Winter Gale Batters the Coast
A ferocious storm claims the lives of two men, one drowning off Coos Bay and another killed by a falling sign in Hoquiam.
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Two lives were lost and heavy damage was done to property at various Oregon and southern Washington coast points Sunday as the result of the first winter gale of the season. Oscar Johnson, a sailor, was blown overboard from the steamer Newberg off Coos bay and drowned. Hans Reim, steward on the dredge Colonel P. S. Michie, now in Grays harbor, was crushed beneath a falling signboard and killed at Hoquiam, Wash. At all points unusually high tides were reported. The velocity of the gale ranged from 70 to 90 miles an hour. At Newport, Ore., chimneys were blown down and shingles ripped off roofs. The entire front of a store building was blown out, a cottage was unroofed and wires were prostrated in all directions.
“The velocity of the gale ranged from 70 to 90 miles an hour.”
Coastal storms remain a constant, seasonal threat to Pacific Northwest infrastructure. The 1916 gale serves as a reminder of how quickly extreme weather transitions from a logistical nuisance to a lethal event, echoing modern concerns about storm resilience and climate instability in low-lying coastal towns like Hoquiam.
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