This week the hurricane is undoubtedly the main news item so I will tell you as much as I can about it. Since last weekend it had been very showery and on Thursday morning the rain was consistent enough to keep us in our hut where we were having a lecture. About 9:30am the hurricane warning came and we had to pack all our gear ready to vacate our huts if necessary. All was bustle and excitement and we were expecting quite a thrill. Well we got the thrill all right.

At quarter to ten the wind which had already been strong increased into a gale driving the rain through the ventilators on the south side in the corner where I sleep. We had to take all our gear down to the other end of the hut. The wind increased in velocity and shortly leaves and loose paper, tin and debris were being hurtled through the air. Poor birds caught unsheltered were whisked along, beaten to the ground and caught up again and carried out of sight while vainly trying to fly for shelter. Visibility was cut down to a hundred yards or so and the wind and rain was whipping along the ground with such ferocity that it was almost terrifying. Palm trees swayed further and further into the wind till they snapped and were torn up like feathers and carried unbelievable distances. Loose timber and iron rattled on buildings and every now and again the walls of our hut swayed and shivered so violently that we quite expected it to be carried away.

At lunchtime dry rations were brought over to us by the quartermaster who had a hard job to keep his feet. He was drenched through all day and had quite an unenviable day getting food to his men. A lull came soon after midday which lasted for an hour or so and then the wind came up again from the North in all its fury and blew till about 4pm when it decreased to quite a moderate gale and enabled us to go over to mess. By this time the hut was full of wind, blown rain and all our stretchers wet.

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After mess Jim, Bill, Larry and I went for a stroll around and viewed the changed landscape. The trees that were not broken or uprooted were almost stripped of leaves. Many familiar Indian corrugated iron shanties had tumbled down off adjacent hills. Much of the lowland was flooded while the large Rewa River in the distance was brown with flood water.

The morning dawned fairly bright and the wind was quite normal. We had a busy day washing the mud and water and leaves out of our hut and washing clothes. In the afternoon we were cleaning up the camp. The parks and gardens in town are horribly disfigured. It is a shame. It will take a year or more to cover up the marks of 24 hours of furious wind.

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