THE scary thing about a hurricane is that you are helpless to do anything about it, and all you can do is hunker down in your home and hope that the damage is not life threatening. This is what happened in Glasgow in January, 1968, when winds of 100 mph ripped roofs off Glasgow tenements and sent chimneys and masonry shattering on the ground. Sadly nine people died in Glasgow but it was felt the death toll would have been far higher if it had struck during the day rather than in the middle of the night when sharp-edged slates hit the empty pavements like missiles.

For months the Glasgow skyline was dappled with green tarpaulins covering the holes in tenement roofs as the repairs began on thousands of damaged buildings. This is Gourlay Street, Springburn, where someone's parked car has been flattened by a falling chimney. It is a scene that was repeated throughout the city.