John Russell Fearn 
Annihilation! 

In a fit of pique, Milly Morton — confidential ‘secretary’ to industrialist Mortimer Bland — deliberately smashed the astronomical plates of Bland’s Chief Scientist, Anton Drew. Furthermore, she’d destroyed data which would warn the world of a forthcoming cosmic disaster. The unprecedented violent storms, signs of approaching doom, went unrecognized. Eventually Drew, aided by his friends Ken and Thayleen West, convinced the Prime Minister of the danger — but would it be too late to save the world?