Heavy East Coast Quake

Northern Advocate, 17 June 1947, Page 5

Heavy East Coast Quake

(P.A.) GISBORNE. This Day. Earth tremors of increasing intensity over a wide area of the East Coast late yesterday afternoon culminated in a heavy shock at 11 p.m. which felled chimneys of homes in Tokomaru Bay, Mangaroa, Mangatuna and Tolaga Bay, and caused considerable minor damage to the contents of houses and businesses.

The ’quake was centred apparently inland and v/as felt as far north as Tauranga and south to Napier, and Gisborne was rocked for 20 seconds. Tokomaru Bay received the worst shake for 20 years.

Crockery crashed from shelves. A number of brick chimneys toppled, some in the first big quake at 1 p.m, and others shortly after 5 a.m. today. Windows were broken and tanks burst in some places. At Mangaroa Station a stove weighing a ton moved two inches from its foundation. A huge slip was brought down on a hillside half a mile from the homestead. KELBURN RECORDS The shock was recorded at the Dominion Observatory at Kerourn at 10.57 last night, said the acting-Dominion Seismologist (Mr R. C. Hayes) today. Reports received by the observatory from Gisborne said there were tremors there at that time last night.

Tolaga Bay reports showed that the disturbance there was fairly severe and further north it appeared that the strength of the shock had been six on the modified Mercalli scale. “The centre seems to have been not far from the coast, but at the present stage it is not possible to say for certain where it was,” said Mr Hayes. No tremors other than the 10.57 one had yet been recorded, but the records were not dry enough for close examination.