24 April 1908: Tornado Rips Through Georgia (GA) and Impacts the Cities of Atlanta and (&) Rome

The following articles appeared in the Atlanta Constitution 25 April
1908, the day after a tornado came through Atlanta.

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25 April 1908
The Atlanta Constitution

Many Homes are Damaged by Cyclone
Houses Unroofed and Chimneys Torn Off in Three Sections of the Gate City
Lightning Plays Havoc on East Fair Street; Car Service Impaired
Damage will Probably Reach $20,000 - Mrs. Long, who was Sick at Home on
Prospect Place was Moved out of Room, Just in Time to Save Her from a Falling Chimney

The tail end of the cyclone which ravaged Alabama, Mississippi and
Louisiana struck Atlanta yesterday and late at night a large number of
houses in all parts of the city were badly damaged.

Reports of damage were received at The Constitution up to 2 o'clock
this morning from three parts of the city, houses being unroofed and
chimneys torn off on Prospect Place, between Highland avenue and East
avenue, on East Fair street, near Terry street, and on Central avenue, near
Crumley street.

Damage on Central Avenue
Three houses were damaged on Central avenue, 394, 396, and 400, the last
mentioned a two-story house. The owners, respectively M. J. Fallowfield,
A. F. Woods and Mrs. W. E. Chester, and their families were uninjured,
moving to the homes of neighbors for the night.

The houses were unroofed and the chimneys down. The loss is estimated at $4,500.

About 2 o'clock a bolt of lightning strck 279 and 283 East Fair street and
a number of other houses in the immediate neighborhood, and did much
damage, but it was reported that no one was hurt.

Damage at Prospect Place
A diminuative cyclone struck several houses on Prospect Place, a short
connecting streets between Highland avenue and East avenue, about 11:30
o'clock. Roofs, chimneys, porches and gables were torn in half, a dozen
houses and porch aw[n]ings and benches were blown into the street.

In one of the houses a Mrs. Long lay sick in bed. When the storm broke on
the neighborhood she was hurried out of her house. Immediately after, a
crash was heard and a chimney came lumbering down through the room and onto
the very bed she had just vacated.

A man named Mizell was standing at the corner of Boulevard and Auburn and
was blown off his feet by the force of the wind.

Although there were no personal injuries sustained, many narrow escapes are
reported and the property loss is considerable. A conservative estimate
places the damage at $10,000.

Struck the East Side
Among those who sustained losses on Prospect Place are Mrs. Long, Mr. Lobe,
D. E. Patterson, S. G. Douglas, Mr. Perkins, Mr. Mann and Mrs. Dunaway.
The telephone wires in this section are down and electric lights are out of
commission. The storm struck the east side of Prospect place, leaving the
west side untouched.

Several houses on Highland avenue and vicinity felt the effects of the storm.

All through the day Atlanta felt the effects of the storm. Rain fell,
beginning about 3:30 o'clock in the afternoon and then stopped just long
enough to permit the baseball game to be played. And then it began to rain
again and continued through the night.

At times the rain came down in torrents and late at night the street car
service became demoralized, a number of cars running off the tracks and the
lightning stopped the others from running.

Lights went out in many parts of the city.

The loss in the three sections of the city reported will probably reach $20,000.

Heavy Storm at Rome

All Street Lights are Out - Several Stores Flooded

Rome, Ga, April 24 - Special - A heavy storm that amounted to a veritable
waterspout struck Rome this evening about 7:30 o'clock. It all occurred in
the space of a few minutes. Although it had been raining during the
afternoon it was not until towards night that the clouds began to get heavy
and the lightning to flash vividly, and the thunder became almost a ceaseless roll.

At 7:30 o'clock suddenly, a violent hail storm struck the city, the hail
stones being as large as marbles. It was accompanied by blind continuous
flashes of lightning and the water came down in sheets. Fortunately the
severe portion of the storm lasted only a short time, else the whole lower
part of the city would have been flodded. A heavy wind blew during the
storm and after its violence ceased the streets and sidewalks could be seen
strewn with debris, broken limbs, etc.

Many portions of the streets in lower sections of the city were impassable,
large ponds of water having collected around the corners. Street crossings
were washed away in many places and portions of the sidewalks washed away
and burrowed by deep trenches.

Several stores on lower Broad street were flooded with water, although no
great damage to stocks ensued. The amount of damage done by the storm
cannot be estimated as yet, although it is not believed to be great. The
rain was 1.17 inches in about twenty minutes.

The following are some of the details of the damage: The house of J. O.
Scott, on Second avenue, was struck by lightning and the chimneys blown
off. Traffic has been stopped on portions of the street car line. Two
large trees were blown down in the front yard of Dr. D. W. Curry. A large
tree was blown down on Second avenue, the main residence thoroughfare in
Rome, and is lying across the sidewalk. Wilkerson' beef market was
completely flooded, and the wind is still blowing a gale. All the street
lights in the ciy are out.

For Further Reading About Historical Tornadoes, You Might Want to Check:

Early American Tornadoes, 1586-1870

Historical Catastrophes: Hurricanes and Tornadoes

The Forgotten Storm: The Great Tri-State Tornado of 1925 Wallace Akin was two years old when the Tri-State Tornado picked up his house-with him and his mother inside-and dropped it atop two other collapsed buildings. Across town, his father lay unconscious near his auto shop, close to death, and Akin's brother managed to crawl from beneath the collapsed shop. All survived. Many others were not as fortunate: Earlier that afternoon, a supercell thunderstorm had spawned a tornado so deadly that it set records against which we still measure all other twisters. The storm ripped through southeast Missouri, southern Illinois, and southwest Indiana, killing 695 people and wounding 2,000, in a record-breaking 219-mile, three-and-a-half-hour path of destruction. Akin's hometown was the worst hit, losing 243 people to the tornado... Using first-person accounts from his family and neighbors, newspaper stories, and diaries, Akin offers a blow-by-blow account of the storm from its first sighting to its final minutes. He also attempts to explain how it began-and how it changed his life.

Eye of the Storm: Inside the World's Deadliest Hurricanes, Tornadoes, and Blizzards

The Great Cyclone at St. Louis and East St. Louis, May 27, 1896: Being a Full History of the Most Terrifying and Destructive Tornado in the History of the World, With Numerous Thrilling and Pathetic Incidents Not long after 5PM, on Wednesday, 27 May 1896, a tornado devastated the St. Louis area. 255 people died, 311 buildings were destroyed, 7,200 others were damaged, and 1,300 people were injured. It remains the deadliest incident in that area.

Return to Georgia Tornadoes Index Page


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