Evening star., 1937-01-02

ATLANTIC CITY, December 29.-The
appalling toll of human life. property
and crops exacted from the Nation by
the elements-windstorm hail, floods,
drought and other weather vagaries-was
described by j. B. Kincer of the United
States Weather Bureau, before the Amer
ican Meteorological Society.
From tornadoes alone recent compila-
tions show that. for period of 20 years
from 1915 to 1925, 5,224 persons lost
their lives and an aggregate property loss
Of $230,000O00 was incurred, Kincer
stated, while windstorms other than
tornadoes. for the same period. cost the
Nation 1896, ,970 600, or an annual average
of nearly S20,00O,000.
From floods, for a 34-year period,
1903-l935, approximately 5000 persons
in the United States lost their lives and
property was damaged 20 an extent Of
81 ,685, 900 900. or an annual average Of
nearly $50 1000, 0,0O0-exclusive of the in
calculable loss through soil erosion by
flood rains, he said.
Estimates of losses from drought-ex-
elusive Of disastrous droughts of the
past few years-place the annual loss to
wheat at 1876 million bushels; oats, 200
million, and corn, 534 million. Frost an
nually destroys so million bushels of
wheat, % million bushels Of oats and
127 million bushels of corn. And hail
yearly costs the Nation IA million bushels
OF wheat, Is million bushels of oats and
% million bushels of corn.
when we add to these figures the
many less imposing losses by weather
vagaries. such as that by fire caused by
lightning. amounting on the average to
some $l2,00O,0 600 year, and many others,
the total national loss from weather
vagaries is found to be very great in
deed" Kincer stated.
Referring to the tornado disaster at
Gainesville, Ga last Spring, in which, in
the space Of few minutes, more than
200 people were killed and property
destroyed to the value of some $13 ,000,-
900. Kincer said that results give good
deal Of assurance in favor of heavy
masonry and buildings with strong steel
framework to withstand such forces.
Heretofore it has been generally believed
that nothing could withstand the force
Of well developed tornado" he declared.
Outstanding tornadoes in the United
States include five that killed more than
100 people each, he reported. These
WcTc. EIlc, 1d., July 20, 1910, Io1 ucdtiiS,
Louisville. KY, March n, 1890. l06
deaths; St. Louis, Mo-, May ~, 1896, 306
deaths; the tri-State tornado missouri.
Illinois and Indiana), March 18, 1925,
689 deaths, and Gainesville. Ga, April
6, 1895. 203 deaths. OF these the st.
Louis, the tri-State and Gainesville, Ga,
tOrnadoes, as we'll as the L0rain- -Sandus-
ky, Ohio, tornado in 1924, caused property
loss of more than $4,000 900 each.
Outstanding storms other than tor
nadoes include two in Florida-Septem-
ber 17-18, 1926, and September 1917,
1923. In the former 243 lives were lost.
with property damage amounting to
more than $76.000,000 while in the latter
more than 1000 persons were killed and
property loss was some $25 600, 900.
Another noted storm Kincer recalled oc-
Cured in Galveston, Tex, September 8,
1900, when some 5000 persons perished
and $30000000 worth OF property was
damaged.
The greatest losses from individual
windstorms other than tornadoes occur
In connection with tropical hurricanes,
which sometimes cause violent gales
along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. he
stated
Montana and lows suffer severely from
hail. Insurance records for Montana
show that in bad hail years the average
loae 10 the wheat crop may run a. high
~ 10 ~ 10 pee cent q the total fcr the