Reports Coming In Following Hurricane, 1918

“Storm on the Coast,” from the Daily Times, Wilson, N.C., Aug. 28, 1918

Did Considerable Damage Late Saturday Afternoon

Morehead City, Aug. 27—Saturday afternoon and night Morehead City was visited by one of the severest wind and rain storms in the history of Eastern North Carolina. Not since the storm that washed away the Atlantic Hotel in Beaufort August 18^th, 1879, has it been equaled in total destruction to marine property. Few boats in the harbor here escaped some damage and scores of boats are total wrecks, the water front being the scene of instances in which anywhere from three to nine boats are piled ujpon each other. Businesses, commercial and residences, did not escape for several large stores were unroofed and windows blown out while at the same time homes were damaged by falling trees as well as their roofs being blown away.

Kinston, Aug. 26—Damage to crops in Lenoir, Greene, Pitt, and half a dozen other counties in this section from the storm of Saturday night and yesterday morning totals many thousands of dollars, according to reports which are coming in today. Wire service has been improved to the extent that communication with most points is possible. The 80-mile wind did far more damage than rain. Roads were left in passable condition with few exceptions.

Norfolk, Aug. 28—Fishermen arriving at Beaufort yesterday morning re-established communication with the mainland and told of the devastation caused by Saturday’s hurricane among the isolated small islands which dot the Carolina coast. They say that Ocracoke, Atlantic and Park Islands suffered most, almost every building on these tiny bits of land being either damaged or wrecked. Scores of small boats also were pounded to pieces on the beaches, but there was no loss of life. Numbers of people, however, were injured by flying timbers while attempting to save their property.