The Recent Hurricane at Mauritius

Feilding Star, Volume XIII, Issue 149, 14 June 1892, Page 2

The Recent Hurricane at Mauritius

«. The colony has (says the Port Louis paper) been struck by one of those disasters of which there are but few examples in history. Iv less than six hours it has been completely annihilated— annihilated to such a degree that it is really doubtful whether it will ever recover from the blow. Half the town of Port Louis is a heap of ruins. Thousands of the wounded the dying and the dead have already been dragged out from under the ruins of the houses, and as we write the living and the dead are still being dragged out. The funeral knell is continually tolling and carts conveying the dead and wounded are to be met in all the streets. There is not a Mauritian family but is in mourning, there is not a family which, is not ruined. Three-quarters of the sugar houses are overthrown, the plantations are destroyed. The splendid crop we expected is reduced to zero for some estates, and to less than half of those whose mills are slillg«tanding. Whole villages have disappeared entirely, Vacoas, Eose Belle, Maheburg-Souillac, like Port Louis, are heaps oi ruins. Whole families have disappeared, crushed under the ruins of the dwellings. The hurricane was not the only cause of destruction. "While the wind was blowing its hardest fires broke out in several places. All Ponce street and the lower part of the Mountain were in flames. Tlie officer administering the Govern" ment reported that he had received this statement from the chief medical officer ■with regard to the victims of the cyclone .- —" The number of patients attended is 1260, 941 of whom have been wounded in town and 31fi in the districts, The number of deaths registered at the Civil Status office amounts to 1090, out of which 593 are for the town and the re* mamder for the districts.