Storm in the Bay

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XVI, Issue 183, 22 July 1926, Page 6

Storm in the Bay

’ WILD SCENES AT BREAKWATER

MALSTROM OF SEETHING WAVES.

The easterly sea running in the bay yesterday increased considerably i flu ring the night and to-day from ; Cape Kidnappers to Petane a fine I sight has heen presented with the * great beach combers rolling into ; great clouds of loam high up upon ; th? beach. During the early hours ■ this morning before the tide turned, i angry seas l»roke over the sea wall well along the Marine Parade, while i portion of the Breakwater road. ! rounding the Bluff Hill was awash At the point a large hole in the footpath .about a toot deep, was scoured out. In this locality great quantities of shingle have been deposited and it was possible to walk over the wall | on to* the beach, when only a few ♦ years ago thee was a drop of at least fen feet. The damage done to I Harding road by the heavy Seas last week was inertsed this morning. At the Morgue (Siner the lashing by the waves was most violent and a large gang of men were busy making a clearance. The whole road from the Port railway station for well over half a mile was awash, and large quantities ot debris have been left strewed in all directions. The Breakwater was attacked by the mountainous seas which presented an awe-inspiring sight as they broke over the apron, sending toweri ing clouds of foam high into the air. I Practically every sea that rolls in | shuts out all view of the breakwater 1 and a constant volume of water was | pouring over its entire length the ; next sea being upon it before the last | had got clear. Looking from Glasgow wharf the breakwater resembles | a wide waterfall with a tremendous ; quantity of water flowing over. The j harbour inside this mass of concrete i resembles a maelstrom and any I vessel that had been inside would : have lieen dashed to instant destruci lion. The great surge go» n £ 0,1 ; side caused by the range coining in j round the end of the Breakwriter was considerably added to by the seas breaking over which swept across towards Glasgow wharf in quite larg* waves. Those who have had U *s

that the breakwater when competed would afford a safe shelter io shipping without the structure being raised must have had their hopes sadly shattered when they viewed the wave-lashed basin at the mercy of the tempestuous seas. Had it not been for the many and costly massive concrete blocks which were recently placed on the apron by the Harbour Board the safety of the Breakwater would have been greatly imperilled. No matter how the harbour there was completed the seas running to-day would have endangered any shipping likely to lx? inside through the towering waves which were incessantly rolling over. CALM IN INNER HARBOUR At the Inner Harbour, however, the same stormy conditions did not prevail and vessels which were moored there yesterday remained at their berths to-day. there not being any cause for alarm whatsoever. Very little surge was noticeable and in its incomplete state safety to shipping was afforded.

VESSEf.S FORCED TO SHELTER.

Owing to the rough weather the Port Pirie. which was anchored at the roadstead was obliged to leave and take shelter out in the bay. Since one o’clock the heavy seas running this morning have increased very considerably and the sea wall, extending from the baths past the Courthouse and well along the Parade is awash. The beach is covered with all kinds of debris. During the storm in May 1921. considerable damage was done to the Petane beach near the beacon, when th eroad and railway line were awash for about half a mile. Fortunately, the seas to-day have not yet broken over, and communication has not I heen interrupted. High tide is expected about three o’clock this afternoon and it is feared that the damag o which occurred this morning will l>e added to. ■ •

! At Omaha two policemen, Cormacli i and Davis, on special duty searching for illicit stills, raided one place and as‘a result of testing the liquor went went on a wild career of shooting, which ended only when their ammunition was exhausted. They killed two men and a woman and wounded five, others, three seriously- Davis is expected to die of wounds received while being subdued. A Hong Kong cable announces that the storm damages is estimated' at 1,000,000 dollars. Shipping was entirely unaffected. The Brewers’ Exhibition is holding the usual colonial wine compelitiom; on December 30, states • a London cable. Entries close on October IS. Tn view of the increasing interest in Empire wines, the directors have decided that the competing wines will be publicly displayed with the awards, instead of being shown only to dealers, as hitherto. They will also give facilities for the distribution of literature supplied by the competitors. The western half of the United States during the past 36 hours has been sweltering under an intense heal wave. This was partially broken by rain on Tuesday. The d'Mtlh total is 26. A Reuter message from Tokio states that a censorship has been imposed suppressing all nows from Nagano pending the completion of an official investigation.