The Orkney Hurricane

A regular US reader of the blog, Genknit, has just written to let us know that she is safe after the devastation caused by Hurricane Harvey. We were pleased and relieved to hear this.


I could not help but think about the so called Orkney Hurricane of 1952 and the destructive gales which followed the next year. Unlike Hurricane Harvey, the two storms - miraculously- claimed no lives but the damage and trauma was immense.

 

 

The remains of the Wyre Shop at Helziegatha after the 1952 Hurricane

Orcadians were unsure of the exact wind speed of the 1952 hurricane as the wind recorders at Costa Head in Evie were broken after exceeding their 120mph limit. Estimates were made of 135mph in places.

'I wakened and I wondered what was wrong. It blowed and blowed and blowed. I lay on, for I thowt that if I wakened Jock, he wid go outside and hid wasna safe - so as long as the kye didna boggle I wid bide in... we were lucky. The (hen) hooses were end on tae the wind.'

Sarah Gaddie of Holm recalling the storm

Many were not so lucky, however, and the thriving egg industry which provided so many Orcadians with income was seriously damaged over night, with hundreds and hundreds of hen houses and their occupants strewn over Orkney by the ferocious winds.

Hurricane Damage, 1952

'We woke up to devastation. We could see what we thought to be reddish-brown snowdrifts along the dykes. What it was in fact was dead and dying Rhode Island Reds. My father went out and managed to breathe life into a few who were merely stunned but I can remember my parents shock and horror, with the added worry of knowing they'd lost such a valuable source of income.'

Morag Russell of Shapinsay

Flooding was the main problem in 1953 as the sea defences were battered in many locations, turning streets into rivers.

Junction Road after the 1953 Storm.
(Original photo taken by S. Twatt)

Shore Street after the 1953 Storm - the water mains were completely exposed.
(Original photo taken by S. Twatt)

Orcadians are known for their grit and resilience and the County, with the aid of hastily set up aid funds and some government assistance, was soon up and running again. People were even able to joke about some stories from the storm such as the gentleman bowled over fields in his wooden house only to emerge clad in nothing but underpants. Or the farmer whose dwelling's roof was torn off only to be quickly replaced by another one. He took this as proof that 'the Lord is kind'.

Texans and Lousianans are also known for their grit and resilience and we send the survivors of Hurricane Harvey our thoughts and heartfelt best wishes in their time of need.

Information taken from:

The Orkney Hurricane - R. G. Ross

How the Orkney Egg Industry was affected by the Great Gale of 1952 - Simon Carmichael

The Orcadian book of the 20th Century - Howard Hazell

Orkney Sound Archive 7.

Glossary for non-Orcadians/Scots! :

kye - cows

didna - didn't

bide - stay

boggle - bellow

hid - it

wasna - wasn't

 

The Wind in the Willows

It is pretty blustery today in Orkney and there are therefore some very creepy noises to be heard in our wind-trap of a building. The strongrooms can be particularly terrifying as the windows are fitted with wooden blocks to keep the sunlight out. This seems to create a strange semi-vacuum that can suddenly erupt right next to you as you peacefully file away the archives.

This is nothing, however, compared to the devastation that greeted Orcadians on the morning of 15th January 1952. The pictures above show the sort of damage that the 135m/ph 'hurricane' left in it's wake. Shops were razed to the ground, doors and roofs were whipped off, never to be seen again and the thriving Orkney egg business was badly damaged with entire coops of hens being swept away with their inhabitants still inside.

The destruction was no surprise to anyone as it had been impossible to sleep through a storm of such violence. Some had been shaken from their beds and one Sanday man was forced to flee his house in just his pants, tee hee.

Unfortunately, this was just one storm in a run of terrible weather for Orkney. The previous year, a storm had pulled down electricity lines; in 1953 another terrible storm battered sea fronts and exposed water pipes plus there were floods in both 1953 and 1954.