Evening star., 1934-06-17
Crop and Property Loss
Runs Into Millions in
Louisiana Section.
DOZENS OF SMALL BOATS
SUNK IN HEAVY GALE
Storm Force Weakens After En-
tering Mississippi-Capitol
Building Is Damaged.
By the Associated Press.

MORGAN CITY, La, June 16.-
An unidentified man was reported
killed, at least 10 persons were in
jured, dozens Of small craft were
sunk and several millions Of dollars
in crop and property damage re-
suited today from the tropical hurri-
cane that swept up through eastern
Louisiana and diSsipated late tonight
in squalls around the Vicksburg and
Jackson area in Mississippi.
The tug Ideal of the Oyster Shell
Products Corporation, which had not
been heard from after the hurricane,
pulled in tonight eight hours late
with all hands safe.
The 70-mile e-an-hour blast, which
has been swirling about in Southern
waters for almost week, struck here
early this morning
Capt. Murphy Gilmore was in
charge of the tug. The crew in
cluded Chief Engineer Charles Drury.
John Hebert, Frank Dressell and
Adam Blanco, in addition to the men
believed to have been picked up from
the dredges.
Storm Hits Mississippi.
The storm late in the afternoon
swept through the section south and
east Of NatcheZ, Miss, and late to-
night was felt at Vicksburg, Miss.
where rain fell in a continuous down.
pour. accompanied by strong gusts of
wind. No damage was reported at
Vicksburg, however.
The hurricane winds ripped through
Morgan City almost all day, leveling
small buildings, unroofing homes and
uprooting hundreds of trees. Com
munications were cut of with the
town for several hours.
The blast swept through Southwest
Louisiana, damaging cotton and sugar
cane crops. And struck with full
force at Baton Rouge.
| The force of the wind smashed
many windows in the new 33-story
State Capitol, where several hundred
State officials, employees and children
were sheltered, and flying glass cut
two telephone operators. They were
not seriously hurt.
The wind velocity was 68 to 70
miles an hour as the disturbance
whirled in a Northerly direction up
through Louisiana. strewing the coun-
tryside with fallen trees, blocking
highways, damaging or demolishing
frame buildings and severing COM
municationS with the affected district.
New Orleans Escapes Force.
New Orleans, on the fringe of the
disturbance, spent the day in gusty,
squally weather with a 22-mile wind
at its worst.
The intensity of the wind had di-
minished to around go miles an hour
| when the hurricane struck Baton
Rouge, about 60 miles due north of
Morgan City. Every resident of the
city ran for shelter and business was
suspended during the blow.
The storm was felt over an area
OF approximately 200 miles from
Lafayette. La, to Gulfport. Miss, and
North to Ferriday in Central East
Louisiana. where st. Thomas Catho-
lie Church was demolished.
Gov. o. X. Allen offered the Serv-
ices of the National Guard for storm
relief victims.
University Is Damaged.
Preliminary surveys made during a
hull between storms showed Louisiana
State University buildings were dam
| aged an estimated SIS 900. Many
window panes were smashed and rain
poured through.
Parts of roofs and glass we're scat
tered over the streets of Baton Rouge
and window panes we're broken all
over the city.
The light standards in the uni
verSity stadium for use in night foot
ball collapsed across the gridiron.
The YaZoo and Mississippi Valley
Railroad Co. made up a special train
and sent it down the line toward
New Orleans for a survey of condi-
tions in the storm belt.
Baton Rouge began to feel the ad-
vance effects of the storm about 10
O'Clock this morning. Wind and rain
increased steadily for several hours
until the full force of the hurricane
struck about 2:30 pm.
BY noon many persons had deserted
their homes and had taken safety in
| hotels and Office buildings in the busi-
ness district. During the height of
the storm the city was cut of from
all communication with the world.
Plane Hangar Destroyed.
Patterson. La, where the speed
flyer, Jimmy Wedell. builds airplanes,
suffered about $4,000 property loss.
The hangar where Wedell keeps his
famous speed ship was torn down.
but the ship was not damaged.
More than q dozen boats Of vari-
Gus types were sunk in Berwick Bay
at Morgan City. The boats were be-
lieved to have been deserted by their
crews before the storm hit.