SEVERE EARTHQUAKES.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19946, 13 November 1926, Page 14

SEVERE EARTHQUAKES.

SHOOKS AT MORRINSYILLE BUILDINGS BADLY SHAKEN EXTENSIVE DAMAGE DONE. (Special to Dailk Times.) AUCKLAND, November 12. A severe earthquake, perhaps the most severe yet felt in Morrinsville, shook the town at 9 o’clock this morning. The shock was accompanied by a loud rumble. The buildings shook, loose things on shelves jazzed, and much crockery was broken. For a few moments the people were terrified, and rushed into the streets. Some c{ the concrete buildings are now showing large cracks, while several of the weaker chimneys were brought down. A few minutes after the first shock a slight tremor was felt, while another shorter but more severe shock was felt at 10.21. Two plate-glass windows were completely smashed and others cracked. The shops are littered with broken glass, crockery, and bottles, and pictures in the houses were dashed to the floor. When the people rushed frantically into the streets at least one humorous touch was supplied by the sight of a barber rushing out with a shaving brush in his hand, followed closely by a customer with a towel lound his neck. As a result of the last severe shake, the solddiers’ memorial in Howie Park is in a dangerous position. The ‘nee’dle” displaced several inches from its true position, while two other blocks of granite are slightly out of place. Several cracks have also appeared on the face of the monument. Later on a third and then a fourth shock followed. The heaviest, at 10,25, did further considerable damage. The new bank buildings were cracked and more windows broken in shops, while more chimneys came down. At the Castle Hotel about £2OO worth of bottled spirits, champagne, etc., fell from the shelves, and there was a general exodus from the bar, which was soon emptied. At the local brewery the tanks were burst, but the extent of the damage there is not yet known. The quakes have caused much excitement, and nothing Vise is being talked of. A little time after the fourth shock a fifth tremor was felt. Another severe shake was felt at 12.40, followed by a mild one 10 minutes later making a total of seven.

FURTHER DISTURBANCES. RESIDENTS IN FEAR. MANY HEAVY LOSERS. (Per United Press Association.) AUCKLAND, November 12. The latest reports from Morrinsvillc shortly before midnight indicate that further earthquakes have occurred reducing many resident*) to a great state of fear. The disturbances were exceptionally severe, being unique in the experience of the district. The damage to broken crockery and glassware runs into many pounds but the extent of the damage as a result of the cracks in the concrete buildings is known at present. , During the earthquakes the buildings shook violently when the most severe shocks occurred. In Thames street scarcely a building escaped some damage, the shopkeepers in some cases being heavy losers. Among the buildings affected are the Bank of Australasia and the Bank of New Zealand.