The Stratford Evening Post. WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE EGMONT SETTLER. MONDAY, APRIL 22, 1912. PERILS OF THE SEA.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXII, Issue 95, 22 April 1912, Page 4

The Stratford Evening Post. WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE EGMONT SETTLER. MONDAY, APRIL 22, 1912. PERILS OF THE SEA.

The disappearance of, ' the ’steadier Koomhana with all hands, as reported ! a little while agop'off the* hVoVtli-.vest coast of Australia has aroused keen interest in the nature of the dreaded wind-storms that visit that portion of the continent between December and' April. It was during one of these cyclonic outbursts, we are told, that the • Koombana apparently foundered and many smalleri crafts were driven ashore and wrecked- m These . storms are known as willy-willies, and during recent years they have done very ous damage among the shipping and settlements on the north-west coast. The federal Government has' equipped the whole of the , affected area with anemometers and other weather instruments, lint these, have been destroyed by the very storms concerning which they were to furnish information. The Commonwealth Meteorologist, Mr A.'H. Hunt, proposes td take fresh precautions with a view to guarding, the scattered settlements against the onslaughts of the willy-willies. He explained the causes of these winds to a reporter in Melbourne a few days ago. “Willy-willies,” he said, “are caused by the sun’s movements north and south of the equator. The atmosphere travels round with the earth, but lags behind. The air begins to rise at the equator under the influence of extreme heat, and flnvs in a north-westerly and south-westerly direction from the equator. At twenty degrees north and south, of the equator are the cyclonic danger zones. Eddies are formed, and their violence becomes so great that the strongest vessels have a trying experience if they encounter one of these disturbances. 'lt is not only the direct push, but also the suctional effect of the wind that does damage.” The storm which was the probable cause of the Koomhana’s loss was not predicted by the Federal Weather Bur can, and Mr Hunt is endeavouring to secure reliable means of telegraphic communication with the northwest coast, in order that timely warnings may he issued from Melbourne whenever there is need of them. If information is supplied regularly, be says, the Bureau should be able to forecast a willy-willy forty-eight hours before its arrival. The excessive violence of the cyclone would cause some disaster whatever precautions were taken, but reliable foreparts would ensure a measure of protection.