CURIOUS BARRED

Dominion, Volume 24, Issue 112, 5 February 1931, Page 10

CURIOUS BARRED

Restriction of Traffic PERMITS NEEDED Dannevirke the Limit No one will be allowed to proceed further than Dannevirke without a permit. This restriction has been announced by the Police Department. Permits are being issued by the Health Department. A team of traffic inspectors from the staff of the Wellington Traffic Department was sent to Hawke’s Bay to take control of the traffic management at vantage pointu on the main road between Wellington and Napier. It was feared that many car-owners would seize the opportunity of proceeding to the devastated area out of mere curiosity, and so obstruct the roads and make demands on the available accommodation, food and petrol supplies, which will be needed for the people concerned and the workers who are assisting them. Instructions were issued to the inspectors to turn back any motorists who are not provided with passes (which are being issued by the Health Department) or who have not urgent business connected with people or places in the stricken area; and also to keep the roads clear for the ambulances, and such cars as are engaged in rescue work. WAIROA’S PLIGHT Railway Tunnel Collapses ESCAPE THROUGH FISSURE By Telegraph—Press Association. Wairoa, February 4. Yesterday’s was the severest shake in the history of the district. No chimneys are left standing, and whole buildings have been demolished. All land communications to the south are cut off, and miles of road have been obliterated. The town bridge is all but gone. The Mohaka railway tunnel collapsed, and the workmen escaped through an 18in. fissure. The Diomede is proceeding to Waikokopu -to pick up medical relief for Napier. . ' __ The railway line from Wairoa to Kote Maori is twisted in all directions. Lorries, cars, and passengers are marooned at intervals between Wairoa and Napier. There are road blockages everywhere, but the Public Works engineer has every available railway worker engaged clearing slips. The road has gone into the river in several places. Provided there is no further damage, it is expected that cars may be able to get through in a few days. It is reported that the : whole face of the country has changed. In several places small hills have completely disappeared. ... , A huge meeting of citizens was. held yesterday afternoon, . and committees were organised for light, water, and food, as the electric power and water system has been cut off. The transformers at the sub-stations were turned topsy-turvy, and water pipes were smashed. The telephone is also out of action, and wires and poles are down. REMINDER OF WAR Scenes at Waipukurau WOUNDED BEING CLEARED Dominion Special Service. Waipukurau, February 4. A clearing station reminiscent of the war is working splendidly at Waipukurau. Ambulances and lorries are arriving from the stricken area conveying injured. They are received into an ambulance station fitted up in large sample rooms, where doctors and nurses attend them until dispatched by trains south. An endless stream of traffic passing through the town tells of the general exodus from Hastings and Napier. Further details of the Waipawa damage show that practically all business premises are seriously damaged beyond repair and rebuilding is necessary. Rust’s bakery and confectionery business is in ruins. Burkin’s shoe store collapsed and seriously injured the proprietor. Shopkeepers state the losses in buildings and stock-in-trade are enormous. . In both Waipukurau and Waipawa many slept in the open last night. ESCAPE BLOCKED Trapped in Crumbling Building Trapped in a crumbling building in Napier, Air. R. Webb, of Delmonte and Patience, Ltd., Wellington, had a narrow escape from injury, if not death. Relating his experiences, Mr. Webb said he was in Ritchie’s sample rooms when the disaster happened. Suddenly the building started to sway, and the roof fell in. He thought that by jumping out into a right-of-way used for hauling up goods, he could make an escape. The way, however, was blocked by falling debris. He tried to get out through the front of the building without success. Eventually he reached the street through n back stairway leading into the basement of Ritchie’s crockery shop. The dust was so thick that it was almost impossible to see anything. The main street was a scene of desolation. Buildings, tramway wires and telegraph poles were down, the town resembling an area that had been severely bombarded. Women and children were rushing about, the majority making for the beach.

EXCURSION CANCELLED The Union Company advise that owing to the Hawke’s Bay disaster the Tamahine excursion from Wellington to Pelorus Sound on Saturday, February 7, has been cancelled. The first excursion of this season will now be from Wellington on Saturday, February 2L