HEBRIDES FEEL HEAVY ’QUAKES

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30829, 14 August 1965, Page 15

HEBRIDES FEEL HEAVY ’QUAKES

(N.Z.P A -Reuter—Copyright) ESPIRITU SANTO (New Hebrides), August 13. Strong earthquakes continue to rock the island of Espiritu Santo, in the New Hebrides group, giving residents little rest after two days of continuous earth tremors.

The ’quakes are falling off in intensity today, according to the seismologist in the town of Santo, but they are still at about force 4. Earlier shocks on Wednesday and Thursday were as high as 7. “No-one has slept for two nights.” Reuter's correspondent said. “There is trembling through the ground all the time." Six-inch cracks were opened in some buildings in Santo, while others were declared unsound and entry was forbidden. Fissures opened up and closed in the roads under the non-stop shaking, he said. About 150 residents of Santo who went to the airfield on Thursday morning, fearing that destructive tidal waves might sweep the coastal areas, returned to the township this morning. The airfield is six miles from Santo town and at an I altitude of about 600 ft. The island generally is mountain-

No tidal waves were generated by the ’quakes, but the sea level throughout the New | Hebrides dropped as much as | 10ft. then surged up again, j NONE HURT “There has been a lot of damage at Santo township and | apparently in other parts of | the island, but luckily no one ! has been hurt," the corres- j pondent said. “It’s as though everything was put in a bag and rattled round—lots of small damage but nothing really big. But this isn’t finished yet, and we don’t really know what to. expect.” The earthquakes started at 2.20 p.m. on Wednesday and affected mainly Esperitu Santo Island. Up until 9 a.m. yesterday, when the local seismograph went out of order, there had been 257 separate tremors. The quakes disrupted completely essential services to Santo. Electricity has been restored, but the town's water supply has been cut in 50 or 60 places. Government officers and employees are working to repair the break. Most of the natives on Esperitu Santo were sent inland by the Government officers when the first shocks struck the island. There has been no panic among the residents and most

of the men returned to work today after straightening out their own homes. The Government seismologist said that the island had been spared greater damage because the epicentre of the earthquakes was about 110 miles beneath the surface of the earth. Reports from other parts of

the New Hebrides are still coming in, but the damage is not expected to be severe. The Santo wharf, stretching out about 400 ft into the ocean, sank lOin. Large waves surged into Port Vila, on Efate Island, when the sea level fell 4ft in a few minutes, then rushed back in.