ANOTHER SHAKE

Evening Post, Volume CV, Issue 88, 13 April 1923, Page 8

ANOTHER SHAKE

EARTHQUAKE THIS MORNING MILD SHOCK IN CITY. An earthquake shock was felt in Wellington and other parts of the Wellington Province at about 3.30 o'clock this morning. The records of the shake, as observed at the ivelburn Observatory, do not afford much information, beyond the fact that the exact time of the tremor was 26£ minutes past 3. There was no preliminary' vibration, the shock commencing quite suddenly and gradually dying away. Some people report that they' felt two shocks; but in most parts of the city only one definite shock was sensed. The duration of the tremor was about thirty or forty seconds. The Government Seismologist (Dr. C. E. Adams) stated to-day that it waß quite impossible to hazard any opinion as to the point of origin of the shake, which was not recorded so well as the Friday night shock felt about a month ago, two days prior to the big 'quake. The direction of the motion was also difficult to detect, ■ and was not apparent from his record instruments. One machine showed a slight tilt of the ground to the south, but the second, which was set at right angles to it, showed nothing definite. Press Association telegrams from Taihape, Waipawa, Waipukurau, Eltham, Wanganui, and Masterton state that shocks were felt at about the same time as the Wellington disturbance. Taihape states that the shock was prolonged and severe, and occurred at 3.29 a.m. Waipawa gives the time as 3.25, and states that the shock was sharp. Waipukurau describes the shake as severe, and says that it was felt at about 3.30, and lasted some seconds. No damage is reported from Eltham, where it was also severe, and waß recorded at 3.30. A similar message has been received from Wanganui, where, it is stated, the shock was prolonged and severe. Masterton gives the time at 3.28, and says the shake was severe.

Mr. Fr.R. Field, who recently predictod that a mild shock of earthquake Would happen in Wellington about 12th April, stated to a "Post" reporter today that privately he had told some of his friends thiß week that there would be a gentle shock on Tuesday night. "I did not feel it myself," Baid Mr. Field, "but was informed on the followingl day (Wednesday) that there had been a shake in the early hours of that morning. I was more inclined to think, then, that this later shock of this morning would occur after midnight, and had actually told people privately that the shock predicted previously for the 12th would occur after midnight. There is nothing really wonderful about ■ predicting earthquakes; it is simple as A B C. First of all, I found that by comparing the solar records of the past 150 years with the conspicuous earthquakes of the same period that earthquakes invariably occurred during the particular part of the sun's cycle of variation, which amounta to rather more than eleven years. Having found this, I knew that an earthquake season for the world was now starting, and I ventured to predict earthquakes for South America, Southern Europe, New Zealand and ' Southern Europe, a<rain. Then, believing that further ; shocks would:, occur in New .Zealand, I 'had grave-fears for the safety of Wellington. Local investigations, however, indicate that serious earthquakes • here are not likely to occur because there is unmistakable evidence that the dearth's crust at this part of New Zealand has been rising for a very long time vast and no eerions earthquakes can .occur again apparently until the crust begins to fall. It is practically .certain that the crust can never fall again to the extent of the 95ft that it has recently risen. Still, we may expect to find at some tiioe in the future that some'gradual fall will take place and this will come about through the disturbance of the earth's crust elsewhere in this part of the world. There is unmistakable connection between solar activity and the working of the earth's interior, as well as our atmosphere. The excessive discharges of 'solar electricity accountable for this does not come from the sunspots or faculae themselves, but .from the .enormous flames or. prominences that rise from these things upwards through 1 the lower insulating atmosphere of the sun. These sunspots and faculae may be seen upon tfie sun's face-, for. about a week before any effect- from them is felt unpn the earth and the parts of the earth affected will depend upon the latitude of the solar disturbances."