SEVERE STORM

Dominion, Volume 23, Issue 33, 2 November 1929, Page 12

SEVERE STORM

CYCLONIC WIND IN RESTRICTED AREA DAMAGE IN AUCKLAND SUBURBS Dominion Special Service. Auckland, November 1. Damage over a wide area was caused by an intense storm which swept several districts on the northern shores of Waltemata Harbour last night It was particularly severe in the Riverhead, Kumeu and New Lynn districts. Tn some places torrential rain followed vivid lightning. Terrified by the thought that their home was about to collapse on top of them like a house of cards, a family living in New Lynn went through a startling experience. A miniature cyclone struck the rear portion of the house, knocked down a brick chimney and lifted the roof so that the rain poured into the kitchenette, and then died away as suddenly as it had come. No one was injured, but damage to the house is estimted at £l5O. At Kumeu an old house occupied by Airs. E. W. Schrafft was in the path of the cyclone and rocked so violently that the family rushed into the open. Nine large macrocarpa trees were torn up by the roots and levelled and the same fate overtook a large lemon tree in an orchard at the same time. A herd of dairy cows had been paddocked for milking, and the animals and other stock rushed about in a panic. The cyclone had evidently swept in from the north and shifted almost as quickly as it came. The roar of the wind alarmed neighbours 300 yards away, and they were startled to see large broken branches hurtling through the air. This morning one branch was found nearly a quarter of a mile away from where it had been stripped.