THE GALE

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXI, 9 October 1928, Page 7

THE GALE

TERRIFIC GUST AT HATAITAI

TILED ROOF LIFTED BODILY POUR HOUSES DESTROYED Wellington was visited by heavy wind yesterday morning, sharing in a storm which is widely felt over tho. Dominion, states last night’s “Post.” It did damage in many places, and an incident was tho unroofing of a house. Shipping felt tho gale severely. A gust of wind struck a house in Hataitai shortly after 9 o’clock this morning; lifted the tiled roof bodily and deposited the greater portion of it on two neighbouring houses some 30 feet away. In its journey through the air the roof cut off the tops of all the chimneys on the house next door. A smaller part of it broke up, and the wind flung tiles and timber in all directions, some pieces travelling 60 yards. Those who were in the neighbourhood at the time are of the opinion that the gust was something in the nature of a .tornado. An eye-witness stated that she heard a roar, and when she looked up saw the roof rise as though it had been lifted off by hand. Pour houses were damaged. The house unroofed was owned and occupied by Mrs Emily Kate Anderson, and is No. 119, Moxliam avenue, being situated at the corner of Moxliam avenue and Goa street. There is nothing left of her house but the four walls. No. 121, Moxliam avenue, next to Mrs Alderson’s house, is occupied by Mrs Birch, and it was partly on her house and .the next, No. 123, occupied by Mr King, that the roof from No. 119 fell. The house behind Mrs Alderson’s, occupied by Mr, Morey, was extensively damaged. Not only were the roof tilgs broken, but part of the chimney from No. 119 struck the back door, and timber and glass were thrown through a small passage into the breakfastroom. Bricks from the chimney of the unroofed house were deposited on Mr Morey’s front lawn, travelling thirty feet through the air. Although all the houses were occupied at the time, no one was injured. A considerable amount of brick and mortar from the chimneys fell on to the footpath in Goa street, but no pedestrians were using the footpath then. Strangely, with the exception of a small pane of glass in the rear, all the windows of the unroofed house remained intact.

Mrs Alderson’s house presents a pitiable sight. Bricks, mortar, tiles, and timber are lying heaped in all directions over the garden' apd paths. .Inside thb plaster ceiling is broken in the hall through which the sky may be seen, and though the other rooms are at present covered by the plaster, there is not much protection from the wind and rain. The occupants were busy this morning moving out the furniture info a closed van before the rain came to spoil everything. Mrs Alderson herself was ironing in the kitchen when the wind struck the house. She described the noise as deafening. She made a quick exit through the back door, and was very fortunate in dodging tfhe ishower of debris, which fell all over the yard. One of the heaviest pieces which came down at the back was the coping, which, had it struck anyone, would have injured them badly, if not killed them outright. Neighbours were quickly on the scene, and gave Mrs Alderson attention, and lent a hand in the removal of the furniture.

A NARROW ESCAPE After 119, the house to suffer most was (probably Mr Morey’s, which is back to back to Mrs Alderson’s, and faces Hamilton road. Part of Mrs Alderson’s roof was thrown-on to Mr Morey’s, and smashed a large area of the tiles to splinters. Mr Morey’s back yard was covered with debris, and the interior of the house suffered also. Bricks from the chimney in Moxham avenue were thrown against the back door, and timber from the unroofed house crashed through the glass part of the door and covered the hall and breakfast-room with splinters. Mrs Morey is congratulating herself that she got up later than usual this morning, and consequently did not have her youngest child, a girl aged 3 years, dressed as usual by 9 o’clock. “The baby,” she said, “usually plays in the Eassage where the glass and timber fell, ut this morning 1 was late.” Mrs Morey was at the telephone when the wind came, but like the others she quickly made her way out and gave assistance. In No. 121, the house next to Mrs Alderson; the chimneys from No. 119 fell, with tiles and timber from the roof. 'Part of the iron of the unroofed house, a piece a feet long, crashed into the garden of 121, missing the house narrowly. Most damage to Mr King’s place, No. 123, was done to the concrete 'work supporting the roof, against which the roof from 119 fell. A large piece of concrete was fractured. Some of the pieces of the chimneys from No. 121 fell into Mr King’s pathway. Mrs Alderson’s house, the one which was unroofed, is a large seven-roomed dwelling, built of brick. In other parts of the city the wind has been left, but not so severely. A dwelling on the Hatailai side of the tunnel caught the wind, and half of the iron roof on the south side was torn off. Early this afternoon, when it was still blowi/ig, it looked as though more of the roof would come awav.