COMBING OF RUINS

Taranaki Daily News, 6 February 1931, Page 7

COMBING OF RUINS

many MOBE bodies recovered FURTHER HEAVY SHOCKS OCCUR NAPIER EVACUATION PROCEEDS Wellington, liast Night, Further tragedies of the earthquake are being unfolded as the Wliei workers continue to investigate the ruins of ' Napier and _asttags. Many bodies have been recovered from the deb™ and a few Btiil alive have been extracted from their terrible pusom. - - evacuation of Napier is proceeding, refugees pouring by t.am and ear into other towns, and it is expected the evacuation will be tically completed on Friday. The whole country has responded magidficeSly to the call for help and accommodation and supplies ate freely offering. ; Renewed shocks of alarming severity took place m Hasting and Napier yesterday and the temporary telegraph office had to be abandoned at Napier. Rumours spread rapidly that a f disaster had occurred and that many relief workers had been tolled, but no confirmation of this was received. The Hon. W. B. Tavdrner visited Napier to-day and conferred / with Commissioner Wohlmann and Inspector Cummings, who said the arrangements made, and the general conduct of the people left frying to be desired. The Commissioner said notwithstanding the tremendous upheaval and the loss sustained the people nf Napier and Hastings had exemplified the true British spirit and voluntary assistance had materialised in a most gratifying manner. Telegraph messages, were radioed from the police station by a naval vessel, stating that the Minister was struck with the efficiency of the emergency organisations, both at Hastings and Napier and at all danger spots along the road.

MASONIC HOTEL WRECKED

GIRLS’ TERRIBLE EXPERIENCES.

MIRACULCIUS ESCAPE RECORDED.

Palmerston N., Feb. 5. A thrilling account of the collapse of the Masonic. Hotel .building at Napier is given by a young lady, who arrived in. a dishevelled state at Palmerston North late . last night with her clothing torn and her hair filled with pieces of plaster apd debris, of which she appeared wholly oblivious. ‘I whs near the kitchen when the shake came,” she Said. “Immediately the building cracked, huge blocks of masonry crashed in all directions. I ran to the nearest door where I found another girl. We could get no further, but crouched down as the huge -building crashed about our ears. Our nostrils- and mouths were full of a substance resembling putty from the dust of the plaster. A shaft of light came through a narrow gap and we pushed and struggled until we were able to clamber out into safety. ' “It was a fearful experience. W© saw huge pillars five feet thick snap like carrots. We seemed to be fighting uphill through heaving masses of debris for hours.' The earthquakes sounded like the constant discharge of cannon under our feet. “Another of to© girls in the tearooms reached a side door when she was trapped, She was'pulled but still alive, but we scarcely recognised her. She seemed to have been turned into a difierent person in that horrible catastrophe. A sister of the girl, who ,was visiting her from Auckland, was with a friend in a flit when the earthquake occurred. The place seemed to have been hit by a sheik The girl stated: ‘T ran to the dbor but could see nothing. Then 1 e»me back and found that my friend, who had been in a bath, had been thrown out by the first shock. W© both tried to get down the stairs, but were nearly thrown down. Finally we managed to trawl into th® rOad.” GISBORNE ROAD BLOCKED. aeroplanes carrying mails. Gisborne, Feb. 5. Information has been received here that the road to Napier is absolutely blocked and it will take a considerable time to restore communication, ane Chambers of Commerce are appealing to the Prim" Minister to assist in,establishing a steamer service to give Gisborne an outlet to the south. Letters and telegrams were, dispatched for the sbuth by plane this morning through the cdurtesy of Mr. G. Nicholls, who flew to Hastings with them. An Auckland plane with, telegrams arrived at 11 a.m. The steamer Rutiki was.dispatched for Napier this morning,, the Customs permitting only people whose business was of extreme urgency travel by her. It is reported that toe vessel will bring back stranded passengers and refugees.

IMPRISONED UNDER VERANDAH-

“When ths shock occurred I was m the main street,” stated Mrs. J. Hedley. New Plymouth, who was in Hastings on the morning of the earthquake. “As soon as I felt the ground tumbling I ran to the centre of the road, as did everyone else. However, with the main shock the road seemed to rise like a great wave and the people gathered there were thrown to the ground and flung right back on to the. footpath again. Bricks and concrete from falling buildings rained in all directions while another girl and I were imprisoned under a collapsed verandah. However, 1 was lucky to come out with only a few scratches and bruises. By the _ time — had extricated myself all the brick and concrete buildings, as well -as most of the wooden ones, were razed to the b “People were rushing about the streets covered wjth blood, many of them seriously injured. Dozens were crawling from the wrecked buildings, while others were lying about, partxa.-y covered by the ruins, and seemed to be dead. However, after ths, earthquake, there was very little panic. At the time of the earthquake Mr. Hedley was in a private home six mi.es from Hastings. Just as it commenced the brick grate was thrown into the room and then the roof collapsed, knocking the lady of the house unconscious. When coming back into town Mr. Hedley saw nurses at the ruined hospi-a! dragging patients into j—& g&ddcvn» -

“IMPOSSIBLE TO DESCRIBE”

ONSET OF THE EARTHQUAKE.

■SUFFERERS AT NEW PLYMOUTH.

“The horror of those first two or three seconds in the doorways is beyond description,” said Mr. D. G. Sutherland to a reporter .last night. “It is impossible to convey the effect of that awful street scene—tons of bricks and mortar falling, terrified women screaking, men rushing to avoid death, only to° be crushed beneath th® toppling buildings.” Mr. ■ Sutherland, a son of Mr. and Mrs. M. Sutherland, Carrington Road, and Mrs. Sutherland arrived in New Plymouth by the mail train. They left Napier early yesterday morning. When th© earthquake occurred Mr. Sutherland was in the building of Murray, Roberts and Co., by whom he was employed. It was a brick and concrete structure on th© Parade. He escaped after receiving slight abrasions and bruises on an arm and leg. “There was a terrible noise,” said Mr; Sutherland--describing the first shocx. “I tried to get to the front door, but was heaved this way and that. At last I reached the. entrance.' Bricks were crashing, everywhere. The doobway seemed to expand and then contract. Timber and masonry; toppled down in a cloud of dust. It was terrible. ... “Then th© shaking stopped for a moment and wa made one dive for the Parade. The road was ..littered witji debris in all directions. The front wall of th© Masonic' Hotel opposite fallen to the. ground and the-bedrooms a- ’ their furniture were exposed. Women and children screamed .and shrieked. There was a continuous nimble. .If ■you can imagine the explosion of a million tons of gelignite you will know what-happened.” . ' Mrs.' Sutherland was standing at her back door when ■ the earthquake came. She was lifted bodily and thrown on to the lawn 16 feet away. That was all she knew till a man asked;her if she were all right. The Sutherland’s house is on th© fiat, in George’s Drive running parallel with , the Tutikuri River, south-west of th© Bluff HilL A crevice opened in th© wall by the front door, toe chimney crashed,- the gas stove wept through tlie floor, and toe piano was smashed to atoms after being knocked violently against the wall. The next night four women and two children sheltered, in the Sutherland’s o-arage—sleep was ; impossible—and three men sat under a tent fly when they were not walking around. Both Mr. and Mrs. Sutherland paid a glowing. tribute to the organisation of relief measures both by local residents and toe sailors. Mr. T. Hutchison was another passenger from Napier by the mail train last night, He. was sitting about halfway down the old wooden skating rink hall in Hastings Road when he. felt the shake. Looking up, h© saw other men making for toe entrance. He followed, but as he ran he was thrown from side to side with such force that his progress was impeded. The floor seemed to sink under him and his only thought was to rebch th© street before th© building fell on him. __ , ‘Hastings is ghastly,” said Mr. Hut-cn-ison, “but th© conditions in Napier are unbelievable.” .

Private advice was received in New Plymouth, yesterday tjiat Mr. A. M. Mowlem, SM., formerly magistrate at New Plymouth, and his family are uninjured. insurance position, SPECIFIC COVER REQUIRED.

Property-owners have no legal claim on insurance companies unless they are specificially covered for earthquake risk -kfire, consequent upon an earthquakeeven though such loss is the result Othe spread of the fire, and not d.irecriy arisinv out of an earthquake, according to an°authority consulted by the Ws.Hngton DornSnipn. That, it was stated, had been established in test cqsss. It was pointed out that that was not necessarily the atitude that companies would take, as it was on record that m disasters similar to that which had overtaken Hawke’s Bay, some British companies had paid out on ordinary fire policies. It would be for the New Zealand Underwriters’ Association to determine what coups© would be pursued ® .thyt instance, " - • ' ~ ' *