The 1944 Hurricane 



The Station was released by the Navy in 1944, and shortly 

 after that (September 14) it was struck by a vicious hurricane. 

 This storm did more serious damage to the buildings and grounds 

 than those inflicted in 19 38. Large sections of the roofs of the 

 residence and Laboratory buildings were carried away; all chim- 

 neys were demolished; about 160 windows were broken in the resi- 

 dence. Damages caused by high water and storm waves were even 

 greater. Sea water filled up the basement of the residence to the 

 depth of about 7 feet, destroying the oil furnace, supplies, and 

 equipment which were stored there. The seawall at the eastern 

 side of the Fishery grounds was demolished and a deep gulley ex- 

 tended from the beach to the sidewalk, undermining the Spencer 

 F. Baird monument. Porches, railings, and outside stairways 

 were demolished, and the entire grounds were covered with slimy 

 debris. At the height of the hurricane, which struck Woods Hole 

 after darkness, the water at the southern end of the Laboratory 

 stood about 6 feet above street level and a strong current was 

 sweeping the grounds. All employees of the station and their 

 families assembled in the corridor of the second floor of the resi- 

 dence, which was considered to be the safest place, and were 

 strictly forbidden to go outside. Soon the chimneys began to col- 

 lapse with a roaring noise, the roof was blown off, and all the win- 

 dows facing the sea were smashed either by wind or by flotsam 

 thrown by waves; it seemed that the old residence was going to 

 collapse at any moment. Fortunately, the old, well-built structure 

 withstood the onslaught of water and wind. Panic which threatened 

 to develop among the children and some hysterical women, who 

 wanted to run away from the building, was prevented and all were 

 persuaded to remain indoors. Those of us who had previous ex- 

 perience knew that flying pieces of tile and strong currents run- 

 ning over the fishery grounds constituted the greatest danger. 

 The next day many pieces of broken tiles were found embedded 

 about one -half inch deep in the wooden buildings across the street, 

 several hundred feet away from the residence. Fortunately no lives 

 were lost and nobody sustained any injury. 



The violence of the wind subsided about 5:00 a.m. and it 

 was possible to step outside and examine the wreckage (fig. 37). 

 For nearly a week Woods Hole was without electric power and gas. 

 The highways were blocked by fallen trees, and the railroad tracks 

 between Woods Hole and Falmouth had been washed away. The 

 basement of the MBL buildings, whci-e laboratory equipment was 

 stored, was flooded but fortunately only the glassware placed on the 

 floor and on the two lower shelves was under water. Optical equip- 

 ment, analytical balances, and other more expensive apparatus 

 were stored away in the cupboards and were undamaged. There 



