Hurricane Now Slow Moving

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 31904, 4 February 1969, Page 1

Hurricane Now Slow Moving

(New Zealand Press Association) AUCKLAND, February 3. The hurricane which it was thought might strike Northland today did not arrive.

Instead of being battered by gale force winds, Auckland experienced moderately fine, mild weather with light winds.

However, the threat is not over. Early tomorrow morning the severe tropical cyclone is expected to be almost stationary, west of Norfolk Island. It is still very intense and is expected to move slowly south towards New Zealand. The first effects of the hurricane are likely to be felt in Northland and Auckland later tomorrow. Rain is forecast, but the winds are expected to be much less severe than was expected on Sunday night. A spokesman for the Union Steam Ship Company said that there were no ships in the path of the hurricane. “We have the. Tarawera coming across the Tasman but she is ahead of it and is due at Lyttelton tomorrow,” he said. All the Tasman ships were either in port or well out of the area. MOVING SOUTH Tonight the forecaster at the Auckland Weather Office said that the storm centre—earlier heading towards New Zealand at 20 to 25 miles an hour—had slowed to about five miles an hour. “The worst part could miss us, but you have to be cautious of these things,” said the forecaster. on travelling south. If it maintravelling south. If it maintains its present rate of progress it will not reach New Zealand for another 36 hours. “It apears to be moving south, with a touch of west, at less than 10 knots,” said the forecaster. “It will be no menace to us tonight or tomorrow morning. The further west it goes the less trouble it will be.” The forecaster said that weathermen felt the present disturbance was a “real rogug” because of its unpredictability. The isolated community of Norfolk Island, less than 100 miles from the centre of the cyclone, was being lashed by wind fro mthe hurricane to; night. But with neither telephone nor direct cable service, the only indication of conditions there were the radio-tele-phone meteorological reports The most detailed information about the hurricane yesterday came from an Aus-

tralian ship which passed through the storm centre. She reported an average wind speed of 72 miles an hour for several hours, with gusts of 105 miles an hour Later the wind dropped to about 50 miles an hour.

In Auckland, precautions were taken today to prevent damage if the storm struck. The Auckland Harbour Board brought the suction dredge in from the sandbank off Devonport, and all loose gear on the Auckland Harbour Bridge extensions was lashed down or removed.

Many families were homeless in New Caledonia today after the cyclone. Amid public complaints of the handling of relief operations, New Caledonia’s President (Mr Armand Ohlen) called an emergency meeting of the Territorial Assembly. A relief fund has been opened for victims of the cyclone, which battered New Caledonia for nine hours from midnight on Sunday. Roofs were tom off scores of houses, and dwellings were flooded as the cyclone raged through Noumea, the administrative capital. Water and power were cqt in most of Noumea.

Houses will be without piped water until Wednesday because the main pipelines from the reservoir burst. Noumea’s central park was devastated. Huge trees were uprooted and two television transmitters were snapped off by high winds. The damage inland is still not known because communications to some centres are still cut. High seas continue to batter Noumea’s waterfront, where heavy damage has been caused to industrial and waterside warehouses.

Many barges ran aground and many pleasure craft sank at their moorings.