TERRIFIC STORMS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 22000, 5 January 1935, Page 6

TERRIFIC STORMS

CYCLONE AND LIGHTNING

EXTENSIVE DAMAGE

PASTORALIST DROWNED

A terrific cyclonic storm on Niglit and on the following day caused extensive damage to property in scat, tered parts of Queensland. torrential downpour at Yandina r A || the north coast, Mr. W. Stone's sugar, cane plantation was struck by lightning. Buildings in the township were shaken, and occupants of Mr. Stone's house were affected by the concussion and the dazzling white light. At the roof of the power-house was liftej and collapsed, plunging the whole town into darkness. Pieces of ice fell during a hail and wind storm at St. George in the Maranoa district.

Thousands of trees, near Goondiwindi, were torn up by the rcota or snapped off and hurled many yards away. A flash of lightning set fire to the electric-light meter board in a carrier's home. Telegraph lines were blown down for three miles, and the mail train from Brisbane was delayed by trees which had crashed across the lipe. Flooding occurred in many areas. At St. George hundreds of trees were stripped of foliage, and fruit crops were severely damaged. A section of ekeState school buildings was wrecked, and several buildings in other_ parts of the town were damaged. Water overflowed the street channels, and invaded business premises. A new homestead at Caringa was partially unroofed, and the furniture was damaged by rain and wind. Sixty Miles an Hour A cyclonic storm occurred at Roma, and with the wind blowing at a velocity of 60 nnles an hour, 2.77 inches of rain fell in 30 minutes. In the western portion of the town, the roof of the administration block of the general hospital was blown off, the doors of wards were blown in, and the wards were drenched with water. At the showground, the roofs of a pavilion and a rest room were damaged, and sheets of iron were scattered all over the ground. Damage was also caused to the courthouse, St. John's Convent, and the Roman Catholic church. A derrick on the Roma Oil Corporation's lease toppled over. The grandstand at Queen's Park was wrecked. On the south side of the town, nearly every house had part of the roof blown off. Portion of a floilr mill was unroofed, also the King George and Railway Hotels. Very little is left of Mr. A. H. Hickson's vineyard, one of the largest in the locality, and the crop is practically a total loss. Mr. Joseph Burke, aged 66, a wellknown pastoralist in the Warwick district, was drowned on Thursday while attempting to cross a flooded creek on Bodumba Station. It is believed that his horse stumbled, and that he was thrown into the stream. His body was found later some distance down the creek. Settlers' Houses Unroofed In the Goondiwindi district, early on Thursday morning, six inches of rain fell at Kurrumhul and Yelarbon. The countryside from Yelarbon to within three miles of Goondiwindi, a distance of 27 miles, presented a strange and terrible sight, with trees bfown down, and property damaged. Graziers' homes were unroofed. Mr. Ron. Humble, of Bengalla Station, Gibinbell, lost portion of his shearing shed roof. The men's quarters and several outbuildings were razed to the ground." Yelarbon township was practically isolated in a sea of water, seven inches of rain having fallen there in two falls. Many huge trees were splintered b\ lightning. The home of Mr. F. O. Cook, carrier, of Goondiwindi, narrowly escaped being burned to the ground at 6.30 on Thursday- morning. At 6.30 Mr. Cook and his family were awakened by a blinding flash of lightning. On running into the hall, Mr. Cook discovered that the electric-light meter board was on fire. A brother-in-law of Mr. Cook, an electrician, was slaying there at " the time, and he immediately switched off the power. New South Wales Storms Following very hot weather, one ol the worst storms for years occurred at Mungindu New South Wales, on Thursday afternoon. Much damage was done to furniture and to houses and buildings which wero in the path of the cyclone. The rairi came down in torrents. • li:

A trail of broken trees, half-a-mile wide, shows the fury of the storm. Sheds were wrecked. Telephone lines were put out of order. The main line from Mungindi to Sydney was a trail of broken poles, half-a-mile long, near the railway. Moree, Neeworra, Garah, and Weemelah cannot be communicated with. Torrential rains fell at Delapool, 10 miles from Mungindi, in a terrific hailstorm 011 Thursday afternoon, 1J inches of rain falling in =25 minutes. A violent storm swept the Bathurst district of New South Wales last Friday night. Terrific peals of thunder and vivid flashes of lightning were followed hv a fall of hailstones larger than any seen for many years. The hail was followed bv more than an inch of rain.