STILL SHAKING

Dominion, Volume 24, Issue 147, 18 March 1931, Page 11

STILL SHAKING

Tiniroto District QUEER HAPPENINGS Three Types of Shocks Dominion Special Service. • Gisborne, March 17. That tbe earthquakes have not finished is clearly evident in the Tiniroto district, about 30 miles from Gisborne. Since February scores of shakes have been experienced, hardly a day passing without a disturbance. To-day appeared the first day of complete quietness, and residents were congratulating themselves when,- at 8.39 p.m., and at 8.44 p.m., two good sharp shocks were experienced. During scores of shakes since February 3, houses have rocked and several additional chimneys have come down. Residents divide the quakes into three forms: one, a sudden upward jolt; the second smooth and undulating, gradually working up to a climax and gradually dying away; and the third a gentle swing of the earth which, on occasions, continues for over ten minutes.

Settlers in the district have observed some queer things during these latest upheavals. On one occasion a number of men were working on a river bank, and, feeling a shake, looked toward the homestead, which is built on a hill. To their surprise the house was positively swinging, the chimneys having a spiral motion. It was revealed subsequently that the house had been severely shaken, crockery being smashed and a new chimney cracked throughout its length. During this tremor a shed on the bank of the river hardly moved. Three days later occupants of the homestead noticed a minor shake, but this time the full force was felt by the shed near the river; it was moved three inches off its foundations. Similar experiences have been almost general and are attributed to the varying strata of the ground in the locality. A geological survey of one property has disclosed that during the big earthquake 170,000 cubic yards of “pug” was forced up in about four minutes, while 150 . acres of flat country nearby dropped two feet, this indicating the existence of some remarkable local pressure, believed to be due to the existence of a broken reef of heavy rock running parallel to the Hangaroa River.