Still Another Tornado

Manawatu Times, Volume 61, Issue 75, 30 March 1936, Page 6

Still Another Tornado

Greymouth Badly Battered

ALARMING EXPERIENCE IN CATHOLIC CHURCH

Per Press Association. GREYMOUTH, Last Night,

The south-westerly gales culminated. at 8.50 this morning in a tornado which caused several thousand pounds damage m Greymouth. Its course from Blaketowu beach, through the centre of the town, and over the hills to Omoto, was clearly marked by unroofed structures, levelled radio poles, fences, trees and gardens. The large congregation in St. Patrick’s Church wiere alarmed when a large portion of the roof was tom away with a fearful crash. The tall steeple gable was lifted 18 inches in places.

A two-storey iron and wooden structure in Arncy street, the workshop of John Hart, building contractor, was completely wrecked aud tho Opera House lost a portion of its rooting, while its adjacent compartments were moved ou their foundations, though the main structure is reported to have been unaffected in this respect.

Police-Sergeant Isbister’s residence in Arncy street was pushed out of alignment and strained. Tho Catholic presbytery roof was considerably damaged, while tho Duke of Edinburgh

Hold chimney crashed through a garage, wrecking a new motor-car. Tho Park Hotel gable was lifted IS inches, while the bond stores of Griffon aud Smith, Ltd., also Duncan McLean, were considerably damaged. The plateglass windows of tho Greymouth Motors in Tainui street, also Lima’s Buildings were smashed. The electric system, also the telephones, were interrupted but were restored by midday. A tree in Petrio avenue, 2J’t. Gin. in. diameter, snapped at the butt.

At Blakolown the surf club pavilion was demolished, but tho tornado was fairly high in that locality. .Tho old bus garage there, used by women bathers for dressing, was carried 100 yards and smashed up. Residences uuroofed and damaged otherwise in Blaketowu wero those of \V. Anderson, J. Sheahan, Airs B'crt Williams and Airs AicDonald. Several other houses received lesser damage. A yacht in Blaketowu lagoon overturned, and on the bank the timber stacks of Stratford, Blair and Co., wero whirled in all directions, and the drying sheds unroofed.

Thence the tornado struck Hart’* workshop and also partly unroofed tho residence of Mr E. Jones in Arncy street. Flying glass from a window cut Airs Jones above the eye and also cut Aliss Jones’ lace. A lorry parked beside Hart’s was propelled nearly 100 yards out in the street.

Several other Arncy street houses were damaged, including Sergeant isbister’s, while telegraph and electric poles there snapped off. The Unemployment Board’s, shed next to the county chambers was battered in aud the borough council dray sheds wore Unroofed and partly demolished. Kennedy Bros.’ garage in Boundary street lost a window and doors, and two ears were damaged in the garage. The chimney of the lire station was decapitated. The next place damaged was Airs Brown’s two-storey place in Herbert street, which was partly unroofed. The wind then hit the bond stores mentioned, the Park Hotel and the Oddfellow’s’ hall, tho last-named losing part of the rooting, while the chimney w 7 as deposited in an adjacent yard.

Mr E. Macklaud’s residence in Guinness street lost its verandah, which was torn away and deposited 100 yards away on a housetop. The Lyceum hall ucarby lost its windows, also the (Salvation Army hall. A stack of sheet iron in Guinness street was whisked away and some of the sheets were wrapped around telegraph poles. The storeroom of Walter Bros., tea merchants, was then unroofed, along with a purtion of the Duke of Edinburgh Hotel, where Mr E. M. Good, a lodger sleeping in oiic of the bedrooms, was struck by glass scattered from a smashed window. Damage was also done to the Foresters’ hall and the residence of Mr Uordou Patterson in Albert street, while nearby a dwelling next to the Opera House was uuroofed, also McGlashan’s garage in Tainui street.

Then the tornado damaged Mrs Emily Nyberg’s residence before striking the Catholic Cliureh, and afterwards damaged the dwellings of Messrs Matthews and Yaxley, also tlie Marist Brothers’ residence, before passing over the hills to Ornoto, where it uprooted trees at the racecourse. Three vessels in the roadstead, the Kaimiro, Kanna and Kaimai, put well out to sea.

The weather has continued squally and cold.