The injury done by the light ni not boon so serious as might have boon anticipated from the violence of the storm. The house known as " Austin 'Arms," at the Peak, was atruck nearly at the commencement of the thunderstorm, but so far as we can learn, no great damage was done to the building. Mr. Deunys' louse at the Peak was also struck, the electric fluid entering the roof and tearing a hole through the floor of ove apart We hear from Dr. Doberck that the wires connected with the Ppt t the Observatory by the lightning, and spark served around the building. The lightning conductors, however, acted so well that no further damage was done to the Observatory. T graphic communication was, howly stopped. Oueof the clocks in the establidhmentatopped ath. 24m.37sec., which was, we believe, the time when the crisis of the storm was attained by the most vivid flash of lightning and terrible orssh of thunder. ' Sunnyside," the res! dence of Mr. S. J. Gower, at the junction of Pokfulam and Bonham Roads, was also struck, A little after eight o'clock, just as Mr, Gowers children were preparing to go to bed, and immediately afterafearful flash of lightning, the bed-room was filled with soot, and rain came pouring through the coiling. Mrs, Gower and her children received @ severe fright and were for a time rendered almost completely deaf, From amination made this morning it would m that the lightning after first striking the chimney, which it completely shat. ed, tore up about twenty feet of the roof, and then ran down one of the gas pipes, from the attic to the meter box—fortunate-Jy there was no meter nor gain the house, or there would have been an explosion—and thence it seems to have jumped to another pipe leading out of the house, breaking the wall on its way, and finally buried itself in the earth.
In the central and western districts most of the damage sustained was effected by the rush of water from above. On the Robinson Road, the massive and picturesque wall which extends from ' Stonehenge" eastwards was undermined by the streams of water from the hillside at the back and for about a hundred feet of its extent has collapsed and fallen into the road, carrying with it in its fall the coolie houses erected above, connected with Stone-hange," the road thereby being almost completely blocked. The force of water which effected this breach must have been considerable and its course can be traced distinctly to alowerlevel, The stream after crossing the Robinson Road has brei ough the wall on the Glenealy ravine side and cut a channel several feet deep and wide in its descent, eventually emptying its waters into the nullo or sluice at the bottom of the ravine, Further along the Robinson Road more damage has been done. The New Garden Road, from Robinson Road, to the top of Arbuthnot Road, has beau almost totally destroyed and is quite impassable. The upper part of the pathway, near the Robinson Road entrance, has been cutaway to the depth, in some places, of three or four feet, leaving only portions of the concrete side channels to show where the path has existed. Lower down the vardon roadway is ead wreck and ruin; the path itself is cut into ruts and holes and the parapet broken into fragments, while just below the pretty fern walk, a'landslip has occurred from the terrace above and the road is blocked by tons of earth and stone, while a fine young pine tree lies prone on the top of the cums. The nullah iteclt, from the bridge on the Robinson Road to the bot tom, is choked with boulders and rubbish. Another Isndship has occurred from the upper terrace above the pathway leading to the Aviary, in the New Gardens, close by the largo camellia bed, which has boon buried in the earth from above and the Aviary The pathways in done to the roads. The up Stroot is much torn up and is with large boulders maller rubble carried down from the hillside by the rush of water, and many of the roads in the neighbourhood of Mosque Junction were for a time Iaat night almost impassable being turned temporarily into watercourses The sand sluice above Peel Street, in wh occurred a week or two destroyed and entirely mid stones. One of which rans down from Robinson Road' to Queen's Road West, Bireet, the road above it having caved tially burst where it crosses Poyang
in. his has affected the walls of the Tung Hing Theatre, close by, to such an extent that they now bulge out most dangerously. retaining wall of the Castle, in Castle Road, has comple subsided and the founda ing are laid bare, 2 leading up from Came Road, close to No. 9 Police Station, have also subsided in places, and considerable damage has been done to most of the roads in this neighbourhood.
In the Eastern part of the town the damage caused by the storm is been equally severe. Landslips of an extensive character have been numerous; in one instance the silphas, unfortunately, proved fatal.
Road, which runs from Queen's Road up to the road leading to Head Quarter Hoi has been most effectually blocked for tance of from 25 to 30 yards by a heavy fall of part of the hill forming Scandal Point, The break extends some twenty feet back from the original line of the cutting, and the amount of earth deposited' in the road to a height of ten feet. Several trees and a considerable number of shrubs have been utterly destroyed, and number of those have been ed down the nullah into the sea, A little further on, in Kai Ming Lane, other slip of minorimportauce has occurred, near some of the houses, but the damage done by this is trifling. ' Tt is at Mount Shadwell, on which stands the Naval Hospital that the most serious damage has been done. On the North Western side, the hill rises to a height of 160 feet, an enormous mass of earth came tumbling down about half-past nine yesterday even-partially demolishing three house: nese, in Wanchai Roa igh, and ¢ro built quite close toa retaining wall which the face of the hill almost the whole length of the Wanchai Road, The three houses injured are No. 79, 81 and 83, and it was in the last of these that the fatality spoken of occurred. When the slip took place the most of the inmates were in the front part of the house, and to this circumstance is due the fact that more were not killed. Fortunately, also the roofs of the houses remained intact, and only the inner walls gave way, it was, tw wore buried alive, and injured by the debris of the falling walla and the earth from the hillside. No. 2 Police Station being near by, Inspector Swanston at once became apprised of the accident by the excited yells of the alarmed people, and that officer, in company with Sergeant McKay (No.67), at once proceeded to render assistance. At first the Chinese to a man declined to give the amahest aid to the Inspector in his efforts to remove the debris under which their unfortunate comrades were buried, but ultimately some of the shopmen employed in the same house came forward, rather roluctantly, and helped in the relieving work. After about two hours? ince ard toil actor and those assisting him were ful in rescuing one man from the This man was found to be severely Lruisod, and was at once sent to the Civil Hospital, The work of getting at the other men was rendered very difficult, by a Inrgo boulder, about a ton in weight, having rolled down the hill inside the house. Ultimately the Inspector and his mon suc+ in tilting this into the small court at the back of the house. Not long after, the bodies of the two mon were found, but the relief had arrived too Into. Inspector Swanston and his assistants worked with will throughout, at great risk and danger to themselves, as the house was and is by no unfortunate men ud their conduct rty commendation recoguit aut O'Poole, of the Naval Yard Police, with hi ived in house No. 77, which for untouched. There is however, that further slips will occur at the place, and the occupants of the houses in the vicinity will do well to follow Sergeant O'Toole's example and remove to safer quarters. At the opposite side of the hill, the slips have been equally heavy. At two o'clock yesterday afternoon, a fail occurred just opposite the lodge at the foot of the road leading to the Hospital, eight in the evening a ful sidence took place at the same spot, completely blocking up the path, carrying away one side of the gateway and inflicting some slight damage on the roof of the lodge. A third extensive slip has taken place opposite the Late Normal Schools, rendering the road utterly impassable and. carrying away the wall on each side for a distance of 30 yards. It will take at least ok to clear away the obstruction, Two ips have also rendered the Kennedy Road impassable, and the Peak pathway, although it is passable, is a perfect gutter.—Chine Mail, 13th June.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.