This Day in History (1957): Gusty winds damage trees, roofs, towers at Dhahran

From the May 1, 1957, edition of The Sun and Flare

Sudden gusts of winds, reaching a velocity of 52 miles per hour, left a line of uprooted trees, buckled towers, and damaged roofs early Sunday afternoon in Dhahran and the surrounding area.

The trees along King's Road were the main casualties as the wind whipped down the street between the ball park and the dining hall, toppling three of the largest trees in its path.

At F Street, an aluminum Palmer building was tumbled 200 feet from the ice stand to the northeast corner of the carpenter shop.

The roof of one of the in-line dormitories in al-Salamah was blown away, and roofing was stripped from the medical storage building in Dhahran.

Steel power towers No. 177 and 178, three miles north of Dhahran, buckled under the strength of the wind. These towers are being replaced by wooden towers.

No damage was reported from Abqaiq or Ras Tanura.

Caption for top photo: A freak windstorm whirled down King's Road Sunday afternoon, toppling some of Dhahran's tallest trees as well as damaging roofs and portable buildings in the community. The sidewalk and wall crumbled when the tree at House 1424-A was uprooted.

Also on this date

2019 — Naruhito ascend to the throne of Japan, succeeding his father and beginning the Reiwa period

1999 — The body of British climber George Mallory is found on Mount Everest, 75 years after his disappearance in 1924

1978 — Naomi Uemura of Japan travels by dog sled to the North Pole, the first person to do so

1971 — Amtrak takes over operation of U.S. passenger rail service

1961 — Fidel Castro proclaims Cuba a socialist nation and abolishes elections

1956 — The polio vaccine developed by Jonas Salk is made available to the public

1931 — The Empire State Building is dedicated in New York

1886 — Rallies are held throughout the U.S. demanding an eight-hour work day, culminating the Haymarket affair in Chicago in commemoration of which May 1 is celebrated as International Workers Day in many countries

1707 — The Act of Union joining England and Scotland to form Great Britain takes effect