STRUCK BY LIGHTNING.

King Country Chronicle, Volume III, Issue 180, 9 August 1909, Page 2

STRUCK BY LIGHTNING.

Startling Occurrence near Tc Kuiti. The severe weather of the past few weeks has been unprecedented in and around Te Kuiti. During last week the rain and wind storms were supplemented by thunder and lightning, and on Thursday evening a tremendous electrical disturbance was noticeable. Exceptionally vivid lightning followed by crashing thunder peals occurred during the evening, and from time to time the thunder reverberating through the valleys like the incessant play of a battery of artillery, was reminiscent of the electrical storm of last March, when the passengers by the Main Trunk express thought the demons of the air were at war.

The centre of the disturbance last week appears to have been abou ten miles to the west of Te Kuiti, and the residence of Mr N. T. Larsen, situated on the Troopers road was struck by the lightning and suffered considerable damage. The lightning appears to have completely enveloped the house. In the front of the building above the verandah the wall of a bay window facing the East shows a gaping hole about two feet in diameter, the shattered edges of the timber bearing eloquent testimony to the power of the destroying element.

On the Northern side of the house the current apparently made impact with the building on the edge of another bay window. The stud beside the window was shattered and the house block underneath split right down. In the corner of the room a sewing machine which stood beside the window had pieces of the wood work torn out, though the metal portion of the machine is apparently uninjured. A double chimney on the Southern side of the house was demolished and the grate in which a fire was burning was hurled into the room. Behind the house is a wash house with a window facing the North, and the outbuilding suffered severely. The window was shattered and tubs under the window were splintered to matchwood. Strangely enough some clothing which was in the tubs was found to be scorched and torn at the bottom, while th» topmost articles had been thrown on to the floor. A clothesMne runs from the corner of the out house to a high limestone rock, and the lightning evidently ran along the line as the rock has been split, and a hole at its base shows where the current made impact with the earth. Between the house and the outbuilding are other holes, and in one place the trunk of a punga which formed the border of a path was cut in two, while the limestone metal on the path was scattered in all directions. The walls of the house were also splattered with earth.

It seems a miraculous circumstance that the inmates of the house escaped uninjured. Mr and Mrs Larsen and some visitors were in the kitchen at the time of the occurrence, and their little daughter was in bed in the front portion of the house. These two rooms and a back bedroom in line with the kitchen are the only rooms which escaped. A few moments prior to the happening Mrs Larsen, who had been sitting in front of the bedroom fire, went into the kitchen. The bedroom grate was hurled against the chair in which Mrs Larsen had been sitting. Fortunately the woodwork of the house did not ignite, and the fire which was scattered over the bedroom was quickly put out. The occurrence took place about half past eight in the evening. The house is a fine large residence of seven rooms, and was only erected about six months ago.