FIERCE GALE

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXI, Issue 21549, 31 October 1944, Page 4

FIERCE GALE

TREES BLOWN DOWN HAVOC IN MARLBOROUGH (P.A.) BLENHEIM, Oct. 30. Marlborough experienced one cl the worst gales in its history in the early hours of yesterday morning. As a result, many hundreds of trees were blown down, particularly on the Wairau Plain, and Havoc was caused to local and inter-island telephone communications and power lines. With very little warning, the gale broke out of the north-west a few minutes before one o'clock, when a gust of 70 miles an hour was registered at Woodbourne air station. During the next 31 hours there were a dozen gusts of over 60 miles per hour, the worst being one of 68 miles per hour Practically all the damage was caused by trees, mostly pines, which went down like ninepins. On one quarter-mile stretch of highway near Delta Air Force camp hundreds ,of 60ft pines were torn out. A large roadside plantation was sent crashing over the 33-000-volt main electric feeder, also breaking the telephone cables connecting Blenheim and the West Coast. One steel electric tower was bent right over. A scene of indescribable confusion was created. The inter-island telephone circuits were severed north and south of Kaikoura. where trees also crashed over the lines.

Fallen trees blocked many roads in the district, and but for the fact that there was practically no traffic when the storm broke loss of life might easily have resulted.