Evening star., 1953-08-15
Toll
Put at 5Dead,
Loss ST Million
Coast Cleaning Up
AS Storm Heads
Out Into Atlantic

Atlantic coastal areas cleaned
up today after Hurricane Bar
bara swept out to sea south Of
Nantucket Island this morning
leaving a total of five dead and
more than 81 million damage.
At the end the storm, which
never quite lived up to its pub
llcity. whipped Cape Cod and
Nantucket with 60-mile gusts,
but gave New England little
more than heavy dousing.
Moving enthusiastically at
about 20 miles an hour, it was
due to be almost 200 miles east
of Cape Cod by noon today.
Long Islanders Move.
Like the exodus of about 80
600 people from the Ocean City
area of Maryland yesterday,
Long Island residents took no
chances with possible disaster.
About 1000 Long Islanders
moved to inland friends homes
and hotels, but the strongest
winds were reported at 40 miles
an hour at Montauk, 125 miles
from New York City.
In assessing damage from the
years second hurricane, 81 mil
lion in ruined crops was esti-
mated in North Carolina alone.
Real estate and other damage
from North Carolina to New
England probably was under
100000.
No Distress Reports.
Actually the thousands who
decided to read about the storm
rather than experience it would
have suffered little inconveni-
ence remaining at the beaches.
While rain and wind lashed
the shore, tearing off shingles,
blowing down signs and some
power lines, there were no re-
ports of distress.
Winds at Ocean City ranged
as high as So miles an hour,
considerably under the 75-mile
peak winds reported elsewhere.
Some shops and other build
ings were flooded from waves
rolling in. The wind also piled
sand on the boardwalk, in soma
places eight or nine inches deep.
Boom at Salisbury.
Salisbury, Md, experienced q
one-day boom as many Of the
evacuees jammed hotels, motels
and rooming houses there. A
canteen was opened to serve
some of the homeless" and
temporary shelters were ar
ranged for others.
Today most of them had
moved back to the beaches to
resume their basking and bath
ing for the week end.
Power and telephone line fall
ures were numerous. Farther
south in the Norfolk and New
port News sectors, nearly 5000
telephones were temporarily out
of service.
In a 24-hour period. 5E2 inch
es of rain fell on Norfolk. At
lantic City, which escaped the
brunt of the blow, was drenched
by 729 inches of rain.
The happiest assessment from
North Carolina to New England
was that the hurricane nowhere
reached the proportions of the
destructive storms of 1888, 1886
and 1914.
In addition to the deaths at
tributed to the storm, several
injuries occurred. Several planes
at Norfolk City airport were
damaged by the winds, and the
Civil Air Patrol there lost its
newest plane when a gale
tipped it over and over.
Air Force Planes Return.
In the immediate Washington
area. about so Air Force planes
flown inland for safety were
being returned to Boiling and
Andrews Air Forces bases.
The disturbance was not with
out its lighter moments. At New
Bern, N. c.. a daughter born to
the N. E. Wards during the storm
was appropriately named Bar
bara Gale.
AS reward for the unpleasant
day. the Washington area was
to get fine weather over the week.
end. After low Of about IS
tonight, it should be sunny with
a high of 80 tomorrow, and about
the same thing Monday. the
Weather Bureau said.