A TIDAL WAVE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVI, Issue 13970, 28 January 1909, Page 5

A TIDAL WAVE.

, WE BT COAST INCIDENT.

I SOME NARROW ESCAPES.

Av unusual rush of the sea a few day, ,»nsed quite a .sensation on the West Stamping- ground, and suggested tidal - - following on submarine disturbSVrite. our Northern Wairoa. corindent). Mr- T. Kcanc. who was fishthe beach, state, that the tide had 2 n running out an hour or more, and J* as standing about hall a chain trom At cliffs. Nl> previous sweep ,°.' the sea W con , e within a chain of him. bud--5 ntlv a creat sweep cum- rapidly upon v-m 'knocked him over, and dashed him Snst the cliff. When he was aide to Lin »n 1 * 1 " position there was |Jrt «t of water against the cliff. A, second wave- followed soon after the fc-t, and again knocked him over ami flashed him against the. cliff. Nine small children happened to see the wave combc and scrambled up the cliff. Iwo hildr'en were caught by the wave and washed three chains along the beach like tits of seaweed. Fortunately the water them en the beach, and did not carry them away. K little girl named Doris Xi.-ld got tangled on Mi*- Keane's fishing line, and the leek entered into the back part of one of her legs. The water receded quickly ,fter the second sweep, and no more extraordinary rushes followed. There, «',i. rreat excitement in the camp for a while, njoihers fearing for licit- children's safety. It is a wonder that no children were lost. jjj, Keane procured a tile, and cutting off the eye of the hook in Doris Nield's J(2 extracted the hook safely from the leg. Old coasters who witnessed the scene, date that they had never lore seen any tech sudden and immense sweeps or. the beach. The sea was very calm, and Mr. Keane says that such waves can only be accounted for »y some unusual disturbance somewhere in the bed of the ocean. The incident should serve as a warning to parents not to allow their children on the hack at high spring tides. Lite waves were also observed by two travellers on the beach north of the Mangaum' Bluff.