HAVOC BY GALES

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 22197, 26 August 1935, Page 10

HAVOC BY GALES

HAWKE'S BAY SUFFERS DAMAGE TO POWER LINES INTERRUPTION OF SERVICE WIDE AREA AFFECTED [by telegraph—-OWN correspondent! HASTINGS. Saturday Electric power over the whole of the Central Hawke's Bay Power Board's reticulation area was interrupted as the result of a westerly gale to-day. Wires, and in some cases poles, wireless masts, and aerials were blown down and trees uprooted. In a few instances telephone services were also interrupted. The gale arose during the night and continued to-day. Car hoods were torn from vehicles and in Waipukurau, particularly, drivers of tourer models were compelled to secure the hoods of their cars to the chassis by rope. The power board employees made successful efforts to restore the power supply by nightfall. Telephones were; less affected and the majority of lines remained intact. Trees and branches were blown across the power lines in many places, but particularly at Ruataniwha, Ashcott, Takapau and at Waipawa. Four gangs, numbering over a dozen men, were out repairing the breaks. One resident in Waipukurau had an alarming experience when an old pine tres of some size was uprooted by the gale and fell across the fowlrun in his backyard. Pedestrians had an unpleasant time amid clouds of dust and shopkeepers were unable to display their wares on shop fronts, the wind away everything unfastened, including shutters and signboards. Strong gusty winds blew over the more northern parts of Hawke's Bay and in many districts the velocity exceeded 60 miles an hour. In Napier shoppers were frequently enveloped in spirals of whirling dust. The wind swept in fierce gusts across the Napier aerodrome, but beyond slight inconvenience the running schedule of commercial aeroplanes was not disturbed. In Hastings the wind was only moderate to strong. DUNEDIN'S EXPERIENCE FIERCE SOUTHERLY SQUALL MINOR DAMAGE TO HOUSES [by telegraph—OWN correspondent! DUNEDIN, Sunday A fierce southerly squall swept Dunedin just after 7.30 on Saturday morning and was followed by stiff, blustery weather throughout the day. Although the strength and velocity of the wind were no greater than that experienced during Thursday there was more rain and more damage. The initial gust struck the southern end of the city with amazing suddenness and severity. At the same time the gale swept across the Taieri, where many trees were uprooted. Five minutes later rain developed and fell heavily for about an hour. What residents described as a whirlwind left its mark on three homes in Pine Hill Terrace, near Woodhaugh Gardens At one house the brick chimney was blown completely over, damaging the roof as it fell. Next door roofing and ornamental work about the roof were torn away, while three windows were smashed in at another dwelling. Two were blown in and the glass from one of them shattered another. As far as could be ascertained damage in other residential areas in and about the city was slight, a few fences having been blown over and patches of roofing displaced. Rail or road services were not affected, by the gale nor by the heavy showers of rain and sleet which occurred throughout the afternoon. To-dav the weather showed a marked improvement, although traces of snow on the hills surrounding the city made th' 3 atmosphere rather chilly. TRAWLER DAMAGED BUFFETED IN STORM VESSEL RETURNS TO PORT [by telegraph—own correspondent! DUNEDIN. Sunday With two planks of her hull stove in and considerable damage aft, the trawler Waitangi, which left Port Chalmers yesterday for Bluff, returned to port late the same night after receiving a severe buffeting in the gale which swept the coast. The little vessel was going to Bluff to be taken over by new owners. The Waitangi had proceeded as far as Nugget Point when she encountered the full force of the storm. High seas raised by the raging gale broke over the vessel continuously. The men on board had a trying experience, as the seas almost overwhelmed the trawler and water found its way into the engiuerooni. As a result of the battering the Waitangi suffered considerable structural damage and for several hours baling operations had to be continued to keep down the water in the engineroom. Eventually the trawler was turned round and the course set for Port Chalmers. So severe were the conditions that the opinion was expressed that the Waitangi was very fortunate to have weathered the storm.