AN ANXIOUS NIGHT

Evening Post, Volume CXVII, Issue 55, 6 March 1934, Page 8

AN ANXIOUS NIGHT

' SERIES OF SHOCKS

(By Telegraph—Press Association.) DANNEVIKKE, This Day. From twelve minutes to midnight, Dannevirke and the surrounding districts spent an anxious night due to serious earthquakes of varying intensity. The first 'shock, which was the worst and very severe, lasted a, long time, the movement being very violent, and the noise in buildings very alarming. Many residents temporarily vacated their homes, but fortunately no individuals, so far as is known, suffered injury. It was fortunate that the earthquake occurred when the streets were practically deserted in Dannevirko, otherwise the .probabilities are that .there would have been several narrow escapes, if not fatalities. An early morning survey of the town disclosed widespread structural damage, (hough comparatively not severe. The parapet of the-"Evening

News" building, which successfully withstood the earthquake of February, 1931, crashed into the parapet of the Do Luxe dance hall, Gordon Street, and came down through the balcony and littered the footpath. Part of the parapet of the National Bank fell on to a. garden seat in the Post Office Square, and smashed it to pieces. This is a popular rendezvous during the day time._ The De Luxo picture theatre sustained some damage to the parapets at the back portion, and buildings in the business portion of the main thoroughfare suffered in various ways, some being cracked, some apparently being slightly tilted, and others having windows broken. Many articles in various places were thrown from shelves, and the contents littered the floors. The building which seems to have suffered most seriously is the Town.Hall, a big brick building, which is badly cracked along the front near the entrance door, and on the northern cornel-. A chimney crashed through the'roof of Engleoretsen's drapery shop, inside of which there was a scene of disorder, while a little further aloncr, the parapet of Girhard's butcher's shop came away and brought the verandah, down with it. The brick belfry on the top of Knox Church shows signs of damage, and may prove to be unsafe. After the Napier disaster of 1931, many parapets on business buildings were removed, and other safety measures taken. This, no doubt, considerably minimised the damage in the business area. Many chimneys are down in various parts of the town, particularly along the Terrace, though it is noticeable that most of them are old ones which, survived previous visitations. Eeports from surrounding settlements show that the main damage was to chimneys, many of which were razed. The main shock apparently came from an east-south-westerly direction, and about the middle there was a fairly violent bump. About seven or ci<*ht shakes followed before daylight, but they were not nearly so alarming as the central one. The damage must run into hundreds of pounds, but an accurate estimate at present is impossible. Many breakages occurred in private homes. The Commercial Bank, a brick building in High Street, was greatly damaged. The rear part of the south wall collapsed, smashing the ceiling of the manager's office, and sending a pile of debris on to the office furniture. Gas nttings were wrenched off. There is no structural damage of any consequence at the Post Office. At the public hospital, all the chimneys are damaged. One fell through the roof outside the building. The patients behaved admirably. Local records show that the period of the duration of the earthquake was about 80 seconds, and "the intensity on the Bossi-Forel sftile eight. Eeports from all places in the coastal area, show that chimneys are clown in all directions.