Evening star., 1936-07-31
HURRICANE HITS
Fl. WALTON, FLA.;;
3 SHIPS MISSING
90. Mile Wind Strikes Resort
Town, Heads Toward
Northwest.
STORM WARNINGS ARE
EXTENDED TO MOBILE
Small Buildings Unroofed-Many
Are Marooned in Homes
by High Waters.
ny the Associated Press.

ny the Associated Press.
PENSACOLA, Fla, July 31.-Hurri-
cane winds and high tides struck to-
day<at the resort village of Fort Wal
ton, Fla, menacing shipping and dam
aging some shore line property.
Surf surged from to feet higher
than normal, refugees said, and the
Army radio station at Valparaiso, Fla,
reported the wind reached a velocity
Of 80 to 100 miles an hour.
The schooner Malva, a banana boat
from Honduras, was beached at PAN
anna City, Fla, and Coast Guardsmen
sought to ascertain the whereabouts
Of three other vessels.
The storm headed for Northwest
Florida with energy generated In the
Gulf Of Mexico after it blew across
the southern tip of the State last
Tuesday night.
Two Deaths Storm Toll.
Two deaths were attributed to the
disturbance at that time, electrocution
of q lineman and the drowning Of q
Colored deckhand.
Red and black hurricane warnings
futtered along the coast today from
Carrabelle, Fla, to Mobile, Ala.
Waterfront buildings, highways,
bridges and communication lines were
damaged.
Vessels unaccounted for were the
two-masted fishing smack Bob, with
n crew of six men, headed for VAL
pariSo; the steamer Tarpon, with q
crew Of Is, en- route from Appalachi-
cola, Fla, to Panama City, and the
38-foot auxiliary schooner Ketchum Of
st. Petersburg, Fla, two days overdue
from a fishing trip to the mouth of
the Suwannee River.
Coast Guard divisional headquarters
Mt jacksonville, however, said they
might have taken to cover before the
hurricane struck.
The Coast Guard base at Mobile,
Ala, said all wharfS at Fort Walton,
on the Choctawhatchee Bay southwest
of Valparaiso, were battered down.
Small buildings were unroofed.
Flee to Safety.
Douglas Arant of Birmingham,
president Of the Alabama Bar Associa-
tion, was one of party which fed
to Valparaiso from Fort Walton to
escape the storm.
Panama City received word from
Lynn Haven, nearby resort, that many
persons were marooned in their homes
by high water. The Red Cross was
asked to assist them.
More than 500 persons in Panama
City left their homes yesterday.
No report Of human injury was re-
eeived by the Coast Guard, however,
and advices before the tropical dis
turbancc struck said most lowland resi-
dents had moved inland.
Fort Walton is an exposed spot
about 40 miles east of Pensacola, near
where the center Of a tropical hurri-
cane passed inland this morning from
the Gulf of Mexico.
At Valparaiso, few miles from the
resort, an Army radio station reported
that the wind reached a maximum
of 80 to 100 miles an hour.
The vacation party, all from Bir-
mingham, Ala, suffered no injury,
but expressed fear for the safety of
others left at Fort Walton. They
did not say how many remained there.
Drinking water at the resort was
nearly exhausted, they reported.
Wind Velocities Varied.
From other points along the sparse
ly settled Northwest Florida coast
came advices of varying wind veloci-
ties and high water.
The Panama City Herald said con-
hiderable water and wind damage was
suffefed there.
Roofs were blown from fishing
shacks along the coast at that point
and the schooner Malca, a banana
boat from Honduras, was driven up
on the beach.
The municipal dock was washed
(See HITRRICANE page A-50