A TERRIFYING EXPERIENCE

Evening Star, Issue 18158, 26 December 1922, Page 3

A TERRIFYING EXPERIENCE

SEVERE QUAKE IN CHRISTCHURCH. BUILDINGS ROCK ALARMINGLY. THE CATHEDRAL DAMAGED. SMASHING GLASS AND FALLING CHIMNEYS. GREAT FISSURES ON THE BEACHES. ... [Pir Usnio Press Association.] CHRISTCHURCH, December 25. A very severe and prolonged earthquake shock was experienced about five minutes past 5 this afternoon', the direction being apparently northwards. It caused considerable consternation, and it is feared that-there must Kave been a goodi deal of damage in the country districts, but only meagre particulars are available. Tne account to 5 p.m. states that the Christchurch Cathedral bells were set ringing. and in houses pictures and crockery were smashed. The shock was felt severely in the Christchurch ‘Press’ Company’s big building. Some of the ornamental masonry on the front facing Cathedral square broke awav. and a large portion crashed! through the‘timber work of the election dismay beard on to the pavement below. The Government buildings opposite the ‘Press’ Office in Worcester street rooked alarminflv, and onlookers thought that the whole structure would open up. the roar of the quake. PATIENT DIES OF SHOCK. One of the patients in the Christchurch Hospital, who was in a low state, died as a result of shock following the terrifying experience. . • Telephone messages from Rangiora state that, the shock was the moat severe one ever felt there. At the Junction Hotel _ all the masonry in the front part of the building fell across the street.' smashing the verandah and doing other damage. At the Farmers' 00-operative Stores in Rangiora plate-glass windows were extensively cracked, and considerable damage was done to the big stock of glassware and crockery, which was thrown from the shelves to the floor. In the Red Lion Hotel all the bottles in the bar crashed to the floor. Levelling of chimneys is reported everywhere. and glasshouses also suffered severely. At Waiuka and Sonthbrook, near Rangiora. it is reported that every chimney in the two townships is down. At, Waiuku Beach, where there were 'Hundreds of picnickers, great fissures opened on the beach, through which the =ea water forced its wav. There were about ICO motor cars parked on the beach, and they were all surging during the quake. ... People who rushed from- their houses in Christchurch describe the roar _of the quake in the distance as awe-inspiring. Beyond widespread damage to chimneys, Lyttelton seems to have escaped the effects of* the quake. ORIGIN IN NORTH CANTERBURY. FURTHER DISTURBANCES IMMINENT. RAILWAY LINE FLUNG INTO RIVER. CHRISTCHURCH, Dec. 25 (11 p.m.). Mr H. F. Skey, director of the_ Magnetic Observatory, stated that the violence of the earthquake shock militated against getting a complete record, the delicate recording instrument being put out of action. The waves appeared to come from the north-east. Mr Skey believes the origin of the disturbance was in the vicinity of Lake Sumner, in the Waikari district, North Canterbury, and that further disturbances, are imminent. ' , , He stated that to-day’s shake was purely local to Canterbury. The shake was severely felt at Cheviot, where the crashing of falling chimneys and the breaking of crockery sent everybody on to the streets. At Ethel ton the quake played havoc with the railway line, a portion of which was thrown into the river. There was a similar experience at the Greta Pass. _ The telephone system all over North Canterbury suffered very badly. Considerable damage was done to the _ Glenmark Anglican Church, a stone building. Fortunately this afternoon's church service had teen abandoned. The shock was severely felt at Lyttelton, where between thirty and forty chimnevs were damaged and several entirely demolished. The wharves rocked alarmingly, and vessels in the harbor swayed at their moorings. Great precautions were taken by the railway officials concerning the tunnel. A train was sent through dead' slow, and a King examined the tunnel from end to end, but there was not tho slightest sign of any damage. , , . In the Waikari township and district practically every chimney _is down. In addition to the hospital losing all its chimneys, the -big concrete water tank is badly ■c racked’. People on the pier at Sumner were made so uncomfortable by the swaying of the structure that they rushed to the esplanH A big orowd at Lancaster Park watching the cricket match treated the earthquake as a highly humorous diversion, and amused itself watching the big chimneys at the tramway power-house and the gasworks. which were rooking dangerously, nnd various ©mailer chimneys on private licuses. which showed promise of crumbling to the ground. The spectators in. the stands reoeived the full benefit of the phenomenon. ■ The damage done to the Christchurch Cathedral is estimated at £SO. A piece of masonry weighing several hundredweight crashed from the top of Lnglis’s buddings, npuosite the "White Hart Hotel, an High street. Fortunately there wore no passers-by. WOMEN HUDDLE IN' STREETS. Large numbers of cases are reported of women rushing from their houses and forming huddled groups in the roadways, where they remained until the' visitation had passed In some places trees are reported to be uprooted. TREMORS ELSEWHERE. GREYMOUTH, December 25. A prolonged earthquake was felt throughout Westland about 3.4 p.m., stopping the Grey month Post Office clock, causing two toils of the fireball, dislodging articles on shelves, and cracking a pJateglass window. The main disturbance lasted the better part of a minute, lighter tremors following. It was the heaviest shock hero for years. WESTPORT, December 25. An earthquake, almost as severe as that of February 22, 1915, was experienced in Westport at four minutes past 3 p.m. today. Westport fairly rocked for some twenty seconds, hut so far as is known no damage was dime. The town dock and dock© in homes were stopped