HURRICANE LOSSES

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 464, 20 September 1928, Page 11

HURRICANE LOSSES

l 1 BRITISH WEST INDIES i __ 1 CONSIDERABLE DAMAGE ! _— 5 British (lificial ll'irclcss. IReed. noon. RUGBY, “ed. 1 The Colonial Office has received a :telegram from the Governor of the fLeeward Islands, giving details of the iloss of life and damage caused by the f hurricane. The Governor visited Montserrat. Iwhere he found the destruction and [damage very heavy. The hospital and lthe nurses’ and matrons’ quarters were demolished. Bridges were ldestroyed, the jetty was badly idamaged and all Government build~ ings were stripped. [ The telephone exchange and the Mines throughout the island were ,destroyed. Two-thirds of the peasant ihouses were totally destroyed, and iseveral of the principal houses in Plymouth were damaged. Five Protestant churches, a Roman Catholic church, the Wesleyan Chapel and house, and several estate residences were wrecked. There‘ were 40 deaths and 70 injured. The‘ total estimated damage to Government property and peasant huts is £30,000.i In Nevis, little damage was done to Government property, but many huts of the poorer classes were demolished. The deaths were 13, injured 50. In Saint Kitts the Government buildings were slightly damaged and many small huts were demolished. Six deaths were reported. In Antigua, Government property and peasant huts were damaged to an extent of £7,000. The Administrator of Dominica reports one death, four jetties demolished, and one damaged. The Roseau seafront was partially destroyed. Great damage was done to roads, telephones were demolished, and the electric—lighting system was seriously damaged. There was heavy loss to general cultivation, and it is feared there will be a food shortage later, owing to the destruction of the crops. The estimated damage to the Public Works Department is £60,000. The total estimated damage to Government property and peasant huts in Dominica, Montserrat, Antigua, Saint Christopher, and Nevis is £IOO,OOO. All the deaths and injuries occurred among the labour class. ~