DAMAGE IN WAIROA

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 21295, 23 September 1932, Page 10

DAMAGE IN WAIROA

' MR. FURKERT'S COMMENT BRIDGE SUFFERS SEVERELY " MOST SERIOUS FEATURE" NEW BUILDINGS RESIST WELL [by TELEGRAPH—OWN correspondent] GIBBORNE. Thursday "The damage (o the new ferro-concrete anrl steel traffic bridge is, of course, the most serious and spectacular feature of the earthquake to be Veen in Wairoa, and the question as to what is to be done about the bridge itself is not capable of being settled without a great deal of consideration," remarked Mr. F. W. Furkert, cngineef-in-chief of the Public Works Department, to-day. The first consideration, said Mr. Furkert, was to secure an accurate survey of the damage, and this in itself would be a matter of difficulty, as the most vulnerable parts of .the structure were under water and mud, the huge concrete caissons being sunk in the river bottom Ito a depth,of 20ft. Tho town could be 'I furnished with a pontoon bridge of light : construction for pedestrian traffic across | the river, pending finalising plans for a general traffic bridge, bat this scheme must depend upon what funds the local bodies might be able to raise, or, alternatively, upon what assistance they could procure from other quarters. At the time of the Murchison earthquake, he stated, the Highways Board had been in the fortunate position of having a "nest egg" from which it was able to extend considerable assistance in tho restoration of roads and bridges in the devastated area, but in the last year or two the funds had been subjected to a heavy drain, and to-day there was no reserve available for emergency works. Referring to the bridge, Mr. Furkert stated that had the spans been joined up from bank to bank, tho injury to the bridge would have been much less. Standing practically unsupported as the two sections of tho bridge were at the time of the earthquake they had suffered very material damage above water, while even more important was the possible extent of the damage below the waterline. Discussing the general effects of the earthquake in Wairoa, Mr. Furkert mentioned that he had expected to" find more obvious signs of extensive loss and structural collapse. Much of tho debris had been cleared away before he arrived, however, and this clearance in itself was a good feature. The way the newer buildings had stood the wrenching was valuable evidence of the effect of the earthquake precautions which had been written into the building regulations, and he considered that there was comparatively little loss in respect of such buildings. He did not belittle the very extensive loss suffered by private citizens and local bodies, and in respect to the damage to the water supply in particular he thought the town was unfortunate, but the severe setback with the bridge was undoubtedly the worst feature of the earthquake. SHOCKS STILL OCCUR NO FURTHER DAMAGE REPLACEMENT OF CHIMNEYS [BY TELEGRAPH—PRESS ASSOCIATION"] WAIROA, Thursday Several fairly heavy shocks were experienced last night, one being of particularly long duration, and another at about, 2 a.m. being of a bumpy nature. No further damage is reported. All the work of replacing chimneys and tanks will be carried out in conjunction with the local council. One tank and ono chimney will be immediately restored in c-ach house. Local residents are making every effort to assist themselves as far as finances allow.

The Red Cross depot- is now open and is carrying out admirable work. The Unemployment Board is also rendering all the assistance, possible. Various restoration works are proceeding satisfactorily. A temporary water supply should soon bo in operation, filling a much-required necessity. The health officer reports that the general health of the community is good. The Wairoa branch of the Farmers' Union met to-day, and a committee was set up to go into ways and means of helping stricken farmers. REPAIRS TO CHIMNEYS PUBLIC WORKS POLICY REPAYMENT AT* LATER DATE [by telegraph—press association] GISBORNE, Thursday As a result of the recent earthquake, hundreds of chimneys arc down in tho Gisborne district and over 200 relief workers have been engaged in repairs, but scores of residents are absolutely unable to afford the replacement of chimneys. ' i

This morning, Mr. .F. W. Furkert, engineer-in-chief of the Public Works Department, inspected the town and portions of the district, and later stated that he considered Gisborne should be placed on the same footing as Wairoa in regard to the reinstatement of chimneys, and ho telegraphed the Prime Minister to that effect. This means t hat the Public Works Department will do work to the extent of the replacement of one chimney and one tank at each house. Tn the borough, however, where the water supply is operating, no tanks will bo replaced. Even with this help, however, the positi6n will bo very hard in many cases, for in hundreds of instances two chimneys are down, while some houses lost three or four. STATE HELP URGED QUESTION IN PARLIAMENT AWAITING ENGINEER'S REPORT [BY TELEGRAPH —SPECIAL 'REPORTER] WELLINGTON. Thursday

The plight of people at Gisborne and Wniron as a result of last week's earthquake in those localities was referred to by Mr. D. W. Coleman (Gisborne) in an urgent question he asked the Prime Minister, the Kt. Hon. G. W. Forbes, in the House of Representatives to-day. Mr. Coleman asked iij the Government -would give immediate consideration to the possibility of providing financial assistance for local authorities, business people and farmers in the areas affected by the earthquake. Local bodies, he explained, were utterly unable to restore public services that had beers shattered. Business peoplo and farmers would be unable to carry on unless they were given help.

The Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. G. W. Forbes, replied that the matter would receive the consideration of the Government when the report of the engineer-in-ehief of the Public Works Department, Mr. F. W. Furkert, had been received.