GALE HAVOC

New Zealand Herald, Volume 81, Issue 24825, 23 February 1944, Page 4

GALE HAVOC

BUILDINGS WRECKED NEW PLYMOUTH DAMAGE COMMUNICATIONS SEVERED (0.C.) NEW PLYMOUTH. Tuesday Extensive damage was done to buildings and gardens by a sharp north-east-erly gale, ranging from 45 to 75 miles an hour, which struck New Plymouth late last night. Electric power was cut off for about half an hour, and there was a serious interruption of telegraph and telephone communications.

After an unusual calm earlier in the evening, the wind rose about 9 p.m., and increased steadily in violence until it reached its peak between 11 p.m. and midnight. It was accompanied by violent rain squalls and a vivid blue light, which flashed across the sky over the sea. It was in this short period that most of the damage was done, the wind dying down completely soon afterward. Trail of Destruction The large pavilion at the East End beach was badly damaged, the verandah and roof on the north side being stripped off. The verandah of the Terminus Hotel was torn off, and hurled across the road, and at the racecourse 13 horse stalls were lifted bodily and tossed into a gully. The bicycle sheds at Fitzroy school were flattened, as well as a private motor shed in the same district. In many parts of the town trees, fences, signboards and wireless poles were blown'down, whilo in the main shopping area three plategla.ss windows were blown in. Campers at the Fitzroy seaside park on the foreshore had a terrifying experience. The torrential rain_ that soaked tents and camping equipment was followed by a sandstorm, in which many tents were ripped and torn. The sand, lashed by the gale at its height, penetrated into every tent, and this morning covered the whole camp site in a thick layer that almost obliterated the grass. The wooden partitions between the camp sites were blown down, and at one stage pieces of iron from the tennis court pavilion were hurled through the air. Town in Darkness A break in the electrical supply threw the town into darkness soon after 11 p.m., when six of the seven main transmission lines developed faults. It was not until 11.48 p.m. that one line was brought into commission and the-power restored, but the other lines could not bo used until they had been patrolled and fallen branches and trees cut away. Telegraph communication with the south was cut when a tree fell and brought the wires down on the outskirts of New Plymouth at 11 p.m., and as a result the town was isolated until 9.30 a.m. to-day. Scores of telephone lines were brought down in Inglewood, Urenui and Waitara districts, and were still being restored this afternoon. The railcar from Wellington to New Plymouth was involved in an accident as a result of the storm. When approaching the Stratford station, the railcar collided head-on with a truck that had been forced across a set of points by the wind and had run on to the main line. The railcar was slowing down to stop at Stratford, and only minor damage to the front buffers was caused. It was able to continue to New Plymouth.