Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 20, Number 6, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 23 September 1898 — HUNDREDS DIE IN A HURRICANE. [ARTICLE]

HUNDREDS DIE IN A HURRICANE.

Terrific Storm and Tidal Wave Sweeps Over the West Indies. A summary of the work of the hurricane that swept the West India islands includes the following losses: Persons killed, 531; persons rendered homeless, <>0,000; buildings destroyed, 12,000; ships wrecked, 3; small vessels stranded and missing, about 15. The hurricane-swept islands are in the Windward group of the Lesser Antilles. The storm was”accompanied by a tidal wave, and the islands of San Lucia, Barbados and Guadeloupe also suffered loss of life and property from the heavy weather. Kingston, the capital of St. Vincent, is totally destroyed. It is estimated that 300 lives were lost on that island, and that the homes of 20,000 people were destroyed. Bodies were buried in trenches. Thousands are starving or being fed at the public expense. Every small house on the Island of St. Vincent is down and many large ones, including churches and public buildings, were razed. Three large ships were blown ashore on the Windward coast, and many smaller vessels are stranded in, shoals and on rocks where they were either blown by the hurricane or washed by the tidal wave. An estimate places the number killed on the Island of Barbados at 200. Tremendous rains and the tidal wave caused numerous landslides, in which houses, bridges and cocoa estates were destroyed. The total estimated loss of life on all the islands is 531, and the loss of property aggregates millions.