GALE CAUSES DAMAGE

Taranaki Daily News, 12 September 1935, Page 4

GALE CAUSES DAMAGE

CONDITIONS AT NORTH EGMONT. WAITARA HALL STRUCK BY TREE. Part of the St. John’s hall at Waitara was shifted out of alignment and the telephone line to North Mount Egmont hostel was put out of commission by the heavy southerly wind that swept North Taranaki on Tuesday night and yesterday. Minor damage to wireless aerials and power and telephone lines is reported, but nothing of an extensive nature has been discovered. The wind was a mountain “buster of the worst type and residents of the. districts affected spent a trying day, bitterly cold blasts sweeping over the countryside. Little snow fell on Egmont, though the ranges were coated on the nigher levels. What snow did fall was soon swept into drifts. Heavy sleet and hail made the day unpleasant for residents at North Egmont, the cold at times being intense. On Tuesday night, conditions were extremely boisterous and the telephone wires snapped in three -places. A few trees and branches were tom down by the wind and work on the erection of the garage at the hostel was interrupted. At present there is no adequate accommodation for cars at the hostel owingto the hold-ups in building the garage, pie telephone lines were repaired yesterday morning. Part of a large macrocarpa tree fell across the rear of the St. John’s hall at Waitara early yesterday, morning, shifting the hall slightly oiit of alignment and jambing the doors. A section of the roof and spouting will require reP Waitara appeared to be the chief sufferer from the gale, some trouble with power and telephone lines in the district being experienced. Radio aerials were also damaged. The clay shed at the Brick and Tile Company s works on Big Jim’s Hill was blown over by the wnd. Little damage was reported at New Plymouth last night, telegraph and electrical wires holding without trouble. Some damage to radio aerials, occurred, particularly in exposed areas.