CYCLONIC GALE SWEEPS NORTH ISLAND

Northern Advocate, 4 February 1936, Page 6

CYCLONIC GALE SWEEPS NORTH ISLAND

TREMENDOUS DAMAGE IN MANAWATU & TARANAKI AREAS

FURY OF STIM LEAVES WIDESPREAD TRAIL OF HAVOC .

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ition.- -Copyright.!

rpHE WEEK-END GALE, WHICH

Peculiarly, Faxton escaped the full fury of the hurricane, but as one proceeded further south again evidence

DEVASTATED THE NORTH, WAS ALMOST DOMINION-WIDE, AND ACCOUNTS FROM SOUTHERN CENTRES SHOW THAT THE SEVERITY OF THE CYCLONE WAS EVEN GREATER THAN IN NORTHLAND.

of the destructive force of the. visita-

tion was evident in the vicinity of Manakau, Kuku, and Levin, where Maori houses suffered considerably.

60 Mile an Hour Gale,

One man was killed in the storm at Palmerston North, which was one of the worst ever experienced there.

Many trees are down in Napier as

the result of the gale reaching 60 miles an hour. Electric light and telephone lines are out of order in many places. Losses suffered by stock are not known. It is understood the damage was most severe in fruit growing /areas, which are at present difficult of access. )

Terrific southerly gusts, accompanied by torrential rain, did incalculable damage. Shortly after nine o’clock on Sunday motning a tragedy marked the storm when Mr Benjamin Arthur Miller, aged 72, living at Elmira Avenue, was struck on the head by a piece of iron off a roof which he was attempting to repair. Mr Miller was knocked to the ground and killed instantly. He leaves a widow and an adult family. Houses Unroofed. Many houses have been wholly or partly unroofed. Damage to trees, gardens and orchards is enormous. Telephone, telegraph and power lines bestrew the roads. Poles are broken everywhere. The power supply was interrupted for several" hours, and telephone and telegraph communication was badly disorganised, but is now being rapidly restored. Most parts of the city were in darkness, but the service was speedily restored at essential points, including the hospital. Many thousand pounds would not cover the total damage. Some property owners face very heavy loss. - Experiences during the height of the storm were nerve-racking in the extreme. Fury of the Gale. Much evidence of the fury of the gale was seen at the A. and P. showgrounds. The entire roof of the large

No damage is reported to bridges, but plant was washed away from bridge works in progress. Waters swept over 4he plains with terrifying suddenness, and in places the flood level was higher than during any similar visitation since 1897. Harbour works are not affected. Railway Blocked. A New Plymouth message says a raging storm swept the eastern districts of Stratford and Ohura , and played havoc with spoil on the steep faces of cuttings and hillsides along the line, chiefly between Tangarakau and Mangapara, 10 miles south of Ohura, sending hundreds of yards of spoil—some of it a mass of live and dead timber —crashing on to the permanent way, definitely to seal , it. The largest slip occurred at the Heao end of No. 9 tunnel. Hundreds of cubic yards of spoil, choked with timber, filled the cutting to a depth of 20 feet over an area estimated to be one chain wide and two chains long.

Another big slip estimated to be 500 cubic yards ’completely blocked the line just north of Tangarakau. Three feet of water was running through the tunnel, and the stream is strewn with timber throughout the tunnel.

- main stand,' which faces the south, was blown off. Iron and timber were scattered over a wide area. • Damage is estimated at several hundreds. At the sports ground, in Fitzherbert Avenue, where the M.C.C. cricket match is set down for Tuesday, the whole upper work of the stand was wrecked, and large parts were flicked about like pieces of paper, to land several chains away. One section landed on the roof of a nearby house and crashed through the roof. It was then lifted again and tossed against the next residence.' Terrifying Experience, At Longburn residents had a terrifying experience. Large trees were down everywhere. The hall was unroofed, and St. Chad’s Church was battered to pieces, only swaying walls remaining. -Debris had to be cleared off road and railway. Three railway hutments mounted on piles at the station were blown over.

Huge Slips.

At a point roughly 54 miles from Stratford, about 500 yards of earth will have to be moved to let trains through, and a quarter of a mile further north 250 yards have slipped on to the line. From there on towards Ohura slips have occurred every few miles as far as Mangapara in quantities estimated at 50 yards, 200 yards, 50 yards, 200 yards and 20 yards, in that order, from Heao to Mangapara’ about 70 miles from Stratford, where 20 yards landed on the line.

A works train left Stratford at four o’clock on Monday morning for Whangamomona to begin the work of clearing the line from the western end. Opunake Isolated. Opunake will be isolated by rail for about a fortnight as the result of destruction by flood waters of two piers of the small bridge near the town. Jt is understood that trains will run as usual each day this week as far as Kapuni or Pihama.

A man named Morgan, one of the occupants, received injuries and ,was taken to hospital.

Morgan’s hutment somersaulted several times, hurling him about inside with a heavy stove which became loose. Mrs Morgan had a miraculous escape.

A train left Hawera for Stratford on Sunday to connect with the New Plymouth-Taumarunui excursion train, but both trains, on reaching Stratford, were turned back to their starting points on receipt of word concerning the slips at Tangarakau. Although work trains were due to leave Taumarunui and New Plymouth this morning for Tangarakau, it is believed the trains will be unable to go through before the end of this week. Worst Seas for Decade.

She had just emerged from the hut when it was lifted. She toppled over and was blown into a clump of willows. She had to be extricated by the stationmaster.

Another hutment, occupied by a man named Donohue, was blown over, imprisoning him. He cut his way out through the floor.

Taranaki coastal waters were dimmed by the south-easterly gale into the worst seas known for a decade.

Horse Cut in Two.

Close by, on Mr W. J. Fawcett’s property, a horse was cut in two by flying sheets of iron, which were blown in all directions. They wrapped themselves like paper over wires and crossarms and around the tops Of power poles.

Four New Plymouth fishing launches were miles from port all Saturday night and grave fears are entertained for one, which is believed to be riding out the storm. Two returned after a tempestuous struggle for port. The ,28-foot launch Mokau, with her owner, Mr W. F. McLeod, of Pioneer Road, Moturoa, and his son, Angus McLeod, left about 5 o’clock on Saturday morning to fish on the south coast, nine miles from New Plymouth. A seaworthy craft, the Mokau, is stated to have left port with nine gallons of benzine, sufficient to carry her about 90 miles. She was last seen just before dusk on Saturday night, when she was sighted plunging in heavy seas about six miles off Seal Rock.

A brick chimney collapsed into the bedroom of a dwelling, but the family escaped injury. Later only four walls of the house were left standing. The scene of havoc in this area

Is almost indescribable. The high-

way runs through a tangled mass ' of iron and broken wire. Poles, trees, timber and fencing are all

in confusion.

It was remarkable there was no loss of life on the route from the city to Foxton, where there are similar scenes. It seemed as if a giant axeman had been at work. Trees and fences were levelled, crops were flattened. *

Nothing Heard of Boat.

The boat was expected honje that night, but nothing has since been heard of her, and experienced seafarers are inclined to be sceptical whether an open-cockpit launch could possibly weather the mountainous seas raging off the coast. The only hope is said to be that she has taken shelter or been blown cut to sea. It is thought that if the Mokau is afloat she has been swept by the gale to sea.

Station Disappears.

The railway station at Karejre has disappeared. A farm building was uhroofed and wrecked, Telegraph and electric lines were strewn over the roads .and many poles snapped off like carrots, making travellers most wary.

One launch owner yesterday was of the opinion that the launch might be carried as far as 80 miles from shore, so great was the velocity of the gale. Meanwhile members of the family and fellow launchmen and townspeople await anxiously for news.

Tangled Debris Which Menaced Victoria Bridge