Severe Damage By North Island Gale

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30284, 9 November 1963, Page 12

Severe Damage By North Island Gale

(Now Zealand Prex* Association) WELLINGTON, November 8. Houses were unroofed, small craft damaged, windows smashed, power lines broken, gardens flattened —and people were blown over when a vicious northerly gale howled over Wellington today. There was a top gust of 93 miles an hour just before noon and several others of 60 and 70 miles an hour.

The most spectacular damage was at the Lower Hutt City Corporation’s new grandstand at Fraser Park where a large section of the aluminium roof was whipped off. The damage is estimated at £l5OO. By mid-afternoon the wind bar 1 dropped to a gentle breeze and turned to the south. A promised southerly •‘buTer" had not arrived by midnight. Heavy seas lashed the Oriental Bay boat harbour and the harbours.de drive round to Evans Bay was swept with spray and the occaeional fullblooded wave. One yacht broke away from its moorings at Evans Bay yacht anchorage and aideswiped several other craft before breaking its bowsprit when dashed against the sea wall lit was later reanchored Further round the bay towards the airport a new school under construction was partly unroofed with timbers from it flying over a wide area. In the city, motor-cyclists had difficulty in keeping their mounts and pedestrians more or less groped their way along with the aid of the buildings at the height of the gale. Four pedestrians went to hospital with injuries after they had been blown over. Roof Tom Off A woman threw herself to th • floor in a desperate effort to avoid flying glass and timber as the roof of her Northland, Wellington, home was torn off art the height of the ttortn.

No Work At Port Because of rain no work apart from the routine handling of mails, cars, and perishable goods aboard the steamer-express. Hinemoa. was done at Lyttelton yesterday. All labour was dismissed at 5 p.m. except for gangs engaged aboard the English Star. These were ordered back for overtime.

leader of the Social Credit Political League will address Electors in the R.SA (Jellicoe Hall) Gloucester St, on Monday. November 11, at 8 p.m.—Advt.

A young man sitting in another room was showered with shattered glass as wall-to-ceiling windows caved in. “My wife was ironing soon after 11 o'clock and a young plumber was sitting in the lounge having a cup of tea when it happened.’’ said the owner, Mr T. Hanna. “My wife is pretty shocked, but from what I can gather there were some terrific blasts from the north-east about 11 aun. “The roof apparently 1 moved a bit. started to groan and creak then with a noise like an explosion it disappeared over the back bank and up this hill” he said. Snapped Lines The 120-ton coaster Picton, laid up for some months, snapped her bow lines and her hull swung round, hitting the steel fishing trawler, the Maimai, on the opposite berthage. While the Picton was being attended to. the Union Company’s 1988-ton cargo vessel Karamu broke a mooring rope. Wire lines were hastily fixed. Wellington Airport was closed all day, as were most New Zealand airports. Low cloud and cross-winds were the principal cause of the closures at Kaikohe, Whangarei, Napier. Palmerston North. Paraparaumu. and Wellington. At Woolworths. Lambton quay, two panes of window glass measuring 7ft x 7ft and 7ft x 3ft. were sucked out by the wind and glass and stock scattered on the road. A holiday cabin at the Waikawa road motor camp near Picton. was picked up by a violent gust at 10.30 a.m and thrown up a 10ft bank, where it landed on its roof. The two-ton cabin burst

into flames and in a matter of minutes was destroyed. Pieces of the material from the walls were scattered for 100 yards along Waikawa road. Mast Damaged Exceptionally strong winds in Wairarapa caused damage to New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation equipment. In Masterton station 2XB’s 180-foot transmitting mast was damaged extensively and at Bennetts Hill the television translator-receiving aerials were blown down. A corporation spokesman said today it was not yet known how long it would take to repair the mast and aerials. A carshed was tom from its foundations and trees were uprooted when a whirl wind struck part of South Taranaki. Hie owner of the carshed bad moved his car to safety seconds before the whirlwind flattened it “The wind was terrific,” said Mr W. G. Milham, of Skeet road. “I saw my woolshed rocking and then the car shed, which is 20ft x 20ft, lifted clean out of its concrete foundations and toppled over.”

Mr Mllham said a number of giant trees on his property had also been brought down in the whirlwind. “The plantation is nothing mudi now.” he said tonight. During 60-mile-an-hour winds 60ft of roofing was peeled back on the Hawera Community Centre while hoardings were flattened and power poles broken off throughout the district. In the King Country the Waitomo and Wairere Electric Power Boards also reported power cuts caused by broken poles.