It sounded like a flood water – victims

Press, 4 December 1981, Page 1

It sounded like a flood water - victims

PA Auckland Residents of Herringson Avenue, the centre of the Grey Lynn slip yesterday, all said the slip sounded like a flood of water. Mr S. M. Manning at No. 7 said the bank gave way with a big “woosh," which sounded like water cascading down. He has lived in the area for five years and said there was a history of instability with a number of small slips, one of which two years ago demolished a garage in Shirley Road. He believes the stability of the land was damaged when excavations were made for harbour fill several years ago. Vibrations from the nearby north-western motorway may also have contributed. Inspector D. B. Smith, who arrived on the scene with fire and rescue services, said the hillside looked as though someone had "taken a bite out of a big cake." “It is just like Abbotsford," he said. Residents from Rona Avenue, Herringson Avenue, and Shirley Road were taken to the Pasadena Intermediate School Hall, which be-

came a temporary police emergency relief base. About 15 overseas visitors who were staying at the Ivanhoe Lodge in Shirley Road were among those removed. Two elderly women were taken to hospital as a precaution. Salvation Army and social workers comforted distressed residents, many of them elderly, who were still in their dressing gowns and in a state of disbelief at the events of the morning. Schoolchildren served tea, coffee, and biscuits to groups of neighbours huddled around transistors in the hall listening for developments. At 11.15 a.m. householders on the safe side of Shirley Road were allowed to return. About 90 minutes later most residents were allowed to reoccupy their homes. The occupants of 27. homes in the immediate danger zone were allowed a brief visit to gather essential items. By mid-afternoon, all but seven had been able to return home or were being looked after by friends or relatives. Then, about 2.30 p.m., the police threw the area into a

full-scale alert again after engineers discovered a leaking water main at the corner of Herringson and Rona Avenues. The whole area was cleared again and the new hitch was at the time regarded as “most serious.” Mr Smith said a crack had developed in Rona Avenue and water was bubbling out. The leak was soon directed from Herringson Avenue back up Rona Avenue away from the slip site. Just after 3.30 p.m. workmen moved on the three properties worst affected by the slip. They were soon putting new spouting on the two houses perched on the edge leading away from the slip area back on to Herringson Avenue. Less than 30 minutes later, many residents were allowed into their homes to pick up items. The new member of Parliament for Mount Albert, Mrs Helen Clark, called for a public inquiry into the disaster to consider what caused the slip and the matter of compensation for residents. The secretary of the Earthquake and War Damage Commission, Mr John Pritchard, said that Grey Lynn slip victims were not eligible for compensation for their land. Mr Pritchard said houses and outbuildings should be covered by private fire insurance but cover would not extend to the land — so far, one complete section and two backyards. The demolished house and

the two on either side are almost certain to be written off and there is a high probability that four flats which were hit by the landslide will also have to be treated as complete losses. Victims of the slip must have fire insurance on their property to qualify for compensation from the commission. Mr Pritchard said that private insurance cover for fire damage to the claim-

ants property was a prerequisite to filing a claim. The Housing Corporation has offered emergency accommodation to slip victims. A spokesman for the commission in Wellington said that claims for incidents such as the Grey Lynn slip would come from the disasters’ fund which at the end of March stood at $lO million. The actual Earthquake and War Damage Fund was $4BO million on March 31.