Kinrara Place recovers

Press, 21 January 1983, Page 1

Kinrara Place recovers

Kinrara Place in Halswell looked like a tent settlement last evening, a day after a tornado ripped through its houses.

Almost every house, garage, and garden shed was damaged. The buildings were draped in green and orange tarpaulins. Some houses had almost disappeared under the coverings, but the tarpaulins proved their worth last evening — there was a light shower in Halswell at 8 p.m., and a heavy shower from 9 p.m. to 9.40 p.m. Broken glass, tiles, and debris still littered the road.

Groups of sightseers filed quietly round the small cul-de-sac, almost disbelieving the destruction wrought by Wednesday evening’s wind. Manv broken windows

were covered with sheets of iron or wood. Fences had been flattened, broken, or twisted. The streets were lined with piles of trees, branches, and debris waiting to be collected. Several big trees lay where they had fallen. Sheets of iron still rested in some tree-tops.

The Red Cross emergency relief team arrived on the scene soon after the storm struck. Its members worked through the night to help residents cover their houses with tarpaulins. The organisation pitched a 60 sq m. tent on an empty section at the corner of Kinrara Place and Halswell Junction Road, as a base for the mopping-up work yesterday.

The Red Cross also fed emergency workers and residents unable to prepare their own meals.

The secretary-manager of the Red Cross, Mr J. R. Mahoney, said that it was planned to keep a team in Halswell until 5 p.m. today, unless it was needed longer. Mr Mahoney said the residents had "coped quite magnificently.” "I though there would have been quite a bit of trauma and shock but they were quite cheerful considering the damage,” he said.

The Red Cross tent was also used as a meeting place for residents, insurance companies, and local-body representatives.

The co-ordinator of the emergency services at the

scene, Sergeant R. G. Gargett, of the Christchurch police, praised the way services had responded and worked together. A small police team was at Halswell until 1 p.m. yesterday to co-ordinate the clean-up. The Railways gave tarpaulins to the police for distribution.

The Paparua County Council, Ministry of Transport, and the Post Office also helped to restore services to the area. It was thought it would be several days before all the debris has been cleared away.

Sergeant Gargett said that all residents had been found places to stay until they could return to their houses. A Social Welfare Depart-

ment representative was ensuring that everyone had a place to stay. A special security patrol was to make regular checks of damaged houses last evening to prevent looting. The patrols would continue today.

Power in the area was restored by 4.30 a.m. yesterday. Fifty-five sub-stations were out of action at the peak of the storm. Most of the damage to lines was centred in the area of Halswell Road, Halswell Junction Road, Milnes Road, and Nash Road.

Linemen repaired 20 of the sub-stations by 10.50 p.m. on Wednesday and the rest progressively until 4.30 a.m. yesterday.

Damaged street lights were repaired yesterday.