VOLCANIC ACTIVITY.

Otago Witness, Issue 3830, 9 August 1927, Page 36

VOLCANIC ACTIVITY.

A REASSURING STATEMENT.

AUCKLAND, August 2. “I think New Zealand is a little like California. You are liable to have earthquakes from time to time, but I don’t think there should be any occasion for alarm.” This reassuring statement was made by Professor Andrew C. Lawson, professor of geology of the University of Berkeley, California, who has been in the Dominion for a week studying the thermal and volcanic regions of ' r aupo and Rotorua. Rotorua was particularly interesting to the professor from a comparative point of view owing to the fact that California is subject to volcanic action and experienced a great quake in 1906, which practically devastated San Francisco. “We don’t worry about earth tremors in California, as ’ there are far worse regions than the earthquake areas. V e have more mortality from tornadoes and cyclones than we do from earthquakes, he added. “We endeavour, however, to build our structures r.uch more strongly than was our practice before 1906. Should we have another severe shake I do not think we would suffer to the same extent as previously, when fire broke out and wrought widespread damage.” “Do you think that sufficient precautions are being taken by New Zealand builders to guard against damage by earthquakes’” asked the interviewer. “The fact that they have not gone in for the building of skyscrapers is distinctly a point in favour of safety, while the adoption of steel-girdered structures is another precaution in this direction, was the reply.