THE STORM.

Auckland Star, Volume LV, Issue 116, 17 May 1924, Page 5

THE STORM.

m PREDICTION FULFILLED. SHIPPING DISORGANISED. v TELEGRAPH COMMTJNICATIOK INTERRUPTED. LAUNCHES WRECKED AT DEVONPORT. The warning of an approaching storm issued by the Government Meteorologist on Thursday evening was fulfilled in all earnestness last evening, when the gale, which rose on Friday morning, increased in velocity until last night the Waitemata Harbour was a raging sea, and with rain teeming down the storm was at its height. The movement of the barometer since mid-day on Thursday is phenomenal. The mercury column, which had been stead} at about 30.25 inches for some days, commenced to fall at mid-day on Thursday, and within 24 hours had fallen to 29.72 inches. The fall became very pronounced during yesterday afternoon and last night, and at midnight the reading was 29.38 inches. This figure was the lowest reading for some days, and when at 0 a.m. to-day the column had fallen to 29.035 inches and had still a falling tendency, there appeared a probability that it would fall to a level seldom reached in New Zealand. This supposition proved correct, and the official ; reading at 11.30 a.m. was 28.92 inches ! and still falling. Thus during the past 27 hours the barometer has fallen over three-quarters of an inch. The barometric pressure is abnormally light, and only on one or two occasions has the reading been lower than it was at noon to-day. On December 29, y923, the barometer fell to 29 inches, and this was considered a record for the port over a period of nearly 50 years. Since barometric records were commenced to be taken about 70 years ago, the lowest reading for Auckland was during the month of July, 1867, when the column fell to 28.73 inches. At - Wellington in March, 1871, the baroI meter registered 28.58 inches, and in July of the same year it recorded 28.55 i inches —the lowest reading for the * Dominion —at Martendale, Southland. The velocity of the wind for the 24 1 hours ended 9 o'clock this morning was 381 miles, while the rainfall for that period amounted to .80 inches. North of Auckland the storm was experienced in its intensity, and all telegraphic communication is cut off. '• In those areas south of Auckland —Papakura, Tuakau, etc.—the full extent of the storm was not felt till this morning, and little damage beyond delays in the telegraph service is reported. Outside the disorganisation of the coastal shipping services the most serious damage has been done along the foreshore at Devonport, where several launches were either wrecked completely or suffered considerable damage. Inland many gardens unsheltered suffered, and fences ivere here and there blown down, but so far no serious damage to buildings is reported. Launches Completely Wrecked. When daylight broke this morning ample evidence was produced as to the severity of the storm at Devonport, where the foreshore was strewn with wreckage and the usual flotsam and jetsam which is thrown high up on the beach in rough .weather. The high seas played havoc with many of those launches moored anywhere between Calliope Dock and Duder_ wharf, and several small launches were smashed to pieces, while others again were damaged almost beyond repair. In two or three instances the engines were found lying on the beach amongst the wreckage, and in the case of Mr. J. Patterson's , launch, one of the biggest at the marine suburb, practically every board has been torn asunder. This launch .was moored close to Duder's wharf, and the engine and wreckage were 'thrown in a heap on the beach. In another instance all that can be seen of a small launch is one side floating. The remainder, together with the engine, has entirely disappeared. Many other of Auckland's Bmall craft are in 1 a sorry plight, but the full extent of the damage cannot be ascertained, although it can be entered up as considerable. A- Floating Pile. Just off Victoria wnarf this morning was a floating pile which had apparently | 1 been swept down from somewhere in j ■ the vicinity of Calliope Dock. Breaking j away, its stationary, vortical position I ■ made it clear that one end was water- ! logged, and that the lower end had ' become embedded in the floor of the ! harbour. This is not unusual at low i water, and, with the rising of the tide, ! the pile is loosened. ! Quite a number of people who made ! the trip to Devonport in the early part i of the evening to view the searchlight ! display were not at all inclined to return j to the city '■ a few hourp later, .when the storm had increased and the sea had !- assumed an angry demeanour. With 1 tremendous waves sweeping in to the i foreshore and breaking over the King's 1 and Queen's Parades such did not inspire ! confidence, and many people preferred to remain overnight at the marine suburb rather than brave the storm in the ferries. The early ferries to the : city this morning carried numbers of strange faces, and the accommodation j was fully taxed. | No Interruption in Ferry Service. ' Despite the intensity of the storm I there was no interruption to the ferry ! time-table, though the heavy seas 1 occasionally resulted in a boat reaching ! the wharf a few minutes late. Since the Fleet arrived a week ago the Ferry ! Company has run a midnight trip to the ! ships in the harbour, taking on board ' some 500 sailors each night. The Ngoiro ! made the trip last night as usual, but in ; going alongside the Repulse lost her ! flagpole. No damage is reported to any of the fer—r boats. "It is the worst sea we have had since I can remember," said Mr. Inglis, owner : of the launch Olivene, this morning. "For ten years the Olivene has made a trip to the Rangitoto quarries to bring ' the employees to Auckland, but this morning she only got as far as the Rangitoto channel and then turned back. She might have made Rangitoto all right, but the risk was too big." Round-the-Fleet Trips. Launch owners last night called off all round-the-fleet trips after half-past eight o'clock. Prior to that hour numbers of persons desirous of having a • farewell "close-up" of the squadron had . a trying experience. The launches were ! tossed about in the heavy sea and many passengers, particularly the ladies, suf- ! | fercd from mal-dc-mer. It was an : i experience not likely to be soon for- '. i gotten. i ......... U;: ?.,-■■■

Logs ana Coal Baskets. Along the northern foreshore across the harbour timber is strewn, and in addition there are two logs and a number of coal baskets which have been washed up on the sands. In some cases the timber -was sent right up on the roadway, and the triangle, close to the Devonport wharf, was flooded with flotsam floating about. Considerable damage is reported ashore, and the storm has played havoc with numerous gardens and orchards. Except in sheltered positions all gardens have suffered more or less, and in some cases have been completely ruined. Much serious damage has resulted to trees, many being razed to the ground, and in the low-lying areas the storm has left its mark. A high fence at the back of the Masonic Hotel at Devonport was laid flat, and a gate in Stanley Street was blown from its hinges. No serious damage to buildings is reported.