr
homes and the food crops, especially
MAINTAINS and corn. It now seems
probable that the republic may be
compelled to request international AID
for the relief Of these sufferers whose
condition is most deplorable.
While all communication with the
interior has been cut off, there is
reason to hope that Oriente, Cana.
guey and Santa Clara have escaped
the greatest fury of the storm. IN
the city of Havana the losses probab
" will exceed 100000, mainly due
to the destruction Of the custom
house sheds. which were filled VIII
perishable g6ods, the sinking of scores
Of lighters, many of them containing
valuable cargoes which had been un
loaded from steamers, and the SUB
merging of about one square mile o
the residential section Of the cit!
facing the sea. Few fatalities mp L
the present have been reported
Three men we're drowned in the harbo
hut no deaths from the storm occur
red In the city. II is probable. how
ever. that the casualty list in the In
terror will be large.
The American consul-general,
Linn Rodgers, succeeded Sunday J
reaching Artemisa, 30 miles souti
west of Havana. He returned TO ia
vana Yesterday morning and reporte
that the country has been deyastate
nv the floods. Conditions from ART
mista to Cape San Antonio, 1t Is sta
cd. are even worse than In the teri
tory explored by Consul Rodgers. A
the tobacco seed beds and barns hay
been destroyed. The prosperity
crop. II is asserted, will not eXcee
10 per cent Of normal. The sugi
plantation suffered less severely, bl
great damage has been done to stan
ing cane by the change Of wind
the second storm.
At the height of the storm u
great waves broke clear over the q
parts Of MORO castle. They roll'
with terrific speed up the haroc
tumbling over the sea walls, inundS
ing the streets In the lower part
the city, carrying away many OF Il
small craft along the shores ~
swapping many lighters which
capped the blow during the EARL
hours. The Almendaries river Al
other small streams In the vicinity
the city are over their banks. floodi
the lowlands and carrying off hu
barns and cattle. Probably ma
people lost their lives in these s,
tions.
A barge containing all the outfit
the divers working on the wreck
the old battleship Maine was CARR
away and stranded on the rocks
Moro castle. Later the soldiers
the fortress succeeded IN saving c,
siderable of the apparatus but all
the divers buoys, stakes and otl
marks around the Maine we're sw,
away, which probably will seriou
delay work OF raising the wre
President Gomez In an automobile
tied the inundated sections and otl
threatened parts OF the city. He
rected the work OF rescue and
couraged the soldiers. police and +
men, and later he visited the hos
ais to which many injured and Z
sutute persons had been taken.