Hurricane-Force Winds Topple Desert House onto Woman
A woman was critically injured near Richmond Ferry when a sudden, violent windstorm collapsed a deserted house she had entered to seek shelter.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Seeking shelter in a deserted house near Richmond Ferry, from a wind storm that approached the proportions of a hurricane, Mrs. I. S. Cole, whose home is near Frenchman Hill, south of Quincy, was seriously if not fatally injured Wednesday when the house toppled over. Mrs. Cole and her husband were driving through from their home to Yakima, and reached the ferry about noon. They drove onto the ferry and an attempt was made to cross, but the wind was too strong and they put back to the east shore. It was then that Mrs. Cole went to the house, which is only a short way from the landing. She had hardly entered before the wind tipped over the building. When her husband reached her she was unconscious and was still in that condition when they reached Beverly. Mr. Richmond says it was the worst wind storm he has ever seen. The house was a 16x24 foot structure, a story and a half high. The wind also blew the front from the schoolhouse on the east side of the Columbia and the brick chimney from the Vernita school building.
“Mr. Richmond says it was the worst wind storm he has ever seen in all the years he has been in the Vernita country.”
This account of extreme weather events in the Columbia Basin serves as a stark reminder of the region's vulnerability to high-wind events. Such reports were essential for regional safety before modern meteorological warning systems existed.
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