Evening star., 1927-11-17
EASTERN SECTION
SWEPT BY STORM;
DAMAGE IS HEAVY
Homes Unroofed by Freak
GaIe-Seven Persons Are
Reported Hurt.
POLICE AND FlREMEN
JOIN IN RESCUE WORK
Hyattsville and Alexandria Hit by
Sudden Gale-Bladensburg
Houses Wrecked.

An undetermined number OF per-
sons were Injured ana many E"nses
aud buildings blown down or uhi""ieu
ia The northeast ana southeast seq
tions IN the freak thunderstorm when
struck Washington with hurricane
force at 2:30 o'clock this afternoon.
Early reports showed that at least
seven men. women and children were
taken To hospitals.
\ school building at Eighteenth ana
RenninS road northeast was reported
to have been destroyed.
Houses Are Damaged.
Houses all over the eastern section
/ Of the city were damaged by the
! terrific force of the storm, and al
vices@which trickled in over damaged
Ines of communication Indicated that
great havoc was wrought in outlying
sections to the east of the city.
As the full effects of the storm be-
came apparent within few minutes
after it had spent its force, police anu
tiremen swung into action and Joined
i'm the work of rescue. Police reserves
were ordered out. and rescue crews
dashed through the streets TO the
scenes of destruction. principally in
the southeast and northeast sections
of the city.
Within a short Spacas of. time,
Providence Hospital reported that five
persons had been brought in for
surgical aid, while at Casualty two
more were received. In the rush. no
names were obtained. The injured at
Providence included woman and two
men and two colored children, The
victims at Casualty were a man and
woman.
ilyattsville Swept.
Constable Tom Garrison advised The
Star that Hy2ttsVilie WAS extensive
ly damaged, while a message from
Alexandria stated that considerable
damage was done in nearby Virginia.
Three or four houses in Bsadens-
burg. including the old George Wash
ington Inn, were unroofed, and from
Comar Manor, mile away, also came
reports that several places were un-
rooted. In no instance was any one
hurt, so far as was known.
Tin roofs of scores of residences in
the Northeast and Southeast were
torn off and hurled great distances by
the violent wind, while some houses
and stores reported nearly every win
dow shatterd.
South Carolina avenue, between
Sixth and Seventh streets. was direct
ly in the path of the gale, and many
of the houses in that block. and
farther down, East of Thirteenth
street, were unroofed.
Two Homes Wrecked.
Two houses were blown down in
: the vicinity of Eighteenth street and
Benning road northeast, while the
roofs were lifted from a row of dwell
lings on Kentucky avenue southeast.
The wind was a real "twister" of
brief but dramatic length, according
to G. c. McCloy, chief machinist. L.
S. n. 12l Thirteenth street south
east. assigned TO the T.. S. S. Sylph,
vessel of the Secretary of the Navy.
Any one who had ever experienced
West Indies storm wind or tornado.
he said. would realize the chara cter OF
the blast which struck Washington
this afternoon. shortly before 3
o'clock, he said, without warning, the
wind fell upon the section, tearing
limbs from trees, blowing in windows.
and lifting roofs from some of the
houses and stores and causing con-
siderable panic among residents The
storm departed as suddenly as il
came.
At Thirteenth and y streets south.
east an a. 4 i. store lost it's roof
The twisted tin and glass from the
windows was hurled into pole at the
corner
The windows of the shoe shop of
Frank cusunano, .05 Thirteenth
etreet, We're blown in. The Sanitary
Grocery. 207 Thirteenth street. was
wrecked. the stock being strewn over
the street.
Bryan School. on Il street. between
Ihlrteent hand Fourteenth streets
southeast, WAS in the path Of the storm
and two portables on the west side of
the building were unroofed
Children Escape.
One Of these was empty. but in the
other, there were 81 third grade chill
CTen at work when the blast came
Led by their teacher Miss Margaret
i. Murray, they dashed from the
wrecked structure through tbs rain
to the main building.
Excitement rcigned throughout the
building and for time il was feared
that some of the 900 children III the
main building or the Two portables
had been injured. The prins ipal Miss
VI. T.. Shea.i~. restored order quickly
however. and found that 10 one had
suffered injury. Miss Shcads said the
storm struck the building SO sudden
" that there Was 40 time To prepare
for IL.
As soon as the rain let up Miss
Sheads dismissed all of tue children
80 they could hurry home. Many
parents rushed 10 the school building
10 see If their children were safe and
were oyer5oyed 10 discover that mons
uf them had been hurt.
Cold Spell j. Due.
4 The sunnerlike thunderstorm which
struck Washington with hurri
cane force this afternoon viii send
tilaa ba!fny weather % the past few
days cscuddlng away under the pres
sure of an onconlng cola spell. ii waE
announced al the Weather Bureau.
While thunder and lightning So hate
.n November rarely are entered OF
fhe books Of the bureau. officials sait
.hat no records were broken"
The big aerial disturbance, it was
pointed out was the result Of a con
tiict of warm and cold atmosphere
areas of low and high pressures.
DENIES COURT MOVE.