The Washington times., 1915-08-04
LOSS VAST
IN STORMS SWEEP
Outlying Districts Are Principal
Losers as Result Of Rain
and Wind.

fallen trees. pavemcnts Uttered with
glass, and flowers and shrubbery beaten
to the ground were sights that greeted
| Washington whenSit awoke today. the
| damage being the result OF q thirty-six-
/ mile an hour wind that swept the city
last night accompanied by as inches Of
rainfall.
There were no accidents or injuries
reported AZ a result OF the storm.
The lighting systems in every out
lying district Of the Capital we're wholly
or partly out OF commission for q time,
and the fire alarm systems In Tenley-
town and Brookland were useless for
several hours.
The heaviest damage the storm
wrought was in the outlying sections of
the District. and in the adjoining ter
ritory Of Maryland and Virginia. The
farmers were the real sufferers. Many
in in value were s compietely @ ''S destroyed. st. sy
Around Rockville the storm was es-
pecially severe. and thriving fields of
corn were beaten down by the winds
But the damage that will react on
Washington is that done to truck
farms. Peas, beans, tomatoes, sweet
corn. and other vegetables which are
brought to Washington from truck
TODAY snd sSen ss
farmers come In to the various mar
kets. the full effect will be felt. It
was said, by marked lessening Of
the supply Of vegeta bles.
Hyattsyille; Brentwood and River
and Suburban line report heavy dam
age to crops. Corn In that section of
Maryland was almost totally wiped out.
and the large truck farms report heavy
devastation. Whole truck farms were
swept nearly clean by the heavy winds
In Virginia the damage was almost as
heavy. The storm swept the sections
near Washington which ship a large
portion Of Washington supply Of green
Most of. the damage to the lighting
and fire alarm systems was due to trees
being blown down and carrying the
wires with them. though in one or two
In the current being short circuited.
The first trouble reported was about
30 o'clock. when the lights on the Con-
necticut avenue bridge went out. The
force TIL about . o'clock and after that
grief came to the city electrical de-
At ii o'clock It was reported that all
Street 'ree ssd
vana avenue to the Anacostia bridge
We're out. and a little later the lights
from the same point to the Pennsyl-
vania bridge failed. About the same
plaza fickered and vanished. leaving
the maze Of street car tracks there in
total darkness.
Breaks Window Panes.
In several places the force Of the wind
broke In window panes and in other
Instances the glass was smashed by
trees and limbs being blown against It.
At Mt. Pleasant and Lamont streets a
large plate glass window was blown
out Of a barber shop.
A large tree>dt the southwest corner Of
Fifth street and Florida avenue north
west was blown. over against a house
and knocked tho chimney Oft the struc-
ture. This morning the tree was still
leaning against the house. A dozen 9TH
er trees were broken of or torn UP by
the roots in that vicinity. One of the
largest trees to 60 was that at Ninth
and D streets southwest. which was
blown out into the street.
Congress Heights, and most Of Ana
costa were all plunged into darkness
before the wind and rain ceased, and
at midnight the report came that every
had failed.
A large. force of men was put to
work early today repairing the dam
age. and It is expected that every light
We're 's sroHen sut ehe greater rev pars lamp; of
the trouble was due to tangled wires.
a canvass Of the police stations to-
day indicated that from seventy-rve
to one hundred trees were blown down
numbers OF branches wrenched by the
wind from other trees and scattered
about highways and lawns or hurled
against buildings.
Wood 81 Scattered.
Seventy-five cords OF wood which had
been piled along the sea wall Of the
Eastern branch. in Anacostia, was
f1oated by the high water during the
night and scattered for blocks along the
shore. Most Of 1t was recovered to-
day by men in small boats.
The Harbor precinct reported no dam
age to shipping but said the water was
unusually high today. due to the heavy
east wind that blew during the night
The harbor Is protected from the east,
and consequently a wind from that
point Is not feared.
A curious freak Of the storm was the
destruction Of hundreds Of English
sparrows on Pennsylvania avenue. be-
teen Seventh and Ninth streets north
west, The birds roost in the trees by
the thousands, but their protection was
so poor last night that they were beaten
on the limbs by the heavy rain. and in
their wet and benumbed condition could
not ny. Many were washed into the
sewers. and the street sweepers gath
cred up the rest early In the day.
The storm. which originated In Flor
ida two days ago. had been slowly
ing had reached South Ssroiinsy: sinsy but trat at
the Weather Bureau the chances Of its
reaching Warrington were considered
remote. Driven before a brisk north
east wind yesterday afternoon, how
ever. 1t suddenly swept across North
Carolina and Virginia. Increasing In We
locity as 1t came. until when It struck
Washington last night the wind was
blowing a gale and the water was COM
Ing down in sheets. The precipitation
was almost ss much rain as fell during
the entire month Of July. and the wind
reached a velocity of thirty-six miles
an hour. Sweeping over the Capital,
the storm continued its course In a
ncrtheasterly direction through Mary
land and across eastern Pennsylvania,
New Jersey. and New York, the Raie
travelling at a thirty six mile an hour
pace in New York city.
1t was one Of the heaviest rain
storms OF the season. the precipitation
ranging from 2h to s inches over the
region.
The storm has effectively broken tbe