’Quake Hits Seddon

Press, Volume CV, Issue 31043, 26 April 1966, Page 1

’Quake Hits Seddon

Heralded by a deep rumbling noise, an earthquake which shook Seddon, 20 miles south of Blenheim, at 7.10 p.m. on Saturday moved some houses 6in on their foundations, put cracks into many buildings, smashed windows, and left hardly a chimney standing in the small township.

The earthquake was centred about 20 miles south-west of Wellington. Measurement on the Richter scale was six, which was only .2 less than the shake which caused widespread damage in Gisborne a few weeks ago.

“It was terrible while it lasted,’’ said Mrs A. R. Mar fell, who lives on a farm three miles out of Seddon. “It was not as long as the Murchison earthquake, but it was every bit as severe.”

In Seddon power and water: were cut off—water until 4 p.m. on Sunday. Many houses in the township, w'hich has a population of 320, suffered extensive Interior damage—fireplaces collapsed, crockery was thrown out of cupboards, books out of shelves, and glass from broken windows scattered on floors. Nobody suffered injury, but many badly frightened people ran out into the streets. Damage to houses has been; assessed at thousands of. pounds. .The earthquake was felt; from Wanganui to North Can-; terbury. Mr L. R. Simpson, a Sed-i don storekeeper described the earthquake as “short, but fairly violent.” ‘‘But 1 was In the Napier earthquake, and so 1 didn't; think it was so bad.” he said. 1 The earthquake caused thin cracks in the seal on the main road and the railway; line at the Seddon station sank 2ft. A sheep truck!

: parked on a siding was bounced off the rails. The railway line was repaired by 11 a.m. on Sunday. No service could be held in the Seddon Presbyterian Church on Sunday because of falling plaster, and possible structural damage. Chimneys Down “1 was sitting in the back of my shop,” said Mr Simp- ■ son. “and there ■ were two or three violent tremors. It hit i with a bang. It shifted every- : thing. My shelves just disintegrated, and 1 had to pick 1 my way over the mess in the : dark to get out.” Mr Simpson said he had heard that there were 150 chimneys down. “I can see eight down from here.” he said. “One house was screwed ; around on its foundations, and one new house was left with very shaky foundations. “People’s cupboards and i shelves were just emptied out on the floor. They had pickles and preserves everywhere J

Furniture was shifted two or three feet, and some walls have been cracked.” Mrs H. C. Warren, wife of a Seddon garage proprietor, said: “1 was in my kitchen when it happened, and 1 just thought that everything was coming down. Things fell out of all the shelves and cupboards.

“Ours is a six-year-old house and the chimney was cracked and will have to be taken down. Cracks in the garage? You wouldn’t be kidding anybody! The walls are leaning out. It’ll probably have to be pulled down. “There was a car on chocks in the garage and it crashed on to the ramp; storage heaters in the house fell over like feathers; the piano was lifted right off its castors.” Mrs Warren said television sets in Seddon had all “fallen over on their faces," and many lavatory pans had been cracked. “There’s hardly a house that was not affected.” she said. “It seemed to last an eternity, but it could have been half a minute or a minute. We’re very fortunate to be alive.” Mrs Marfell, whose husband is chairman of the district’s civil defence organisation, said that her household had

got off very lightly. “We have two chimney’s down, but very little other damage.” Mr Marfell, an AWatere county councillor, was out all the week-end inspecting and assessing damage. He is reported to have estimated it at thousands of pounds. Constable W. N. Parsons, of Seddon, said, “Some of the houses were a shambles inside with crockery, food and pictures strewn all over rooms.” A Kaikoura resident, Mrs M. M. Andrews, of 18 Churchill . street, said she felt a single jolt, followed by a swaying motion. “It just came out of the blue—there was no warning rumble,” she said. “The lights were swinging, but nothing came down. It didn’t seem to go on for any extent Other earthquakes we have felt here went on longer.” In Wellington windows were smashed in the Reserve Bank and telephone communications with other centres was briefly lost while the Hutt Valley was plunged Into darkness. Suburban rail services came to a halt as workmen inspected lines to see .if they had been disturbed. . A Wellington theatre manager said that quite a few patrons panicked when the jolt struck. “They were crowding in the aisle and moving back and forth," he said.