Tropical disturbance passed inland at some distance south of Corpus Christi today, the center of the storm passed Corpus Christi at 3 p.m. after which the barometer rose rapidly.

At 9:03 a.m. the instrument shelter was struck by flying debris and partly demolished and the sunshine recorder broken. The cable leading to the sunshine recorder was broken off and the end took water to such an extent that the electric circuit was crossed part of the time and this interfered so much with the rainfall record that rainfall record after that time was useless. At 1:15 p.m. flying debris struck the cable leading to the anemometer and partly severed that cable, after which no record of wind velocity could be obtained. At the time the cable was severed, the wind velocity was increasing again after a short period during which the velocity Had been considerably reduced, but not reduced as greatly as the record would indicate because during that period the wind was from the east and the record was somewhat interfered with by eddies of wind caused by the Nueces Hotel. After the severing of the cable the wind attained high velocities again, but not nearly so gusty as it had been earlier in the day. It is true that the average velocity was greater after the increase than before, but due to the steadiness of the wind, maximum and extreme velocities were not as high as before.

At 4:12 p.m. the east windows of the office were broken in by being struck by objects which were flying in the air and it was necessary to protect the main office and instruments as best as we could. The barometers were easily covered up and the desks and cases closed and covered with rugs and old carpet, but no means could be taken that would insure the protection of the triple register and it was removed to the other office rooms for protection.

The tide, which had been somewhat higher than normal during the day before continued to rise during the morning and by 9:45 a.m. was almost up to the gutter on the east side of Water Street. As the barometer was falling rapidly and the water rising faster all the time, and as no warnings had been received and the chance of such being received, due to the shaky condition of the telegraphic circuits, it was found that some action looking to the protection of the people must be taken at once and the following warning was issued:
"Direct people in exposed places to seek places of safety."

This was given to the police department and to a large number of persons who had collected during the preceding hour and a half for the purpose of rendering assistance in case of danger. Immediately the police sent messengers in automobiles to the north end of town and began distributing the warning from house to house. The men who had collected in the office gave the warning distribution in the vicinity of the business district and telephoned to as many as could be reached in that manner so that few were missed and many warned several times.

The water raised more rapidly and by noon was working its way rapidly up the gutters on the cross streets between Water and Chaparral streets. By one o'clock, the water had covered Chaparral street 18 inches deep and was rising still faster. By one forty five the water was at least five feet deep in Chaparral street. After this time the rise in the water was much slower but continued to rise until about four p.m. The total depth of the highest water in the business district was about 11.5 feet above mean sea level, and somewhat higher in the north end of town, and much higher toward the west end of Nueces Bay where the bay narrows.

The destruction of life amounted to between 300 and 400 in Corpus Christi and a considerable number from places north of Corpus Christi Bay were lost. The loss of property has been estimated at from six to twenty millions of dollars, the later estimate including the depreciation in real estate values. After the storm, there were nearly 5,000 homeless people, not over 1,000 of whom could repair and reoccupy their former homes.

At the time the heaviest part of the tide struck Port Aransas, a number of large storage tanks containing Petroleum burst and the entire flood on Corpus Christi was covered with this oil, which helped to keep the waves down very much, but which covered all objects including people who were caught in the warier, with coating of oil. The oil no doubt saved some buildings from destruction but it caused great damage to goods and buildings by coating them with oil. Along the southern portion of Corpus Christi Bay, the high clay bluff was worn away by the heavy seas to a depth of forty feet in many places. Along the water front in the business district, the seas tore away a considerable portion of land and in places took away nearly whole lots. This sediment that was washed from the shore line was piled on the lots farther from the water front and in places the deposit was nearly two feet deep. In the north part of town, the shore line was altered more than in the business district.

As near as can be learned from the older inhabitants, the water rose nearly six feet higher than in the storm of 1875. Previous to the storm of 1875, the only storm on record in which the water rose very high was in 1828, but as no landmarks remain that would assist in determining the height of the water on that occasion, comparison cannot be made but if tradition is to be credited, the present high water must have recorded a considerable greater depth than in 1828.

After the crest of high water had been reached, the water receded rapidly, but not nearly so rapidly as it had risen. At 4 a.m. of the 15th it was about two feet deep in Chaparral Street and it was about 48 hours later that it reached the height usually spoken of as high water lines.

- Charles A. Heckathorn