Evening star., 1950-09-06
dead, 400 Homeless
In Florida; Hurricane
Dying Near Tampa
BY the Asseeiaied Press

MIAMI, Fla, Sept. 6.-The
tricky gulf hurricane which caused
two deaths and left more than
400 homeless whirled in dying fury
near the Tampa Bay area today.
The Miami Weather Bureau said
1t was centered short distance
north of Tampa and was losing in
tensity.
The 8 am. advisory reported it
was doubtful If there were any
more hurricane winds in the storm
which earlier lashed the middle
Florida Gulf Coast with 125-mile-
per-hour gusts.
Squall Warning Issued.
At the same time the Weather
Bureau warned of squalls over
Northern and. Central Florida and
said there would be dangerous
gales in the west central part of
the State.
High tides were expected from
the Tampa Bay area southwark
and on the Atlantic Coast from
st. Augustine to Savannah.
The hurricane doubled back and
headed south after stalling all day
yesterday in the Cedar Key area,
where the greatest damage was
reported.
Aid was rushed to stricken
Cedar Key. where Florida High
way Patrol Capt. Olin Hill esti-
mated between 400 and 500 were
homeless. A convoy of six trucks
left Turner Air Force Base at
Albany. Ga. with c and K rations
for 800 persons.
Water Brought In.
One tank truck carried a supply
OF water and others hauled 100
cots and $50 blankets. A doctor
and three medical corpsmen were
IN the convoy. sent by Sd Army
headquarters in Atlanta.
The Red Cross and National
Guard rushed in emergency food,
fresh milk and drinking water
from Gainesville, So miles to the
northeast.
The hurricane thrashed Cedar
Key with winds estimated up to
l25 miles per hour throughout the
day. All 200 buildings in the COM
munity were damaged and rs per
cent OF them were wrecked.
Bridges Damaged.
The town of 900 was without
electricity or drinking water.
Trees and telephone poles were
down and debris cluttered the
roads. Bridges were damaged and
causeways Uttered with seaweed
and broken timbers.
The towns small fiber factory
was damaged and it's fishing fleet
of 100 boats was sunk. Some can
be salvaged but it was estimated
the loss to the $50 to 200 fishing
and pleasure boats in the area
will average $1,000 apiece.
Cedar Key is the island town
in Cedar Keys. a group of islands
connected by bridges with the
mainland.
Several houses were unroofed
and lighthouses bowled over in the |
Crystal River area to the south. |
Torrential rains fell and tides were
abnormally high.
Two Killed by Wires. /
Both deaths attributed to the
hurricane were caused by electro
cution. E. j. Cosgrove. 32-year-
old oil company official, was elec- /
trocuted while trying to remove a
fallen wire from his backyard |
fence at Tampa. Mrs. Hattie
Kersey. 25-year-old mother of
three. was killed when she touched
a live wire while helping her hus-
band anchor their house trailer at
Jacksonville.
Meanwhile, a great hurricane
was centered in the Atlantic about
TOO miles east of West Palm
Beach. moving northwestward. 1t
had winds of $50 miles an hour
near the center with hurricane
force winds extending outward 100
miles from the center and gale
force winds covering another 200
miles.
It was expected to continue a
slow northwest movement and
ships were cautioned to avoid it.