WHIRLWIND’S HAVOC

Greymouth Evening Star, 7 December 1929, Page 7

WHIRLWIND’S HAVOC

DAMAGE AT GREYMOUTH ROOFS AND SHEDS DESTROYED

Greymouth was visited last evening by a whirlwind which although local in character caused considerable damage along a’Course it took from the shore at Blaketown to the hills near Boddytown. Roofs, fences and trees were blown away and along a track about five chains in width, the debris left by the miniature tornado was perhaps more noticeable than after the earthquake. Nor-west weather brought rain in the afternoon and towards evening the clouds were very heavy and were racing across driven by a gale. Shortly before 7.30 p.m., there was a lull and then came a torrential downfall and wind from the south-west. Just prior to this deluge a big dark column was noticed travelling over the sea from the south-west and those who witnessed it are of general opinion that it was a waterspout. If it was it burst off shore and accounted for the very he'avy downpour, afterwards developing into a whirlwind which changed course to east southeast and struck Blaketown in- the locality of the residences of Messrs George McGirr and Frank Graham in Blake Street. It came without warning and caused so much havoc in a few moments that people became much alarmed. Roofs were wrenched off, chimneys crashed, windows facing west were smashed, and for a short period pandemonium reigned much to the alarm of people in the locality. There was hardly a house in the track of the whirlwind which escaped damage. At Mr McGirr’s the lean-to roof over two rooms at the back yas wrenched off and the sheets of iron whirled skywards together with some timber until from Greymouth, the flying debris resembled a flight of birds. Mr McGirr was in an outhouse when the wind struck it, tore the roof away, blew the building over and precipitated Mr McGirr through the aperture where the roof had been. He was lucky to escape with some minor cuts on the face. Several windows were broken in his house and a tank was blown down. Next door, at Mr Graham’s a washhouse was blown from the back yard and was jammed up against the house. Chimneys and windows also suffered there. Mr J. Weaver’s dwelling seemed to be just on the fringe of the course taken by the whirlwind but it was also damaged. As the whirling column continued on its way it caused further damage to the "residences of Messrs J. Crooks, and W. Curry and it then lifted Mr Sheahan’s wash-house and carried it nearly 200 yards before letting it drop into the lagoon. By this time the ..wind had hoisted a considerable amount of debris and there was considerable risk of injury from falling sheets of iron, fence palings and other timber. The force of the wind can be gauged from the fact that one sheet of iron was driven so hard into a post that it required considerable effort to remove it. As the whirlwind passed across the lagoon it caused a big wave which washed the eastern bank to a considerable extent before receding. One resident of Blaketown was on Preston Road Bridge when the centre of the disturbance reached that point and he had to hang on to the hand rails to prevent himself being blown into the lagoon. After that the track _ lay across clear land and water until it reached Cowper Street.

COWPER STREET DAMAGE. The whirlwind caused the greatest damage in its path across the middle residential area of the town. It struck a house situated on the Cowper Street terrace, and occupied by Mr H. Rattray, with terrific force, lifting the whole roof clean off, whirling: the iron across the back of Franklin street residences and on to the rear of houses in High Street. The. house which is owned by Mr R. W. Baumgart, of Murray Street, is comparatively new. Mr .and Mrs Rattray were at home at the time of the visitation, and were naturally amazed to find their home minus its roof. The wind rushed on over Cowper Street, in an easterly direction, and parallel to Franklin Street, over Sawyer’s Creek and Kilgour Road and into the hills, tearing up trees and lifting off roof-iron, which, with loose timber lying about, was whisked up and carried over the hills. The miniature cyclone spent itself on the hills behind the Rifle Range, its end offering an awe-inspiring bight to many 'people in the Marsden Road area. It was fortunate that as it neared the hills its force subsided, and around Kilgour Road little damage was done. Houses adjacent to Mr Rattray s were damaged to a minor' degree. At Mrs Griffen’s a brick chimney was demolished, and at Mr J. Kay’s windows were broken. Mr Sullivan, on the opposite side of the street, lost a few sheets of roof iron. Considerable damage was done to the outbuildings and fence of Mr T. S. Brebner’s property. Small trees were bowled over like ninepins. Three homes in the path of the wind, in High Street occupied by Braidwoods, Cauleys, and Hassals —were damaged, Mr Braidwood losing a considerable portion of his roof. Outhouses and trees in the back gardens of several homes were blown down. Flying debris smashed several windows in the Technical School woodwork and cookery building, while a couple of sheets of iron were lifted from the roof and whirled away. The residences on that side of Franklin Street were “visited,” outhouse roofs and loose verandahs being demolished.

KILGOUR ROAD AREA. After cutting a neat path through the trees bordering Sawyer’s Creek, the wind passed over the rear of Kilgour Road residences, doing some damage to roofs and wireless masts. Mr Nichol’s house, in Kilgour Road, suffered most, no fewer than eight sheets of iron joining the rest as they sailed off ovei* the hills, some so far up that they resembled birds caught in the storm. Mr E. Moss, in Kilgour Road, had one of his tall wireless poles almost doubled. One of the old trees on the corner of Mr Badger’s property was felled to the ground. Other Cowper Street homes damaged slightly either through out-houses

being demolished or gardens torn up, included Mi’ Pascoe’s, and' Mr Davis’s (near Dixon Park). Mr Rattray, with the help of neighbours, erected a temporary tarpaulin roof over his home. One peculiar result of the force exerted by the wind was felt, in two ’buses, one plying along High Street and the other in Blaketown. Both were turned half-round, without the aid of the driver, and passengers were considerably unnerved by the experience. The houses in the vicinity of the whirlwind’s path were shaken as if by an earthquake. Many fences were torn up and an electric power pole, near Mr Rattray’s house, was all but levelled. As news of the damage done spread about the town, a big crowd soon gathered round the affected area. As the force of the wind expended itself on the hills it seemed to draw a huge mass of black clouds down into the valley, at a terrific speed. The accompanying storm seemed to centre round the hills behind Boddytown. Clouds were driven from all directions to this point, where an incessant and unusually heavy downpour was experienced. The gale died down a few hours after, being followed by a welcome calm. Similar occurrences have been experienced before in Greymouth. Last year a small whirlwind rooted up trees below Cowper Street south and lifted roof-iron off a few houses. About fifteen years ago a more severe visitation caused considerable damage in Herbert Street and to the Victoria Park grandstand. That last night’s whirlwind was of sufficient force to lift a roof from a house is probably explained by the fact that Mr Rattray’s house, situated over the edge of the terrace, would receive the force of the wind’s uplift as it struck the bank. TELEPHONES AND TELEGRAPHS. As regards the damage to telephone and telegraph systems, the Chief Postmaster (Mr H. G. Davis) stated that the circular swirl and uplift of the cyclone confined the damage to one clearly-defined track. Striking Blaketown fil'st, it occupied its largest circle and did considerable damage. At Cowper Street, it was practically confined between two poles opposite the homes occupied by Messrs Rattray, Kay, and Mrs Griffen. These being open lines were practically demolished, but in High Street the overhead cable stood the test. Minor damage only was done in Kilgour Road, where flying sheets of iron and tree branches broke the wires. It is expected that complete restoration will be effected to-day. So far as can be ascertained, the visitation was purely, local, and beyond the heavy stormy weather along the whole coast, nothing in the nature of that experienced at Greymouth has been reported. APPEAL FOR RELIEF. The Member for Westland _ (Mr J. O’Brien) despatched the following telegram to-day to the Prime Minister (Sir Joseph Ward): —“Several houses here that were previously damaged by the earthquake were again badly damaged by cyclone last evening. Some owners are unfortunately unable to repair the 1 damage. Can you possibly arrange that the local Earthquake Relief Committee grant similar relief as was given to earthquake sufferers? The total cost will not be very great. Kindly reply at vour earliest convenience.”

BRITAIN’S GREAT STORM LIFE AND PROPERTY LOSSES. (Official Wireless.) RUGBY, December 5. Several lives were lost and widespread damage was done to property on land and sea by the worst storm for many years. A violent south-westeily gale swept over the British Isles on Wednesday night, and continued with unabated fury throughout the greater part of the day. In. the Channel and North Sea, extremely heavy seas are running, and much of the shipping made for shelter, where available. The fishing trawlers reached Hull in a battered condition, the crews describing the gale as being as bad as any they had ever experienced. Near Bristol, railway traffic was suspended by a steel crane having been blown down on to the line.

The gale was accompanied by torrents of rain which helped to increase the flooded areas, particularly in the Thames Valley. The velocity of the wind varied, but some parts of the country gusts exceeding 90 miles an hour were registered, and in many places between 70 and 80 miles. Warnings of the approach of the bad weather were given by wireless on Wednesday night, and small vessels remained in the harbour, but many cargo ships were disabled, and passenger ships were heavily The liner “Rbnchi,” on arrival at Plymouth, reported the seas in the English Channel were the worst encountered for years.

The British steamer Frances Duncan foundered off Land’s End. Five survivors were picked up by another British steamer which went to her assistance.

When the storm was at its height, wireless report’s stated that the French steamer Caibroune and the British steamers Vai Acia and Rowanburn were out of control, owing to damaged steering gear. The Danish steamei* Helene reported its engines were completely disabled. Appeals from the Danish steamer Guecho brought two tugs from Swansea to her assistance. The Swedish motor vessel Balaklava reported a hurricane had damaged her bridges and flooded her cabins amidships, causing delay. Lifeboats were called out during the day from several stations around the British coasts. Two houses in London and x several in other towns collapsed, and many cases of trees, hoardings and walls being blown down are reported. The roads in several parts were temporarily blocked by fallen trees, and the London—Bournemouth railway f raff) <?

was delayed three hours owing to a tree falling across the rails. The flooding of a suburban line near New Beckenham, in Kent, necessitated the cutting off of the current for electrical trains. A large number of telephone wires were brought down by the storm. The Newhaven-Dieppe steamer services were cancelled, and the Folke-stone-Boulogne services were diverted via Dover. Anxiety regarding the floods in the lower reaches of the Thames was expressed in a question in the House of Commons.

The Health Minister, Mr. Greenwood, replied that the matter was under consideration, but it wa"S difficult to promise that measures could be taken to prevent floods. SPECTACULAR WRECK. LONDON, December’ 6. At the height of the gale, the collier Francis Duncan, on her way from Cardiff to Rouen, when two miles off shore, was caught in a veritable wall of water near Penzance, and she was overhceled like a child’s toy. The water closed above her. When she reappeared, she was lying on her side. She then sank in full, view of the shore and of the barque Alice Marie, which was nearby. Sixteen out of the twenty-one aboard were drowned. Most of them were trapped below, but, by a miracle, five were saved, thanks to the pluck, quickness and remarkable seamanship of the Alice Marie. It was a vivid drama to those ashore, watching first the Francis Duncan’s fight against the gale, then the disaster, and finally the astonishing rescue.

TWENTY-SIX DEATHS REPORTED.

MANY NARROW ESCAPES. (Official Wireless.) RUGBY, December 6. Nineteen lives were lost at sea in yesterday’s great gale, and seven deaths due to the storm occurred on land, while there were many cases of injury and scores of narrow escapes. Three Dublin fishermen were drowned within a few hundred yards of Dublin during the storm. The wind was at its greatest velocity at Falmouth, where gusts of 94 miles hourly were registered. The air, steamboat and railway services were in varying degree interrupted by the storm and telephone communication was dislocated. Although no town was isolated, 128- main trunk lines were out of order, and 1000 London subscribers’ lines were dbwn. Flooding in many parts of the country became worse yesterday, owing to heavy rains and many roadways weer temporarily submerged. The position in Thames Valley is being watched with some anxiety. The river rose further yesterday and the level is expected to be higher to-day. Survivors of the Francis Duncan refer to the gallantry of Captaiii_Blaylock and the crew of the Adele Marie, and the superb seamanship with which she was handled. They stated that while he manoeuvred to get near the capsized steamer, the Adele Marie was not only continually in grave danger from mountainous seas, which iswept over her, but had to get perilously near the Longship Rocks. The Adele Marie had to make many attempts before she could get a line to the five men clinging to the keel of tlie wreck, and immediately they had been taken off the wreck sank. The survivors included the captain, who is unable to swim. The weather forecast promises severe southerly gales, particularly in the Southern Irish Sea, English Channel, and Southern North Sea. NEWFOUNDLAND SCHOONERS. ST. JOHN (Newfoundland) Dec. 6. Of ten missing Bonevista-bound schooners, eight have been reported though four were lost and the crews rescued. Others were battered.