CITY SHAKEN.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 130, 3 June 1937, Page 8

CITY SHAKEN.

EARTH TREMORS. HIGH BUILDINGS ROCK. FURNITURE SLIDES ABOUT. SUBMARINE DISTURBANCE 7 ■ A prolonged earth tremor was experienced in Auckland at 11.36 a~m. to-day, followed by another distinct shock at 12.13 p.m. There is no seismograph in the city, and in consequence there is no scientific record of the duration or intensity of the "shakes," but the first tremor was felt in several parts of the city, and in districts on both sides of the harbour. Within a minute or two of the tremor, reports reached the- "Star" office by telephone from people who had experienced it. In high buildings the tremor made office and factory equipment rattle, and telephone bells rang. People, sitting at desks experienced a dizzy, liverish feeling. Pendant electric light globes swung. In one tall building a table in a room on the top floor moved several feet across the floor, rattling and wobbling. The exact time of the first shake, as recorded at the Chief Post Office, was 11.36J a.m. Felt Sick and Dizzy. Reports indicate that many walls creaked, but the tremor was not of sufficient intensity to be generally observed. Some of those who felt the shake reported that it was sustained for nearly 30 seconds. On the sixth floor of the Auckland Power Board's building, girls sitting at heavy desks felt sick and dizzy as the office furniture moved about to the swaying of the building. The tremor was unmistakable. The second shake was not so generally felt.' Occupants of Building, Queen Street, reported that they felt a third shock at one o'clock this afternoon. It was not as severe as the first two, but it caused lamp shades to swing again, and desks were felt to move. It is some years since Auckland has experienced an earthquake. On the occasion of the great Murchison earthquake pronounced tremors were felt, and a slight shake was felt on the morning of the Napier disaster. Not Felt at Observatory. An officer on the Dominion Observatory staff, Wellington, was surprised to learn by telephone that eaith tremors had been felt in Auckland. He told the "Star?, that records of the earthquake would not be available till to-morrow morning, since the Seismograph recorded tremors photographically. About 0.30 a.jn. to-morrow it might be possible t<J make, a scientific report, as the film would then be developed. In the meantime there was no instrument from which « reading could be secured. After the nature of the Auckland tremors had been described, the observatory officer said that, on general principles, he would assume that there had been a submarine disturbance off the coast of New Zealand. At a guess he would say that there had been a submarine earthquake of major intensity at a distance of perhaps 200 miles. However, the photographic seismographical record would nuke more accurate calculations possible. When the inquiry was made (shortly before noon), no reports of earthquakes had been received at the Dominion Observatory.