THE HURRICANE.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVI, Issue 46, 23 February 1935, Page 6

THE HURRICANE.

SOUTH SEA TERRORS.

OCEAN-SWEPT ATOLLS.

SOME FEARFUL EXPERIENCES,

(By J.C.)

This time of the year is often a time of anxiety and peril in the South Seas, for cyclonic storms such as that which recently swept the Cook Islands —and incidentally delayed H.M.A.S. Australia and her Royal passenger over a troublesome S.O.S. job—are to be expected at any time between November and April. They are a sufficiently serious matter even on the high islands, as the messages from Rarotonga showed; but when they strike a low-lying atoll in their course the result is devastation. There is no escape there from the monstrous seas that roll over reef and island, sometimes sweeping away the soil as well as destroying vegetation and native villages. Fortunately there are fairly long intervals between such assaults of the storm-god, otherwisesome of the lagoon islands would be uninhabitable. These palm-clad ringislands are very dear to their little tribes of Polynesians, in spite of all the disadvantages of life there as compared with the rich volcanic lands of Rarotonga and Samoa, ralmers'.on Island, one of the atolls under New Zealand's control, for which the Government steamer Matai is now bound from Wellington, is a typical lagoon island, which is too small for its population. Some years ago it was suggested that some of the Palmcrston islanders — 'mostly the descendants of the sailortrader William Masters and his Samoan wives—should be transferred to Suwarrow, which has no permanent population. Suwarrow is rich in the food that the Polynesian's like; nevertheless nothing seems to tempt any of the Masters clan away_from their little cluster of reef islands. Palmerston's Previous Disaster. We may expect to hear early next week by radio from the Matai whether Palmcrston suffered from the recent hurricane. The island is about 270 miles north-west of Rarotonga. It consists of a great reef with eight small islands, of a total area of one square mile, encircling a lagoon. Twenty-one years I ago it was struck by a cyclone which was probably the most destructive in its history, ftnd from which it took a long' time to recover. The Government steamer Hinemoa visited the place soon afterwards and found a scene of destruction and desolation. Most of the coconut trees were uprooted or broken, and all the manufactured copra and most of the other property of the 108 inhabitants was swept away by a tremendous wave which overwhelmed the atoll. TJi'j people all took refuge on a small mound in the middle of the main islet, and this barely afforded room for them. The only building which escaped destruction was the chinch, a large structure, and even this was shifted 80ft from its foundations. Fortunately it was in the daytime that the heaviest wave came over the reef, otherwise many of the people might have perished; one girl was killed by a falling house. For six weeks after the disaster the islanders lived on fallen coconuts and the few fish they could catch, until the Hinemoa relieved their pressing wants. Nassau in a Hurricane. The small island called Nassau and the group of atolls known as the Danger Islands, native name Pukapuka, are to be visited by the Matai after Palmcrston has been inspected. They lie about 700 miles to the north-west of Rarotonga. Nassau had a fearful experience in a hurricane which burst upon it many years ago. The vast ocean was hurled at the land as if in an effort to wipe it' off the face of the Pacific. Nassau is not an atoll; it has deep water all round and no lagoon. The highest part of the island is about 50ft' high.

In the height of the storm the waves increased in violence; one after another they carried away houses, copra store, boats and sheds, and the pigs and fowls and most of the food stores. Mr. Petersen and his wife were the only white residents; they had Samoan families living there as labour. Petersen narrated that he saw a huge sea approaching like a wall. It- came in without breaking, until it broke over the top of his house, 42ft above sea level. Everyone ran for the middle of the island, and managed 'to keep in front of the wave. The sea continued to rise, until its wash reached the very top of the island.

That night the storm passed on and next day was calm. About five acres of land was entirely washed away, and the inhabitants lost practically everything moveable. For four months they lived on rice' and flour boiled in coconut milk and a few fish. In the Tokelau Islands. That terrifying hurricane had a wide range, for it struck also tho Tokelau or Union group of islands, to the north of Samoa; this Maori-peopled group is under the control of Xew Zealand's Administrator in Samoa.' The islands are just tree-clad shavings of. coral, and when the storm had done with them they were practically awash. Three enormous waves rolled towering in on Fakaofu, and broke completely over the island, destroying a stone church and washing away nearly all . the native houses. On Nukunovo, 00 miles away, the seas charged in over everything, and the only refuge for the poor people was the concrete wall of a new church which was being built. One huge billow picked up 120 "barrels of cement and 3S crates of roofing slates, which it hurled in at one end of the church and out at the other end, leaving only 'the side walls' standing. Some of the natives were swept into a lagoon; they clung in desperation to drifting fragments of dwellings, and at last reached the other side of the lagoon. Four people were drowned. Fortunately such fearful storms come but seldom, or the narrow rings of coral and coconuts would be swept bare and depopulated. A Schooner-man's Seamanship. A sailorman's necessary knowledge of the law of storms is illustrated in the narrative of Captain James McGregor, of the three-masted schooner Thistle, describing tersely his experience in a hurricane many years ago in the western area of the South Pacific. It was a true rotary storm, for it began with fj hard gale from E. by S., and worked gradually round-to the west. It increased to hurricane strength; barometer 29.90. The mizzen, double-reefed, wns the only sail set; a sea anchor was put out and oilbags were hung over the bow. The windj increased in strength; barometer 29.05,

then 29.50. There ' were two distinct seas running, one from E. by S., due to the wind at the time, the other from N.N.E., probably caused by the onward motion of the hurricane. At 2 o'clock in the morning the captain considered it necessary to run the ship out of the track of the storm. The sea-anchor was hauled in, the foretopsail set and the ship wore round until she was heading W. by S., when the double-reefed, foresail was set, and the ship kept on that course* After running for about two hours the wind shifted gradually to the southward, and ; the schooner was kept away as it » shifted, always keeping the wind about two points on the port quarter. When the ship had run 52 miles by the log the ' captain hove her on the starboard tack, with the. sea-anchor and oil-bags out as "before. Barometer 29.54. • In five hours the barometer had- fallen ■ to 29.49, and the hurricane seemed to increase ill fierceness; heavy rain swept with it. The wind now being south," the schooner was wore round and run. N.N.W. The wind now shifted to S.S.W., and the weather began to clear up, though it still blew very hard. Eight : hours later the wind, was S.W. and moderating. .Then it was W.S.W., fresh gale, with "fine, clear weather," * as Captain McGregor's jog entry had it; barometer up to 29.95. Such was the skilful skipper's brief but graphic account in his log of a hurricane which the schooner came through without any damage. It is as seamanly a story as ever I have read > or heard, a modest record of thorough sailorly ability. The man who kuows . the sea will be able to read a vast amount between the lines. Days and Nights of Peril. Not every vessel which encountered , such a storm came through it so well. A 50-ton schooner, the Toafa Haamea, . was caught in a hurricane in the Cook Islands. She had passengers and cargo from Rarotonga for Aitutaki; she > reached the latter island, but had to put to sea and await better weather. The passengers—all natives but one man, • a missionary—were locked in the small ' cabins when the hurricane swept down on the vessel. The native sailors, waist : deep in water, and often swept pff their . feet, toiled at the pumps. The deck ' cargo broke adrift; the bulwarks had to be chopped away to let the water out more quickly; the pump handles broke, the water was gaining on the men. Bags of oil were hung over the side, but by midnight all had been used. The tiller was smashed, the rudder knocked about in the tremendous sea. Another fearful day and night passed; crew still at the pumps working heroically; the repaired steering, gear worked badly. After five days of fupious wind and sea, all bearing lost, the gale abated. The cry went up "Land ho!" Aitutaki was in sight; joy for those sick and bruised passengers. .