THE STORM ELSEWHERE.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXXVII, Issue 12109, 31 March 1910, Page 5

THE STORM ELSEWHERE.

AN ACCURATE FORECAST. DAMAGE AT NEW PLYMOUTH. .■•■■/. (Special H» .Herald.)'.; NAPIER/ last night. There is every indication th^t we shall hare good reason to remember Easter of 1910. Heavy rain sat mon Monday afternoon,, and has, continued onwards witlx Brief intervals of, fine weather. On Tuesday alight it developed into a steady and continuous dowtfpour. In about fifty hours 5 inches of rain has fallen. The Tutaekuri' is m high flood, and the outlook for the settlers m the Meanee district is anything 1 but bright. Their safety depends on the withstanding the ' pressure , of * the flood waters, and as the river was rising at a • great rate yesterday afternoon, the position was full of danger. No apprehension is yet felt at Olive, the Ngaruroro having.' a fairly- good month, arid thus enabling the flood waters to get away easily. *

(Per Press Association!) NEW PLYMOUTH, last night. The 'Bey. D. O. Bates' storm burst over Taranaki early, this, morning with cyclonic fury, destruction m all directions marking the .visitation. Very little rain has fallen, but the hurricane-like blasts have reached a velocity never hitherto experienced on this coast. At the. time of wiring (8 p.m.) the gale has shown no sign of abatement. Vety. considerable damage has been doriej fences, stables, chimneys, verandahs, trees, etc., being clown m all directions. .Many narrow escape* from flying iron and timber, but no casualties, am reported. The large two-storied, show-rooms \ m Devon street,- just vacated, collapsed m a mass of ruin^. .All kinds of reports are current of the overturning of buildings, coaches,, and traps: m the 'outlying districts, which -it is impossible" to verify, hist everything points to the damage being considerable. ■•• This morning the Taranaki Petroleum Company's No. 4 derrick collapsed. During the afternoon reports reached town that No. 3 derrick was also a. victim of the cyclone's fury, while, tiio New Zealand Standard Oil Company's Vogeltown derrick hns also gone. Falling trees m town disorganised several sections of telephone wires, while tho electric- lighting plant is also out of gear m some localities. There is r scarcely a property not affected, to some extent, and the aggregate damage- must be fairljconsiderable. Shipping is not venturing but of port to-night. ' . "VV^LtLINGTOX, last night. a The storm, warnings telegraphed out to the far north by th.&. Meteorological Office 'on Saturday have- been lamply justified. .; T,*he north was^ advised to look out for sqHialLsfCon lioiidayj and 'by, nightfall the advance skirmishers of a cyclonic disturbance- had' smitten Cape ; Maria. Yesterday the ' tempest .developed, .and the howling winds ■rushed down the Island. On Thursday night Fiji was struck by a. hxirrieane. Tlient'he cyclone whirled, westward to Norfolk Island, and, after a busy tiiine'.theTe, it veered to tho south-east and hoaded- for the Three Kings. This morning the centre of the disturbance^ was to the westward of Cape Maria, "and the line of march was towards Ebsfc Cape. If the storna continues m its present track, it will, blow down to the Chatham*), bub other forces may intervene. . Already an enemy, an anti-cyclone (generalty favoi-abl© to liaan) is working off the west coast of tbo South Island, and the high pressure movement may tone down and divert the low pressure ..At. -9 o'clock this morning the barometer was down to 29 inches at Russell, the lowest reading for about threo years. The energy of the .vigorous gale this morning was chiefly felt northward of East Cape, Taupo. and Wanganui, and rain was general m tlie Island. Tiritiri had heavy thunder and lightning. The wind will change hy south-east to south, and finally to south-west. , i The South, s. Island, too/ was mostly •under clouds to-day, but down by Invercargill the air was calm. ; The Rev. D. C. Bates' summary and forecast to-night were as follow : "A cyclone of exceptional intensity, .and with, very low pressure m the far north, has caused considerable .disturbance over the North Island, with heavy easterly gales and Tain and 'floods m various parts. • Present indications ' are for a heavy south-easterly gale, with heavy rain, am, the East Coast, especially between. East Cape and Banks Peninsula. A southerly gale, with rain and colder weather, probably soon, elsewhere. The centre of the cydlone< will probably pass East Cape m the 'morning." , The Telegraph Office advises. that communication with Auckland has been totally interrupted, and wovk for the north of Hamilton will bear heayy delay. Informntion received by the Wellington Post Office shows that Ihe violence of the etorm has been well up to the- forecast. Communication with Wairangi, on the French Pass line, was also interrupted. The gale brought down, a wive iust when Paeroa was announcing its plight. The message rah : "The heaviest flood ever known m Paeroa occurred this lnorninsj. The streets are submerged 3 or 4 feet."