AFTERMATH OF STORM.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19234, 25 January 1926, Page 10

AFTERMATH OF STORM.

ORCHARDS SUFFER GREATLY. HEAVY LOSS TO GROWERS. ! GARDENS ALSO DAMAGED. Tho damage done to orchards and gardens in Auckland by tho storm on Friday was very extensive. Among the commercial orchards the gale played havoc with fruit trees and crops that were ripening. As a result the fruit harvest will be considerably less than was anticipated and prices are sure to bo affected considerably. At Henderson, Oratia, Huapai and other fruit-growing districts to the north of the city tho full force of tho gale was felt with disastrous effect. In many orchards trees wero uprooted and heavy crops of apples, pears and plums were stripped from the trees and strewn on tho ground. On Saturday the orchardists were busy repairing the damage and gathering the windfalls, which covered the ground in the majority of the orchards. . A prominent grower in the Henderson district said the damage throughout the district was general, even the areas considered to bo well-protected by shelterbelts having suffered extensively. It would moan a loss of thousands 01 pounds to tho growers. In addition to being faced with the work of replacing tho uprooted trees and repairing the general damage to tho orchards the growers would lose heavily in marketing their crops. As a result of tho gale there was sure to be- a large quantity of second-class fruit placed on tho market within a limited period and prices would be affected to tho detriment of the growers. For the later varieties that had not suffered from the storm good prices should be obtained. The damage done to private gardens by' the istorm was widespread. Trees were uprooted in some instances; in others shrubs and plants wero levelled to tho ground and branches were broken from tho larger trees and hurled in all directions by tho force of tho wind. Heavily topped plants and shrubs were tho greatest sufferers and it will take householders a considerable timo to repair tho damago. A fine old tulip tree, in Princes Street that stood in front of the Jewish Synagogue was uprooted on Friday afternoon. Standing on "an eminence overlooking tho harbour, tho fine old treo felt tho full force of many a gale. That it succumed to Friday's storm conveys some idea of tho velocity of the wind when the gale was at its height. , Considerable damage was dono to the Shelly Beach baths by the storm. At full timo shortly after mid-day on Friday the waves swept over the bath enclosure and crashed against the sheds on the beach side'. Some of the seats were' torn away and holes woro smashed in tho staging. A considerable amount of wreckage was found floating in the baths on Saturday and repair work was com- . menced forthwith. Some damage was also done to a concrete wall on Shelly Beach and some pleasuro boats wero driven ashore, but were not greatly damaged. VERY HEAVY RAINFALL. TWO INCHES IN 18 HOURS. jj SHIPS HOVE-TO IN STORM. The weather in Auckland was very changeablo during the week-end. The wind was from tho west most of tho time and varied considerably in force. After the storm on Friday tho wind changed in the evening to the west and the conditions improved. On Saturday the sky 'was clear and the sun shone brightly. In consequence athletic sports and harbour excursions were well patronised, Yesterday morning tho wind changed to tho south-west and increased to a moderate breeze. The wind blew in squalls, accompanied at times by rain-showers, especially in the morning. From mid-day on Saturday until last evening the barometer was steady at 29.70 in. Last evening it rose to 28.80 in., where it was inclined to steady again. Tho rainfall for tho month up to nine o'clock on Saturday morning was 3.62 in., according to the official records taken at Albert Pack Observatory. Of the amount two and a-quarter inches fell in •ighteen hours during the severe cyclonic Storm on Friday. The i J ainfall for the month is now nearly an inch above tho average for January and is also more than tho fall for the previous two months combined, the fall for November being 2.44 in. Ond for December ,80in. The storm on Friday extended a long distance to sea and vessels within a Radius of about 300 miles all report heavy leather. Tho Kafiri. from Newcastle, tho Wairuna, from San Francisco, and the West Henshaw, from Los Angeles, reached Auckland on Saturday, each vessel having received a severe buffeting from the storm tho previous day. Tho Wairuna was nearest to Auckland and was hove-to in tho gale from five o'clock to seven o'clock in tho evening. Tho Kauri was off the North Cape, where the storm was exceptionally severe and was hovo-to from midnight on Thursday until Friday afternoon. The West Henshaw was'more to the north-east and experienced tho worst part of tho storm on Friday afternoon and evening, during which timo she was also hove-to. In spite of tho severe buffeting tho three vessels received they wero not damaged by the seas which broke on board. Each steamer reports that tho wind shifted from north-east to west, when in tho vicinity of tho centre of tho storm. LIGHTNING STRIKES WIRE, COMMOTION IN COWSHED. [BY TELEGRAPH. —OWN COIYRESPOSTDENT. ] HAMILTON, Sunday. * Several farms in tho Puketaha district were affected at about 6 o'clock on Friday evening by a flash of lightning which struck a telephone pole outside a residence. A farmer, who was milking at the time, was flung across tho floor of the shed, and when ho regained consciousness ho found that some of the cows had left the bails while others were in an excited state. Another farmer on tho opposite side of the road was filling the water heater in his shed when the shock came and threw him on his back.'