MANAWATU HAVOC

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 56, Issue 96, 4 February 1936, Page 3

MANAWATU HAVOC

MANY BUILDINGS WRECKED. MAN KILLED BY FLYING IRON. CHURCH BATTERED TO PIECES. (Per Press Association.) PALMERSTON NORTH, Feb, 3. One of the worst storms for this district in living memory struck Palmerston North and the Manawatu late on Saturday night, ancl raged with unabated fury till Sunday afternoon. Terrific southerly gusts, accompanied by torrential rain, did incalculable damage. One life was lost, one resident was seriously injured, and many had narrow escapes. Many houses have been wholly or partly unroofed. Damage to trees, gardens, and orchards is enormous. Telephone, telegraph, and power lines bestrew the roads. The power supply was interrupted for several hours. Telephone and telegraph communication was badly disorganised, but is now being rapidly restored. Most parts of the city were in. darkness last night, but the service was speedily restored at essential points, including the hospital. Many thousands of pounds would not cover the total damage. Some property owners face very heavy loss. Experiences during the height of the storm were nerve racking in the extreme. Shortly after 9 o’clock on Sunday morning a tragedy occurred when Benjamin Arthur Miller, aged 72, of Elmira Avenue, was struck on the head by a piece of iron off a roof which he was attempting to repair. Miller was knocked to the ground and killed instantly. He leaves a widow and an adult family. Much evidence of the fury of the gale was seen at the showgrounds. The entire roof of the large main stand, which faces south, was blown off, and iron and timber scattered over a wide area. The damage is estimated at several hundred pounds. At the sports ground in Fitzherbert Avenue, where the cricket match against the Maryiebone Cricket Club is set down for Tuesday, tlic whole upper work of the stand was wrecked. Large parts flicked about like pieces of paper to land several chains away. One section landed on the roof of a nearby house and crashed through the roof. Then it was lifted again and tossed against the next residence. Huts Blown Over. At Longburn, residents had a terrifying experience. Large trees were blown down everywhere. The hail was unroofed. St. Chad’s Church was battered to pieces, only tho swaying walls remaining. The debris had to be cleared off the road and railway. Only the gold cross stood firm among the wreckage. Three railway hutments, mounted on piles at the station, were blown over. A man named Morgan, one of the occupants, received injuries and was sent to hospital. Morgan’s hut somersaulted several times, hurling him about inside with a heavy stove, which became loose. Mrs Morgan had a miraculous escape. She had just emerged from the hut when it lifted and toppled over. She was blown into a clump of willows and had to be extricated by the stationmaster. Another hut, occupied by Mr Donohue, was blown over, imprisoning him. He cut his way out through the floor. Close by, on Mr W. J. Fawsett’s- property, a horse was cut-in two by-fly-ing iron. Sheets of iron were blown in all directions, and wrapped tthemselves like paper over the wires, crossarms, and around the tops of power poles. A brick chimney collapsed into the bedroom of a dwelling. The family escaped injury, but latexonly the four walls were left standing. The scene of havoc in this area is almost indescribable. The highway runs through a tangled mass of iron, broken wires, poles, trees, timber, and fencing all in confusion. It is remarkable that there was no loss of life.^ On the route from the city to boxton, there are similar scenes. It seemed as if a giant axeman had been at work. Trees and fences were levelled, and crops flattened. The railway station at Karere has disappeared. Farm buildings were unroofed or wrecked. Telegraph and electric lines are strewn over the roads. Many poles were snapped off like carrots, making travellers most wary. Peculiarly, Foxton escaped tho full fury of tile hurricane, but as one proceeded further south, again tho evidence of the destructive force was evident near Manakau, Ivuku, and Levin, where Maori houses suffered considerably.

Fear 1 of Flood. Fears that the hurricane would he superseded by a flood in the lower levels in the Manawatu district were entertained when, after steady vain, the jMjanawatu Iliver began to rise very fast. After 4 o’clock this morning water came through at Hamilton s bend, near the main highway to Foxton, the scene of earlier inundations, and swept across farms. One farmer said the water came across like a wall. The main route to Foxton is now impassable, but a detour via Rongotea is available. From a high vantage point could be heaid the ioai of the river. At Hamilton’s bend the water is steadily backing across the road. Mr A. Buchanan’s residence is surrounded, and thousands of acres are now covered. Serious danger to and stock in low-lying areas exists.. Twelve feet is considered to be the height a't which a flood assumes serious proportions, but 15 feet 9 inches was reached on the river gauge at 10.30 a.m. Ihe highest level recorded since the gauge was installed was 15 feet 6 inches, in 192 G. Several small losses of stock are already reported, but because oi the disorganisation of telephone communication it is very difficult to learn of the conditions of the settlers near Rangiotu, but heavy losses are feared. Through the failure of all lines of

communications, the city yesterday was isolated by the gale, but the emergency wireless set was functioning. Practically nothing was immune from the terrific force of the wind. Whirling into the main entrance of tho post office, the gale tore loose a heavy telephone cabinet and smashed it to pieces. Iron built stores and business premises were blown asunder and in some cases collapsed, .resulting in grave danger from flying sheets. A large building used as a motor upholstery and paint shop in llangitikei Street collapsed like a pack of cards. Twelve motor vehicles inside were all damaged, some severely. A brick dwelling in Matipo Street, owned by Mr J. Watt, was severely damaged. The front gable was lifted out. Then the side gable was blown out. Mrs Watt was ill in bed at the time, ut fortunately the brickwork fell into the next room. She was cared xor by neighbours. Numerous shop fronts were blown in in that part of the business area exposed to the south. The loss of stock and damage by water is fairly heavy. Footpaths were littered wh.h broken glass, awnings were torn, and verandahs broken off. The streets were strewn with branches of trees from the Square gardens, which, once the pride of the city, now present a very sorry spectacle. Wireless poles were brought down in hundreds, and chimneys broken off. A produce store owned by Ahraliam and, Williams was unroofed, and the walls torn apart, exposing valuable stocks of grass seeds, which suffered from rain. It is believed that the loss will run into sevei'al hundreds of pounds. It can be said that only the stoutest structures of those with a southerly aspect withstood the fury of the gale. In every part, vital destruction is to he seen.

CONCRETE HOUSE COLLAPSES. A ROOF BLOWN OUT TO SEA. (Per Press Association.) WAIROA, February 3. Opoutama, a. seaside resort, felt the gale most severely. A fine conci-ete residence owned by Mr Harker, the Mayor of Wairoa, lost its roof about 9 p.m. yesterday. Then the walls completely collapsed, the whole building being razed to the ground. Mr Harker will ho the heaviest loser in the district, as he also lost his milking shed and plant at Clydebank. Other residences also suffered damage by the loss of roofs. In one case in particular the -roof of a house owned! by Archdeacon Butterfield was last seen careering in its entirety out to sea. Portions of other buildings were blown as much as a quarter of a mile away.