TERROR AT RARATONGA

Patea Mail, Volume LII, 27 February 1931, Page 4

TERROR AT RARATONGA

SERIES OF TIDAE WAVES, ITIEXOMEXOX IX -IAXFARV. A graphic description of a series of tidal waves, apparently the result of some submarine disturbance, that visited Raratonga on the afternoon of Wednesday, January 28, nearly a week before the croat earthquake (that wrecked Xapier and Hastings, is contained in a letter received at Xcw Plymouth from Miss Freda Hirst, who is now on the staff of (ho Cook Islands TradingCompany. Miss Hirst says that the extraordinary phenomenon created considerable alarm. ‘'T was lying on my back on the verandah early in the afternoon,” says Afiss Hirst, "when I heard natives on the load yelling, and everyone rushed out to the front. T went round, too. Tim sen, which had been like a mill pond (it was a glorious day), had risen just outside the lagoon to a height of about 15 feet. Tt was advancing in wave after wave this way and that in ■whirls. It seems that we narrowly escaped a bad tidal wave, as instead of the whole disturbance coming at once, it came in a series ol waves which broke over the reef with a terrific thundering and rushed in up the harbour. Eiioh successive wave submerged the wharf entirely and wont on until it filled nil the big wharf sheds. Then it receded with tremendous speed, ami a swirl of water and sprav diishe.il over the grass and road in front of our whare. 1 have seen some wonderful breakers here in stormy weather rising to heights of 2Oft or so, but never anything like this. The breakers dashed over the reef in foam and spray SOft high and one after another with pause. It was a marvellous sight, but we were all quite alarmed. There was not a breath of wind ami the sky was cloudless and the sesi f;ir out (when we occasionally caught a glimpse of it) was blue and calm ami still. It was the most extraordinary thing I. have over seen. It kept on like this until early next morning, and u'e hardly slept all night with the deafening boom. boom, like clashing thunder, and the rnishing sound of water advancing and receding with tremendous speed. We are all very anxious to hoar whether there has been a tidal wave anywhere else or a submarine volcanic eruption. I was afraid that, peithaps. you had been having some very bad earthquakes, but the phenomenon AV.as till from the north and the south side of the island remained, -absolutely normal.”