Republican farmer., 1918-07-19
HEAVY DAMAGE AS RESULT OF STORM IN THIS SECTION
Houses Injured, Trees Blown Down, Roads Block
 ed in Stratford.
SEVERAL RESCUED
 FROM DROWNING
Many Boats on Sound Had Difficult Fight to Prevent
 Swamping in High Seas.

Houses were damaged, trees up- rooted, wires blown down, crops ruined, boats wrecked and run ashore, but fortunately no loss of life has been reported as a result of the severe storm which struck Bridge port, Stratford, Fairfield and Milford yesterday afternoon shortly after ? o'clock.
 Up to a late hour today no definite estimate of the damage wrecked by the storm has been made but it is safe to say the loss in all sections will reach the six figure mark.
 Lives of hundreds of people in dan ger during the terrific gale which seemed to sweep everything before it., and traffic of all kind was held up by trees blown across the roads, high po- tential wires which were down, and sections of highway which were flooded by the rain which amounted to a deluge.
 Many harbor craft, including tugs with tows, fought their way to the open sea to ride out the storm rather than run the risk of being blown on the rocks at the breakwater or be run ashore by the heavy seas run ming in the harbor. Great anxiety was felt for the many craft along the shore, but though a large number were reported as being in distress no enc was drowned, which is most re- markable when 1t Is considered as being one of the worst over Bridge port in a quarter of a century.
 Along the beaches tents were blown flat and summer colonists were fore ed to flee for shelter with more for tunate neighbors. Up to late hour last night the tent dwellers were busy reinstalling themselves in their can vas homes or collecting their belong ings which were scattered about the shore by the fierce gale.
 In many cases women were so ter rified by the vivid flashes of lightning and the crashing roar of the thunder that doctors, ambulances and drue stores were being continuously called on for aid.
 As soon as possible a large crew of telephone and telegraph linemen ac- companied by members of the Bridge port Fire Department were busy on the job cutting heavy three branches loose from the heavily charged cleo tric light wires as well as the lines oi communication. They were also work l ing up to a late hour last night splic- ing wires which had been broken through wreckage falling upon them or through poles supporting them be- ing blown down.
 | Captain William Merrill of the oys- ter steamer Automatic won distinc. tion during the height of the storm by his gallant rescue of five drowning men whose boat had been wrecked by the violence of the gale. One o1 the men was pulled on board the Au. tomat1c and the other four were as. sisted aobard the Milford oyster pa. 1 trol boat Eva M. Later in the daJ Captain Merrill reported that he saw no less than six captized boats, bu, up to a late hour today no report. have come in concerning anyone be
 ing lost.
 The schooner Woolsey, Bridgepor
 to Providence, lost a foresail off tn,
 Bridgeport breakwater and narrowly
 escaped being blown on the rocks
 The power boat R. p. Erry, Green
 port, l.. l., with Captain Halsey anC folr other men aboard, was strucl
 by lightning which shattered the flag
 staff and stunned the crew. The cap tain and crew finally succeeded il making Bridgeport harbor. A larg,
 number of schooners were saved iron
 bleaching on Steeplechase Island onl, after heroic efforts on the part of tov : boat captains and crews who pulle, them to pIaces of safety while tn Sstorm was at it's height.