GALE IN SOUTH

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXX, Issue 21471, 20 April 1933, Page 10

GALE IN SOUTH

CANTERBURY SUFFERS GREAT FORCE OF WIND / ROOFING IRON LIFTED DAMAGE AT LYTTELTON [by telegrafh—OWN correspondent] CHRISTCHURCH, Wednesday The heaviest north-westerly gale for years swept over the city ;ind suburbs between about two o'clock and nine o'clock,,this morning. At about eight o'clock the wind reached a velocity of 60 miles an hour. A good deal of minor damage Avas done to trees, fences and roofs, ljut on the whole the city was lucky to escape as lightly as it did. In Sumner and Lyttelton the gale was felt with extraordinary force, the roof being blown off tho pumping station at Shag Kock, while the Maori had great difficulty in berthing at Lyttelton. 'The liner Rangitata was blown against tho wharf, breaking a pile and damaging an electric crane. In the country districts the galo was also strong, but apparently it did not blow with tho same phenomenal force. ' Loss of Few Trees

Power and telephone lines wero damaged in' tho Ashburton district, but elsewhere little harm was done by the %vind. A few trees wero lost, but for tho most part these escaped, thanks probably to tho hardness of the ground caused by tho prolonged dry spell.

After the gale, which was over in the in most places by dawn, showers of rain fell. The heaviest fall was at Oxford; where it rained heavily from 8 a.m.' to noon, but almost everywhere else at least 20 points were recorded. Acceding to the record made at Wigram Aerodrome the wind began to rise at 2.15 a.m. and rose to a velocity of 28 miles an hour at 3.30. The velocity was 35 miles an hour at 4.30. It was 40 miles an hour between 6 and 7. It rose tp 50 miles an hour, and for a quarter of an hour after eight o'clock the wind reached its maximum of 60 miles an hour. Thereafter it dropped to 20 miles an hour. I Heavy Sheets of Spray In the early hours of the morning Lyttelton was visited by a westerly gale of great severity and considerable damage was done. The gale began about 4 a.ny. and reached its height between 7 and'' 7.30 a.m. The scene in the harbour was an unforgettable one, water being lifted in heavy sheets of spray which were whirled in all directions. The ferry steamer Maori arrived off the moles at 6.45 a.m. It took her some time' to straighten up before entering the inner harbour stern first. She was almost up to the ferry wharf when she was struck by a terrific squall, which 6lewed' her stern toward the end of the wharf. It was only by going full speed ahead again that a crash was prevented and the stern cleared the end of the wharf,by only a few feet. The Maori passed out between the moles into the outer harbour again and eventually, after some clever manoeuvring, Captain Morgan brought, the vessel alongside at 7.30 a.m. People waiting on the wharf for the steamer to berth were at one time in danger when the force of the gale threatened to demolish the railway verandah. It was impossible to stand on the unsheltered parts of the wharf without holding on to some support, and it is probable that only the arrival of the Maori }i which acted as a breakwind, saved the verandah. South Canterbury Damage . throughout the storm, the wind came in heavy gusts, breaking branches, damaging fences and once or twice tearing up roofing iron. At Hornby a tree fell across telephone and telegraph lines, cutting off communication with the south and with the west coast. The lines were repaired and working again by 10 o'clock. In South Canterbury a great deal of damage was done to power and telephone lines. Hawarden and Oxford probably received the full force of the gale in the country districts. There was heavy thunder and lightning through-, out the night. Telephone contacts were broken, a few stacks blown down and trees damaged, although few were reported to be uprooted. /At Rangiora the storm reached its height between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m., a good deal of damage being done to stacks, some of them having their tops blown off and others being blown completely over. At Sefton, sheets of corrugated iron were lifted off the roof of a stable and blown 500 j'ards against power lines, breaking the wires and cutting off the power.

Flying Iron Strikes Chimney In its ilight over the top of a house, one piece of iron struck a chimney, knocking away some bricks. A farmer at Coldstream lost four acres of red clover, which had been cut and which was ready to be threshed, 'ihe gale at Darfield is reported to have been exceptionally heavy. A number of trees went clown, but no damage .was done to power or telephone lines. There was no damage on the Lake Coleridge lload, which usually suffers seriously in such storms, and the transmission lines from the Lake Coleridge power station were not damaged. The storm biought with it a heavy fall of snow in the back country and the mountains aro covered to a fairly low level.

A fall of 4Jin. of rain occurred at 'Arthur's Pass during the night and to-day the Waimakiriri rose four feet. The gale in the Ashburton district u,i3 one of the most severe for years. Power and telegraph lines were interfered with and trees in plantations were uprooted and broken. Orchards and gardens were damaged and many wireless! aerials were broken. Quantities of soil in the paddocks were shifted by the force of the wind and a number of stacks were blown over. The Ashburton Power Board had 20 poles blown down.

// STRONG WIND AND RAIN MINOR DAMAGE AT WELLINGTON r&Y TET.ECRVVH—I'II ESS ASSOCIATION'"] WELLINGTON, Wednesdny Following a spell of splendid weather over Easter, a north-westerly gale blew last night and continued to-day, with considerable rain. Only minor damage has been done. Ko shipping delays are reported. WHAT IS lONIZED IODINE? .Jlolson'a lONIZED lodine lias all the curative and preventive advantages of ordinary tincture of iodine, but is painless non-poisonous. Now used in leadine English hospitals and recommended l>v foremost surßeons. Two varieties: Surnical. for injuries; medical, for illnesses; '»s Gd. Leading stores.—Advt. ' !l ======