Evening star., 1948-09-05
Hurricane Letting Up
In Mississippi After
Hitting New Orleans
by the Associated Press

By the Assoeioted Press
NEW ORLEANS, Sept A Gull
hurricane smashed its fury against
New Orleans Shortly after dawn to-
day and blew on into Mississippi q
milder gale
No fatalities or injuries were re-
ported in New Orleans or in it's wake
along the South Louisiana coast
northWard to the city.
At the storms peak, winds attain
ed a steady IS miles an hour with
gusts of 80 miles whipping Moisant
International Airport, II miles west
of the city.
After preliminary survey, Mayor
de Lesseps Morrison estimated DAM
age at less than 100000. In the
business district the Winds ripped
some signs from their moorings anc
broke few plate glass windows
Most downtown stores closed fol
the day. In residential sections, q
few frame structures were wrecked
trees were uprooted and few power
lines blown down.
Seven Inches of Rain.
Nearly 7 inches of rain flooded
streets in some areas The wind
whipped waters of Lake Pontchar-
train Splashed over protecting sea
walls at the BucktoWn community
where New Orleans and Jefferson
Parish to the west join on the lake
front.
Residents of the community were
evacuated and housed in the mu-
nicipal yacht harbor building
About 1000 other residents in some
other loW-lying communities left
their homes for night of shelter
IN the city auditorium.
Several boats in the yacht har-
Dor we're sunk or damaged.
The center of the hurricane
passed over New Orleans about
s:l5 am. and lasted an hour and
. half. Thereafter winds renewed
with force up to IS miles an hour,
but quickly died down. A drizzling
rain followed, but by mid morning
the sun was shining.
oIdhu ISlC oti uCh II HSt.
The storms first strike on the
coast was at Grand Isle, a resort
community about 60 miles south of
New Orleans. Only minor damage
was reported to four beach camps
Waves whipped over sections of the
area, but the approximately 200
residents took refuge in the Coast
Guard lookout tower,
Sixty men trapped on two oil drill
ing barges Off Grand Isle reported
they rode out the storm drinking
coffee and playing cards.
Three boys and their adult COM
panlon, missing on shrimp fishing
trip from Covington. La, north OF
New Orleans across Lake Ponchar-
tram, were found safe. One of the
boys was Rothwell Sheriff. jr.. whose
mother was lost from a ship off Afri-
ca last month.
Damage Limited.
While the storm hampered COM
munlcatlonS, all available reports
and a tour of the area showed that
damage was largely confined to fall
len trees and other minor damage.
-Four merchant ships in the gen.
eral area of the storm yesterday
moved away without meeting the
storms full force The craft of
Louisiana shrimpers sped to inland
harbors
The 9th Naval District headquart-
ers at New Orleans reported that
four destroyers carrying trainees
from Mississippi Valley states had
been ordered to ride out the storm
and arrive in New Orleans tomor-
row instead of today.
Two naval patrol boats scooted
safely from the storm yesterday
They were the Pee 874 of Corpus
Christi, Tex. and the Pee 846 of
Beaumont. Tex.
Highway Covered With Water.
National Guardsmen set up elab-
crate preparations for full scale
disaster work and relief as did the
Red Cross. Radio amateurs worked
all night transmitting messages and
communicating information of the
storm. City officials also made eX-
tensive plans.
United States Highways II and
80 connecting New Orleans and the
Mississippi Gulf Coast were covered
with water in spots. The double
highway between Biloxi and Gulf
port, Miss. was covered by water
and traffic was rerouted over back
roads
Service between New Orleans and
Mobile was being rerouteu through
HattleSburg, Miss The Louisville &
Nashville Railroad said its service
10 the Golf Coast was halted tenn
porarily but other railroads reported
normal operations.
Some 800 boats in the Biloxi
area. many OF them pslt of It's
shrimp fleet, stayed in hsrbor.
Hotel Piers Inundated.
Several hotel piers at Biloxi. de-
stroyed in the hurricane which last
September 19 swept across the MIS-
sisslppi Gulf Coast and struck New
Orleans with great damage, were
under water.
At Bay St Louis, Miss, where u
persons died in last years hurri-
cane, approximately $50 residents
Of the communities of Lakeshore
and Clermont Harbor were evacu-
ated
The barge ferry, in use while the
fre-damaged Bay Bridge is being
repaired. broke its moorings and
drifted in the open bay
The hurricane developed over
night yesterday from a suspicious
area in the Gulf 1t barely made
the hurricane classification of 75-
mile-an-hour winds.
Ef>~.I~ ~.I C.:~ La