Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1959-09-29
HURRICANE
Oracle Moves Into South Caroline,
Venting Its Fury on Charleston
Continued From First Page

Continued From First rage
warning from Savannah to
Wilmington. N. c., with gale
warnings from Brunswick, Ga,
to Morehead City, N. C.
Extremely high tides were
forecast from Charleston to
Wilmington, ranging up to IL
feet above normal.
The Weather Bureau said
hurricane winds continued to
extend some rs miles north of
the hurricane eye and about
so miles south Of it. Gale
winds of 40 miles an hour range
outward as far as 200 miles.
Residents Evacuate
With the urgent warnings
of the Weather Bureau. Red
Cross and other officials. most
residents Of exposed areas have
evacuated, but few hardy
souls remained on the beaches.
With the summer vacation sea-
son ended, only permanent res
idents were involved.
Schools were closed generally
along the coast and they were
opened as shelters for those
driven from their homes. Ho-
teds and motels were damned
early. Many industrial plants
and business houses closed.
Expected high water failed
to materialize at Savannah.
In Charleston, famous st.
Michael's Episcopal Church.
built in 1761 and once the wor-
ship place of George Washing
ton. lost part of its steeple. The
dock at the Fort Sumter Hotel,
where tours departed for his
toric Fort Sumter, all but dis
appeared.
Eleven merchant ships in the
harbor for safety battled drag
ging anchors as the wind hit.
The Weather Bureaus radar
was knocked out of commission.
About a third of the city was
without power. The roof Of a
drug store blew of and blocked
Calhoun street. Bus service was
at a standstill. A department
store window was blown out
and mannequins dangled in a
grotesque tumble.
Civil defense and Red Cross
personnel were busy along the
whole coast. Several National
Guard companies were on
standby alert.
Planes Leave Area
Big planes were flown out
of the area by military forces
at Charleston Air Force Base.
Seymour johnson ALB, N. c..
Shaw ALB at Sumter, S. c.
and Myrtle Beach ALB. Part
Of a hangar roof was blown
off at Charleston ALB.
1t was the second time this
year that Charleston was
alerted for a hurricane. Last
July 7. Hurricane Cindy broke
UP into a 60-mile gale when
she hit the coast just north
Of here.
Hurricane Gracie's travels
will take her through the Mid
die and North Atlantic States,
but people north of the Caro-
linas need fear nothing worse
than heavy rains.
Oracle will rage with hurri-
cane-plus force over South
Carolina the rest of the day,
Forecaster Dunn of the Miami
Weather Bureau said.
Then. her wind velocity drop
ping rapidly. she'll turn to-
ward the north. then the north
east. She is not expected to
build up again as she whirls
up through the Coastal States.
Showers and Squalls
Along the way. showers,
thunderstorms and squalls will
mark Gracie's passage. The !
rains will extend well inward
from the Atlantic Coast.
This is a juicy Storm" Mr..
Dunn remarked.
Mr.. Dunn said there is no
need to worry that Oracle
might act like Hazel, a 1854
hurricane that moved well in
land and went all the way to
Toronto, Canada, where it trig-
gered floods that downed 200
persons. Hazel. he recalled.
gained new intensity when it
merged with an inland storm
over Pennsylvania.
The damage toll from high
winds accompanying Oracle
mounted steadily at Savannah,
but the threat from the dan
gerous storm apparently was
over.
The Savannah Weather Bu-
reau said that fringe winds,
which reached gusts up to 20
miles an hour at Savannah
Beach-20 miles seward from
the city-"are about the ex-