FURY OF THE WIND

Te Aroha News, Volume VII, Issue 483, 25 June 1890, Page 5

FURY OF THE WIND

TOWN OF AKRON, OHIO, DAMAGED. OVER A HUNDRED HOUSES WRECKED. Cleveland, May 10th. The “ Leader’s ” Akron (O.) special says : At 5.30 this evening, in the midst of a most terrible cloudburst, this city was struck by the worst tornado ever known hereabouts. The storm struck the south part of the city and tore through the Fifth, Fourth and Second wards, doing damage which cannot be estimated at this writing, but fully 100 buildings were completely demolished. Hundreds more were badly damaged. The house of Dominick Greader was unroofed, and Mrs Greader slightly injured. Passing along Brown, Kline, and Wheeler streets, a dozen or more houses were more or less damaged, some being moved bodily from their foundations, and others completely wrecked. The wind struck Gebhardt Herman’s house, and his family, consisting of nine persons, had just sat down to supper, and the house was badly damaged, and all the occupants more or less bruised. Herman

was pinned down in the debris, and only the energy of despair, when he saw a fire hear him, enabled him to extricate himself. Recovering, he found his little girl burning by an overturned stove, and before the flames could be extinguished she was frightfully injured about the back and limbs.

The hurricane then struck the Burkhardt Brewery squarely, wrecking it utterly. 0. C. Baker’s grocery was torn to pieces. His wife and daughters were in the building, but escaped to the cellar and were saved. Baker is missing, and it is feared lie is dead in the ruins.

E. S. Harrington's house crushed in upon his four children, but luckily all escaped. Mr Irish was probably fatally injured by a heavy timber of his house failing upon him. The extent of the tornado is at this time unexplored and the damage in dollars cannot be stated. It is, however, large, as it falls on labourers whose ah is in their homes.

All descriptions of the storm show that it was rotary in its motion, and it struck and twisted off big trees in its path. The track was between 50 and 150 feet wide. Fkedonia (Kas.), May 10.

Yesterday afternoon a heavy windstorm passed through this county, destroying J. Anderson’s barn, two miles from here. The storm again struck the ground ten miles farther on, destroying much property, killing Mrs Frank Glidden and Harvey Wiltse, and dangerously injuring Mr Glidden and child.

The storm originated in the western part of Wilson county, and bore almost directly eastward,passing through Prairie,Guildford and Pleasant Valley townships. In the last named township its force and violence were most disastrous, the fu*nnel-sbaped cloud hurling into fragments houses, barns and other objects. The other persons hurt, in addition to those already reported, are: Miss Sloat, Miss Peterson, Philip Starr and Mr Wood.