were, however, the two major damage centers in this area of Massa- 

 chusetts, In Swansea, flooded by both the bay and overflow of the 

 tidal reach of the Lees River, the incidence of the total destruc- 

 tion of homes and cottages was high. A total of kS of the 200 

 homes affected were completely destroyed. 



The city of Fall River, where heavy damage was sustained by 

 four industrial concerns, sviffered the heaviest losses of any com- 

 munity in the bay area of Massachusetts. Damages at the plants of 

 the Firestone Company along Ferry Street, one of the hardest hit 

 concerns in the area, included extensive destruction of equipment, 

 raw materials, and finished goods. 



Losses on the eastern shore of Narragansett Bay below Bristol 

 amounted to over 3$ percent of the total loss sustained on the 

 east side. The shore line of Aquidneck Island was heavily battered 

 on the south and west by the hurricane tide of Narragansett Bay and 

 by the Sakonnet River on the East. Losses in Portsmouth, Middle- 

 town, and Newport were heavy. One of the hardest hit sections in 

 the northern end of the island was Island Park in Portsmouth. 



At the southern end of the Island, the city of Newport, with 

 a long, exposed shoreline, was by far the hardest hit community 

 in this area. The entire south shore of the city was heavily 

 battered by the hurricane tide. Residential and commercial damage 

 was intense. In the vicinity of Long ¥harf, the water rolled in- 

 land as much as 2,000 feet beyond the face of the piers, flooding 

 hundreds of houses and stores as well as numerous warehouses and 

 storage buildings. Recreational and commercial boats were smashed 

 or carried onto the docks and, in some cases, driven into build- 

 ings. Along the shoreline below the city, beaches and cottages 

 sustained severe damage. Cottages and bathhouses at Hazard and 

 Bailey Beaches were either completely destroyed or driven far in- 

 land to the northern shore of Lily and Almy Ponds. At Easton's 

 Beach everything was carried away except the main administration 

 building and some sections of the bathhouse. Along the eastern 

 side of Newport Neck, huge chunks of cliff and shore were ripped 

 away. Widespread devastation was caused by the Sakonnet River in 

 the low areas of Island Park, where scores of cottages were leveled 

 along the shore and through the center of the area. Heavy damage 

 to Stone Bridge, which crosses to Tiverton, cut off the only route 

 to higher land during the storm. Across the Sakonnet River in the 

 Tiverton-Little Compton area, damage was severe in some sections. 

 Property along Riverside Drive in Tiverton was heavily damaged, and 

 the Nanaquacket Bridge was swept away. 



In addition to the extensive residential, commercial, and in- 

 dustrial losses in the Narragansett Bay area, damages sustained by 



D-9 



