RESTORING THE DAMAGE.

Press, Volume LXV, Issue 19676, 20 July 1929, Page 16

RESTORING THE DAMAGE.

COST MAY BE £1,000,000. CR. LYONS*S VISIT TO EARTHQUAKE AREA. Alter visiting ail the district- seriously affected by the big earthquake, Ct. M. E. Lyons, who will make a report to the City Council on Monday night, Ims returned to Christ-church with the impression that the extent of the damage has not been exaggerated in the newspapers. In the course of an interview yesterday he remarked that while the response to the appeal for relief has been generous, the Central Committee apparently intended to place a penalty on thrift by assisting adequately only those whose circumstances precluded their effecting the necessary repairs to their homes. Captain J. J. Walker, of the Salvation Armv. accompanied Cr. Lyons through the stricken area. They first visited the Maruia and Matakitaki valleys and Murchison. It was possible now to get through to Nelson bv road from Meefton. said Cr. Lyons. The journey included a detour by way of Maruia, and three miles of the road are impassable to cars. Matakitaki had suffered a good deal from the visitation, and odd farms had teen obliterated. The problem in this district Was to get the houses back into a habitable condition. There had been suggestions that the effect of the earthquake at Murchison had been exaggerated, but one really had to see the country to realise the condition it was in. Adequate expression had not been given to the effect the terrific explosions had had on the countryside in photographs. City Council's Help. Very little had l>een done in regard to restoration at Murchison, and he was able to offer on behalf of the Christehurch City Council bo assist in the organisation of skilled labour to make the homes habitable. Very few chimneys had Iwen left standing, and as the community was engaged largely in dairying, it was essential that the people should be back on their farms attending to winter feeding and looking after their stock. A fair number of stock had been lost and some sheep had been buried under slips. Mufchison's electrical undertaking had been thrown but Of commission. Current had been Used for machine milking, as well as for lighting, on practically every farm, but without assistance such as he Would recommend, the settlers must be Without electricity for several months. No doubt they would resort to hand milking or the use of small oil engines, but he was hopeful that the Municipal Electricity Department would be able to give assistance by supplying some of the equipment which it had iri hand. Murchisoii's problem was to seeui'e authority for the spending of a gpod stint of trtoney to make homes habitable. , _, • ~7 i .. Cr Lvons said he and Captain \\ aJket arrived back in Reef ton after a rather eventful trip from Murchison, swollen creeks and the flooded Maruia river holding them Up for some time. On the night he spent in Murchison 4ast Mdudav, there were six sharp earthquakes, the one about 8.30 o,clock being severe.. , Like Murchison, Reefton had suffered through havoc to chimneys, but ot all the towns in the affected area Westport had come off worst. It had been much more severely dealt witn than any of the other West Coast towns. The Mayor (Mr J. H. Harkness) had in hand a substantial fund amounting to about ,£3OOO. which he was able to use for- necessitous cases. Seddonville's Plight. When he went on to Seddoiiville he found that nothing which had been written adequately described the plight of that township through the flood. lb was a scene that beggared description. Tn many cases the. high watef mark was en the root,, and only a few boUsas on high ground escaped. Many of the homes had had from three to seven feet of water in them, and some of the others had been absolutely inundated. It was fortunate that the water did not stay in them long, but as it was it left behind silt which covered the furniture and bedding. In Home cases there was as much as a foot of silt on the floor. The dampness and the silt carried in hat! had the effect of making the houses really uninhabitable for some time, and an offensive smell was noticeable. ' tT r e only possible thing to. dp is to get the people out of it," said Cr- Lyons. The cieatting-np had been tackled in a rery business-like manner, a gang of Public Works men assisting in this connexion for some time, until they Were diverted to other work In addition to this help the Government had made a grant of £3OO towards the cost of the eleariingMJp, and practically the whote of the male population left behind had been organised into a gang* each house receiving attention in ttifh. 'While I wa§ there,'' said Cr. Lyotts, "I saw a lorry load of 30 sewing machines, all covered frith silt, being taken away to b$ cleaned and reconditioned. Yoii Can imaging the job that would be." % point about which must he borne iri mind was,that the woniefl and children simply could not go back there for some time, the danger of ah' other flood was so great.

! Blowing Qp tbe Daiu. A gan* of men was at Work preparing to blow the obstructions aWay and let the backed-up Water down, and tail* til tliia was successfully fcccompliSh«sd it would be necessary for the wofneß and children to remain away. The effect of the explosion would, probably, be to cause another flood, but the people wanted to get the Situation cleaned up as soon tes possible. The Public Works men hoped to be able to explode the charges at this week-end, but there was a doubt as to whether these measures would be successful. Until this was done it would be dangerous for the Beddonville Valley to be inhabited, as at any time heavy rain rnight cause a recurrence of the flood. Cf. Lyons said he was impressed by the fact that the flood had occurred in broad daylight. Had it happened at night. oO per cent, of the inhabitants rutisit hare been drowned. The water came down quickly and receded just as rapidly. The continued earthquakes were having a decided effect on the people, especially in Wesfcport, and nearly all of them, and paftieHlnrlv the womenfolk, were in a highly nervous state. Facilities Were being offered by the Railway Department for residents to take a holiday aWay from the West Coast. "The Central Committee is attacking the problem of distributing relief very much as though it must be dow* on a charitable aid basis," complained Cr. Lyons. "A penalty has been placed" on thrift. Judging by the procedure set for the local committee*. It appears likely that the man who has •saved is lo be penalised, because he has to bear the cost of restoration himself, and the men who have not been so frugal will receive assistance. Personally, my view after seeing the coimti-y and interviewing hundreds of people is that the restoration Work is * national undertaking, attd the costshould be borne by the whole Dominion." Nothing less than a grant of £250.000 by the Government, in addition to voluntary subscriptions, would be of any materia! assistance in restoring property to its condition before the earthquake. A fund of a third of one million pounds Would hare to be administered rety prudently 16 fe-artftbhflb. t&e district.

Helping the Befngees. As it wa.s considered that the immediate needs of the refugees had beet! t»iet, the lactic' committee which has been distributing clothing and arranging; for the billeting of people from the stricken area has decided to close the depot iu the City Council Chamber?, but it will meet on three days a week. Mrs E. E. .vlcC'oinbs said yesterday that the committee would be kept in being to attend to the interests 01 families settled at ihe seaside. As far a-, possible people had been taken out of hotels and placed in furnished houses, some of which had been given rent free. The rents charged for others had been reduced, and the committee was providing the people with food. Refugees returning would be supplied with any elo-the* they required. RAILWAY DAMAGE AT SEDDONVILLB. In the •.Seddonvillc flood, the railway platform was submerged to a depth of nine feet. For three miles the ballast was washed from the line.