Eyemouth disaster
The Eyemouth disaster was a severe European windstorm that struck the south-eastern coast of Scotland on 14 October 1881. One hundred and eighty-nine fishermen, most of whom were from Eyemouth, were drowned. Many citizens of Eyemouth call the day Black Friday. Disaster. Following a period of poor weather, the morning of 14 October was calm. Though the storm was predicted (as the barometric pressure was very low), the fishing fleets put to sea through economic necessity. Many of the fishing boats were either capsized, or wrecked against the coastline. Some boats that had not capsized were  wrecked on the Hurkar Rocks. Many houses were also destroyed. Two days later, the "Ariel Gazelle" turned up in Eyemouth, having braved the storm instead of fleeing. Aftermath. A donation-led relief fund was established to provide financial security to families who had lost members to the storm. The response was significant, bringing in over £50,000 (£ in 2015). The disaster was the subject of a contemporary oil on canvas painting by Scottish artist J. Michael Brown