REAL MENACE

Southland Times, Issue 25303, 5 June 1935, Page 6

REAL MENACE

BUILDING METHODS. NO RESISTANCE FOR EARTHQUAKES. (Per United Press Association.) Auckland, June 4. “Buildings are still being erected, in many parts of New Zealand which embrace in their construction all the errors and weaknesses which , were a contributory cause to such a disastrous loss of life and property in Napier in 1931,” said Mr C. K. Ford this morning. Mr Ford is a member of the Technical Committee to which the Government entrusted the task of. preparing a new building code and his remarks were prompted by the disaster in India. He said that the committee had completed a draft code last December, and it was to be studied by a committee composed of four city engineers, a public works engineer and a city solicitor. That committee had not met. Mr Ford said that despite the lessons of the Hawkes Bay earthquake, existing buildings were still being altered so as to make their destruction certain in the event of a shock. If there were people in Auckland who believed that there was no risk of an earthquake in Auckland they should remember that if any one of the centres was destroyed or damaged, the whole of Ne\v Zealand would have to bear the consequent loss and economic disturbance. “It will be calamitous,” he said, ‘if the lessons of the Napier earthquake are to be forgotten and the work already done upon the new building code to be allowed to remain uncompleted and unused. If this is permitted, someone will have to bear a very grave responsibility.” The city engineer said that all members of the committee had received a draft of the code, but the committee had not yet met and no date had been fixed for the meeting.