City Wiped Out

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1069, 5 September 1930, Page 9

City Wiped Out

HURRICANE STRIKES HAITI

Gale Velocity 150 M.P.H.

LUNATICS RUN WILD IN THE STREETS

United V.A. —By Telegraph—Copyright

Received 11.0 a.m. NEW YORK, Thursday. SANTO DOMINGO, the most ancient settlement of tlie white man in Ibe New World, was virtually destroyed by a hurricane that swept the eastern end of the island of Haiti yesterday. It is believed 300 persons have been killed and 1,000 injured.

The hurricane struck Santo Domingo at 2 p.m. and blew for four hours. Houses in the aristocratic quarter were razed and the dwellings of the poor simply disappeared on the wings of the wind, which it is estimated blew at 150 miles an hour. Scenes of horror exceeding anything witnessed in 10 years occurred. President Rafael Trujillo took charge of the relief work and the entire army was called out. The communications systems in the republic were totally disrupted, and there is no news from the rest of the country. But in the neighbourhood of the capital bridges were wrecked and roads made impassable. Telegraph lines simply vanished. A lunatic asylum was destroyed. The inmates, who escaped ran wild through the streets, hut were finally recaptured. Many robberies are reported. The districts-of Neuva Villa, Duarte and San Carlos were destroyed and scarcely the wreck of a wall is left standing. The United Press Association at Santo Domingo reports that authoritative early estimates place the dead at 300 and the injured at almost 1,000. In Santo Domingo alone the damage is estimated at considerably more than £3.000,000. The greatest damage appeared in Hie city itself, outlying regions reporting less severe havoc. The city authorities pleaded for airplanes to be sent, bearing food and medical aid for the city’s 50,000 population, most of whom are homeless. The All-America Cable Company, after re-establishing communication with Santo Domingo, was advised that 50 per cent, of the city is destroyed and medical aid and food are urgently needed.

The Cuban Government observatory at 2 p.m. announced that the velocity of the hurricane was still 142 miles an hour.

Two amphibian planes, bearing Red Cross relief, arrived at Santo Domingo yesterday having departed from San Juan, Porto Rico, at. 3 p.m. The storm is heading northward today, but whether it will strike Cuba and Florida is uncertain. Earlier messages stated that the hurricane, which struck Santo Domingo late today, was speeding northward to the Atlantic Ocean. There is deep concern in Cuba lestthe westward course of the disturbance should change to a more northerly direction and cut a swathe of destriction across the island. Government reports received at Washington indicate that the barometer fell to the low point of 29.07 at one time. Santo Domingo cable companies with stations on the outskirts of that city report that all the land lines aer down and the extent of the damage is unknown. All the meteorological stations in the Caribbean area have issued warnings of the storm, which is believed to be second in intensity only to the great Florida hurricane. Whether the wind will blow itf&lf out before it reaches the coutinent of the United States is not yet indicated. A message from Washington says news v from Santo Domingo was awaited anxiously this morning as to the extent of the damage done by the hurricane which since late last night has cut that city off from communication with the outside world. In the other islands of the West Indies group of South-eastern America the people watched with anxiety the progress of the hurricane as it moved north-westward.