WIND AND RAIN.

Press, Volume LXV, Issue 19666, 9 July 1929, Page 8

WIND AND RAIN.

I I GALE AT AUCKLAND. I i BUILDINGS DAMAGED. } [THE PEEtS Special SfcrvJce.J I l AUCKLAND, July S. : A startling experience befel resi- > deals of rernleigh cm the eastern out- ! skirts of Waiuku at about noon yesteri d av , a fierce storm from the north-east i striking the locality and leaving a trail lof .lor ■ ruction. _ Accompanied bv a ! jr.Jugo of rain, a ncavy gale lasting for ' about I.j minutes worked up to hur-i- ---! care force for about live minutca. The i width of tbc path of the storm seems ! to haic bto>u about lOu yards, and Mr ! p. Fitchett's poultry '.arm, whi-L was ' right in its track, suffered most. The laro-c fowlhouse and sheds were wrecked, and flying iron and timber from these badly damaged sonic fruit ! trees. One pieco of timber was blown I through a window of the homestead and j broke some glass on the table inside. ' Pieces of iron were carried on to the I power lines and interrupted the service. I A telegraph pole fell across the road 1 and o'reed the lines over almost to the ! ground. The chimneys of Mr Fitchett's 1 house and that of Mr McEwan nearby I we-e snapped off, and the front door of i Mr ih-Eivan's huuse was blown in and ! broken. | The New Zealand Co-op. Dairy Com- | uanv's large butter factory at Ferni leigli also suffered. One skylight was ! torn off and the glass in others broken, •ivhile some tiles were stripped from the roof and others loosened. Empty ere tin cans on the delivery stage were caught up and carried some hundreds of * ardi. The shaft of a chinmey at the bachelors' quarters was also displaced. Haystacks in th*. path of the storm I were stripped of their coverings, and ! for a quarter of a mile or so trees were | shorn of their branches and in places | snapped off. Mr W. J. Wright, whose ! homestead is near the butter factory land appears to ha\ e been on the edge I of the' path made by the storm, utat-js i t-iiat the force of the wind v. as terrific !For a few minutes he feared that the | G. -j of his house would be blown in; ' the rain was so heavy that one could j not see for more than about 100 yards. Mo one was injured, but Mr Fitchett j lust several of his fowls, but other li\ estock appears to have escaped injury. AT KAIKOURA. i EXTENSIVE DAMAGE. ', (spnciii, :o iile i-^zss.'. i KAIKOURA, July 8. 1 About midnight on Saturday a strong north-easterly gale set in and continued with unabated fury until six o'clock last evening doing considerable damage en the land and seashore. Ju.it L-ci'oro high tide yesterday afternoon two fishing _ launches were driven from their moorings on to the beach near ''The Point" gates where they were hauled to safety. The launches were owned by .Mr W. Bc.veu and Mr YV. Johnson. The decking ot the old wharf suffered considerably and the waves were driven right across the road near the Freezer. Trees were uprooted along Lyell Creek as far :)> "Walter's Comer and in somr; instances chimney tops were brought down. Morris and Son's doublefronted shop met the full force of the gale and over sixty feet of verandah was swept away, a portion of it being deposited in Mr W. Morris's garden at'some 100 yards distance. The balance of the verandah i«s doubled back a?ainf?t the upper portion ct the front of the shop with the posts astride too root". A portion of the verandah in its flight struck the roof of Mr Forrester's ihop, leaped over a large macrocapa tree and is now Ijing in a garden along Yarmouth street. The interior of the crockery shop and tailoring room also suffered considerable damage. The windows are broken : in different parts of the building, the I telephone and electric wires were also ' interrupted, while chimneys at Mr ' Morris's dwelling were blown over. I The roof of Mr Forrester's shop caught ' the weight of a portion of the vernnI dab. and damage was done to other ! portions of the building. The loss will • hj considerable for Messrs Morris and ,' Son. the cost of reinstating the damI aged property being in the vicinity of I £2OO. No doubt trade will also be ; dislocated pending repairs. i The town electric light wires and poles fared very badly, poles being I broken off at the ground and wires let loose alor.g the Esplanade and Avoca. street. Mr W. W. Munro (■electrical engineer) and his j>taff were busv on the scene removing the broken wires and staying poles .to prevent ! further damage being done. Tt will ! probably take a week to repair pro- | perly the damage done.