Evening star., 1949-08-29
New York City Lashed
By 7O-MiIe Winds Of
Hurricanes BackIash
By the Associated Press

Florida hicked north.
The Weather Bureau said the
winds, accompanied by rain,
reached their highest velocity at
$50 am. BY 10 am. the wind
had subsidized to "a miles an hour
and skies began clearing.
Between $4,000 and $4,000 con-
sumers in New York were without
electrical service for a time as
wires were knocked down in
Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx.
Emergency Crews Out.
Winds sweeping across Manhat-
tan knocked metal signs loose
from their moorings. Police emer-
gency crews were called out to
prevent further damage from the
dangling signs.
A scaffold blew loose at 271 Gen.
trail Park west, shatering several
windows in an apartment house
Winds of more than so miles
an hour pounded New Jersey,
toppling tree limbs and blowing
down signs and wires, Similar
storm damage was felt in West
chester County north of New York.
In Queens, police estimated
about 100 light and telephone
wires were pulled loose. A snapped
light wire fell across a milk truck,
hurting the driver to the street.
He was shaken up but otherwise
unhurt.
The storm had turned back to
the northeast in North Carolina
and Southern Virginia in dying
effort to return to the Atlantic
Ocean where it was spawned a
week ago.
The disturbance which ripped
into Florida's Gold Coast on
Friday, cutting a multi-million
dollar damage swath, was de-
scribed by the Weather Bureau as
just another heavy windstorm.
1t raced across the Carolinas'
Piedmont section yesterday bring
ing heavy rains. But its power was
reduced to limb breaking. shingle
tearing and the fouling of power
and communications lines.
Streams Overflow.
The rains in the Carolinas
caused smaller streams to over
flow into frequently inundated
lowlands. The effect on larger
streams could not be determined
at once.
Lumberton, N. c., and Florence.
S. c., reported gusts of go miles
an hour; Greensboro, N. c., re-
corded SO miles per hour without
damage to the city. Charleston,
S. c., had one report of a gust
at 80 miles per hour but damage
was limited to power lines. The
choppy sea. aided by a high tide,
flooded streets in the bay area.
1t was in Georgia that the
awesome freak Of nature lost its
superlative stature. There the
Weather Bureau changed the
status from hurricane to disturb
ance at noon yesterday.
At II o'clock last night the
"eye" of the storm passed over
Roanoke. Va. Winds up to go
miles per hour and heavy rain
were reported. There was little
damage.
Hurricane Veers North.
1t was in Florida that the
giant exploded its peak power.
West Palm Beach. Lake Worth
and Fort Lauderdale were in the
direct path of the hurricanes core
as it swung in from the Atlantic
Friday evening.
The hurricane veered to the
North, passed over Lake Okeecho-
bee where 1900 lost their lives in
the 1926 hurricane. It then roared
up the Suwannee River Saturday
parallel with the coastline in the
center of the Peninsula State.
Damage ran into the millions.
One life was lost in Florida and
one in Georgia.
A preliminary survey brought
damage estimates varying from
100000 to $50,000,000.
After a tour of the East Coast,
Grady Norton, Miami chief storm
forecaster said yesterday:
What the dollar loss amounts
to depends much on what happens
to the citrus crop. At the moment
I would say that the $4,000, 900
estimate is perhaps high, but
exact totals remain to be
counted"
/. Citrus Damage Heavy.
! Citrus growers thought damage
might run as high as 20 per cent
of the crop. Warren o. johnson,
head of the Lakeland Weather
Bureau, said it might well be as
great as in the 1914 hurricane,
which caused 20 per cent loss.
A high industry figure, who re-
fused to be quoted by name, esti-
mated the loss at 10000, 900 boxes
of fruit-three fourths of it grape
fruit.
The loss in dollars was difficult
to project. Shortened supply might
raise the price for the remainder
of the crop to a point where storm
damage was absorbed.
Property damage also ran high
but without estimate. At West
Palm Beach. 16 big transport
planes and "a private craft were
wrecked at International Airport.
A metal and concrete hangar also
was reduced to junk.
60 Injured In Florida.
A 250-mile stretch of the beach
Fairgrounds suffered. Roofs, neon
signs, palm trees. loose boards and
debris hurtled through the air to
be smashed. Radio towers and
electric lines were brought to the
ground.
About 60 persons were reported
injured.
The body of Andrew Jonkman,
20, was taken from the waters of