JOURNAL 



ASIATIC SOCIETY 



A Seventh Memoir on the haw of Storms in India; being The 

 Calcutta Hurricane of 3rd and 4th June 1842. By Henry 

 Piddington, Esq. 



On the 3rd June 1842, Calcutta was visited by a tremendous 

 hurricane, of which the centre passed over the city. It came from 

 the South-east, and seems to have reached, with interruptions and 

 divisions, as far inland as Dinagepore, Purneah, Monghyr, Purulia 

 and Midnapore; beyond which we can trace only irregularities, such 

 as we may suppose, to occur by the last efforts of the impetus of a 

 storm. 



The damage done in Calcutta alone, and to the shipping on the river, 

 very few of which escaped some injury, was immense. Ships were 

 blown and drifted from Calcutta to Cossipore, where two or three 

 were sunk; many were sunk or driven on shore at Calcutta; and 

 near Kedgeree, the Globe and Symmetry were totally lost. 



The opportunity was not one to be neglected, and I made every 

 effort to procure information by a public request in the papers, and 

 by every other means I could think of. I am happy to say I was 

 most cordially seconded by all classes, and have thus collected a 

 highly valuable mass of documents, which we may perhaps pro- 

 nounce by far the completest record of the course of a storm, which 

 has yet been published. I beg to tender my best thanks to the gen- 

 tlemen who have so kindly assisted the enquiry. I believe I have 

 acknowledged, individually, every report which reached me ; but 

 No. 131. New Series, No. 47. 6l 



