The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1913-03-28
TORNADO STRIKES
WEST RICHMOND
Thousands of Dollars of Damage
Done in Five Minutes
by Whirlwind.
SPEED OF STORM a. MILES
Damage Reported All Over City.
Traffic and Telephone Ser
vice Paralyzcd.


While Il storm with a velocity of
fortyfour miles an hour was raging
yesterday morning I'm Richmond.
| smashing windows, paralyzing traffic
and telephone service, and spreading
panic among wayfarers. genuine tor
nado whrled over the extreme West
End with destructive force and doing
| thousands of dollars of damage inside
of five minutes.
Tho tornado first struck tho gardens
| OF Mann & Brown. florists. at the New
Reservoir. Mr.. Brown. who was out
trying to protect some of his glass
| from the force of the wind. said that
he saw an immense black funnel
shaped cloud descending upon the
| place at terrific speed. In another mo-
| fnent 1t mad struck a large and we'll
built greenhouse containing many
valuable American Beauty roses. Tho
| half OF the greenhouse struck by the
cyclone, about forty fect long, was
q complete wreck. the glass was
smashed to bits. and the wooden
framework was kindling wood. whilo
the heavy two-inch piping which
weighted and supported the structure,
was crumpled and twisted. OF course.
| many OF the valuable plants were do
! stroyed. The other half of the green
house, although exposed to the full
force or the regular wind, was not
damaged.
Hurled Against water Tank.
The tornado then rose in the air and
passed over the roofs OF several other
| glass structures. smashing the root
plates. but getting no grip upon them.
1t then struck wooden shed. about
! fifteen feet square, and lifted II bodily
into the air, al! but one wall, to the
height OF about forty feet There is no
telling where the shed would have
gone, but for the interposition of an
elevated water tank. which blocked the
way. Both the tank, which was made
| of timbers two inches thick, and the
she'd were completely demolished.
Some pieces of the shed were then
hurled through line of telephone
wires swapping ali Of them, and the
pieces of timber fell in q vacant field
beyond.
| Mr.. Brown said that It was the sue
| ton OF the great air funnel which
destroyed his greenhouse. which was
! lifted into the air and dropped in
| fragments. He estimates his total loss
at about s2,5oQ. The storm struck his
place at S:45 o'clock.
At $50 o'clock number OF work
! men were engaged upon three brick
houses being built by j. Lee Davis on
/ Grove Avenue, near Meadow Street.
when some of them who were on the
roof saw the sky darken and felt the
building begin TO rock. They gave the
alarm. and in a minute every man WAS
out Of the buildings. 1t was none too
| soon. one of the houses was com-
pletely demolished. u second had the
entire upper story taken away. and
! the roof of the third was damaged.
The houses next door We're not touched.
/ Moreover. six houses, about three
/ blocks away on Floyd Avenue, which
were in exactly the same stage of con-
struction. were not damaged at all.
Mr.. Davis estimates his loss at about
$4,000.
Other Damage Reported.
Much minor damage was done to
new buildings in various parts Of the
city by the general force of the wind.
but in no case did II exhibit tenth
OF the destructive force OF the tornado
which struck the West End.
The parapet walls OF n new house
being erected at Park Avenue and
were carried away. entailing consider
able damage.
Some new buildings being erected by
Il. III. Melton AT Hanover Street and
| Park Avenue. and at Hanover and Elm
Streets, were slightly damaged. some
of the new brick work being carried
away. = number of reports We're made
TO the office of Building Inspector
Butler of storm damage TO new build
ingS III all sections of the city. while
completed structures suffered from
smashed plate glass, shutters torn
away and signs twisted off. In the
suburbs. where frame buildings are the
rule, many tin roofs We're ripped up.
and other light parts damaged.
Alderman Marx Gunst, who lives at
2O@1 West Grace Street, reports ;iat
the wind blew all the back windows
out CT his house. tore down his fence.
ana upset and seriously damaged, his
CHECKER, coop.
Hard Blow Down Town.
The centre OF the storm down town.
seemed to be in the vicinity of Eighth
and Main Streets, and il attained its
maximum velocity OF forty-fou miles
an hour at about S:45 o'clock Tho
plate glass window of Burk & Co.. was
| caved in and completely smashed Sew
eral of the employees narrowly escaped
being struck by the flying glass: bu.
they quickly rallied and saved several
hundred dollars worth Of merchandise
which was exposed in the window.
Traffic was seriously intcrfered
with in many parts of the city, wagons
turning turtle and in some instances.
horses being Knocked down. pedes-
trians took shelter wherever they
could find Ii, and for short time there
was something like a panic.
The storm originated in Eastern
Texas. according to Director Evans OF
the Weather Bureau, and moved north
and east through the Atlantic States.
1t was Virginia's little share OF the
terrible disturbances which have been
occurring in the Western States.
The rain, although never continuous
for any length of time, was very
heavy. About four-tenths of an inch
fell in Richmond between midnight