The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-05-08
LOSS FROM STORM IS NOW ESTIMATED AT ABOUT $30,0OO Over Three Inches of Rain in Ten Hours Estab-
 fishes Record
GUARANTEE SHOE co.
 LOSS FIXED AT 5000
Caused by Water Breaking Through Facing of Walls-Plate Glass
 Windows Blown In and
 Roofs Taken off

severe rain and windstorm which started at 5:So yesterday morning and lasted until about & o'clock. did about sS00oo damage to various property in and about Birmingham. According to F.. c. Horton. weather forecaster. the wind reached a velocity of about 36 miles an hour. All records for rainfall in tho month of May were broken s.5o inches of rain falling between the hours of 10 o'clock Thursday night and o'clock Fri day morning. This rainfall is in excess of the total rainfall for the month of April. The greatest individual damage done by the storm was suffered by the Guarantee Shoe company, 1907 Third avenue. Their loss caused by water. will reach s3coo | according to statement given out by Henry Ruff, president of the company. When we opened the store yesterday morning at 6:30 o'clock we found that quite bit of water was in the store. This was caused by the water on the roof accommodating SO fast that it broke through the facing of the walls The plastering on all three floors Is damaged | and great deal of 1t fell to the floors. Considerable stock was damaged We shall start to work repairing the building at once"
 COrnice Blown Down About o'clock yesterday morning the cornice of the ]. c. Marks Liquor com panys store was blown down. This was accompanied by big noise that resem- fled the falling of a wall and caused considerable fright The back door of the building was also blown into the ele- 1 vator shaft of the building. The total l. imately $500 and Is covered by tornado | insurance.
 | The police department notified of | plate glass windows being blown in at the following places Hood & Wheeler Furniture Co, Y. w. Wood Grocery Co.,, 1 J. C. Marks Liquor O., and Warner lee ] Cream Co Numerous other places were l slightly damaged.
 l The telephone company announced that about 500 telephones are out of order as 1 a result of the storm. Wires have been torn down at numerous places. and many telegraph poles have been uprooted, Ac- i cordng to Manager George Knox all the damage done to his company will oe re-
 paired by this afternoon.
 , Water in the downtown district came into the stores on nearly all the streets
 which resembled miniature rivers at B
 a clock yesterday morning. Street car traffic was tied up most ef the lines
 until a late hour.
 Trees Uprooted
 Trees were uprooted in nearly all see-
 tions of the city Many of the globes of the white way posts we've broken by the wind and rain, Awnings all over
 the city were torn away. One house on the North Bessemer car line was blown off its foundation while number of
 houses In this vicinity Had their roofs
 blown off. A number of sewers were rent
 asunder by the terrific force of the water
 flowing in them
 The heaviest loser from the result of the storm is the city. Any number of
 streets,s especially in the suburbs, were
 practically washed away, while sidewalks
 also suffered.
 It is considered remarkable that there were no injuries caused from the storm.
 Numerous comments in regard to what
 would have happened if the remnants Of
 the walls of the Steele-Smith building
 had not been removed. were heard on the streets yesterday.
 While the month of April was an ex- , ceedingly dry one and the farmers in this
 vicinity suffered from lack of rain the flood of yesterday possibly did them mora damage than good. Most of the plants
 were either beaten down or washed away.