THE WEATHER OF LAST WEEK.

Taranaki Herald, Volume XVI, Issue 811, 15 February 1868, Page 3

THE WEATHER OF LAST WEEK.

Wb stated last week, that we only encountered the exhaustion of a hurricane and our words hare been verified by our files from tho other Provinces now to hand. The earthquake was felt very severely both at Piclon, Wellington, ftDd Wanganui. Auckland. — The Smtthcrn Cross of the Itth instant, says : — On the evening of the Ist the barometer indicated a ntorm of some magnitude, standing, as it did, at 2986. On the following morning the galahad fairly set in and at aansot tho reading of theifarometor showed 29-10. Vessels dragged thejr moorings and small boats broke adrift, but there was no Casualty of moment in llarbonr. On .the morning of the 3rd the barometer was" at its lowest, showing 28 g 22 nn indidation tliat the vvirid was passing with hurricane voilence over the island. The bnronieter continned low afterwards, bnt a slight change on the 6th, when the wind hauled round to the N.W. and the weather was fine, enabled a large number of vessels to put to sea. Hawke's Bat. — The gale seems to have been very severe at Napier. The total wreck of the ship • Exchunga/ which was loading with wool, is a great loss. An adCount of the wreck will be found in our shipping columns. The gale — which was one of the black nor'-easters abated on the 3rd, at noon, bo that twenty - fonf hours was the full duration of it. It is lamentable to think that, in so short a time, so fearful a disaster should have occurred, and so much valuable property BeeH Wholly destroyed* Wanganui. — At 8 o'clock on the morning of the 29th ult., a sharp shock of earthquake was felt in Wanganni. The morning was nnnsually snltry and oppressive, the sky thickly overcast with heavy leaden clouds, and hardly a breath of air stirring. FW some days past, dense clouds of smoke have been issding from the highest peak of Tongariro, and^it is jnst possible that the eruption in that quarter may have some connection with the 1 subterraneous disturbances felt here. Old mother earth appears to be shaking from the centre to the extremities : hardly a newspaper we take up but gives an acconnt of earthquakes less or more violent in every quarter of the globe. On Saturday the Ist, at seven minutes past 8 o'clock, another sharp shock of earthqnake was felt in this town and district. It occurred fit precisely, of within a few minutes of the same time as the shock on the previous Wednesday, — 8 a.m., — and was of several seconds longer continuance. On the 4th and Sfch the indications of atmospheric Changes by the glass werealniost unexampled in their character, clearly indicating that if Wanganui were not to have a hurricane very soon it would only miss it. Tho wind was variable and came in stormy gusts but nothing more, though ifc was vory certain \Ve had jnst caught the skirt of a tempest. Since then we have had stormy weather. i Wellington. — The Independent of the 30th says : — At five minutes to 8 o'clock yesterday morning, (tHe 2Hth) a smart shock of earthquake, consisting first of a wave-like motion, followed by a trombling of the earth, was felt. It was preceded by a rumbling noise. Waiuarapa. — The Journal says :— " hf slight shock of an earthqnake of some duration, preceded by the longest and loudest rumble we have ever heard since the one which occurred thirteen years ago, was felt throughout tho I Wairarapa on the Ist instant, about ten minutes to eight/ Nelson lias felt it very severely. — tfhe Kelson trail's account of it runs as follows : — Shortly after sunset on Sunday evening (the 2nd instant) the rain came down in torrents, and has continued with scarcely any intermission — the barometer falling within twenty-four hours from 30-10 deg. to 20*60 (.') deg ( During the following night the wind blew with great violence; and muoh mischief was done to various buildings and premises in the city and neighbourhood. T£; severity of the storm abated somewhat in the afternoon, but about half.past three o'clock this morning, the storm again burnt forth with all its fury, and was accompanied by vivid flashes of Hghteing and loud thunder-claps. These continued with more or less frequency, together with strong and sudden gusts of wind, until half-past nine o*clock, when the rain fell with immense violence, together with hail, or rather large pieces of ice, many of which measured from an inch to an inch and a-half in length, whilst Others resembled marbles. At the conclusion of the storm a waterspout, which is stated tcrbe the first ever seen in Nelson, was observed /(lowly drifting along the Boulderbank, resembling nothing so much as a wind-sail, and drawing up large stones in its progress to a height of 100 feet. It then directed its course towards the shore, and it is stated that its connection with the sea was broken by Cooling in contact with the Ftfeshire Eock. Be this as it may, after reaching the shore, it seemed to pass between Colonel Richmond's and Mr. Bayly's gronnds at the Port, and soon afterwards Vanished into thin air. The spectacle, whilst the waterspout was passing along the Boulderbank, is described as being grand in the extreme. The storm continued at frequent intervals during the sth, and followed by one of the ' heaviest falls of rain we have ever witnessed, which took place immediately after our going to press, and continued up to midnight with more or lees severity, gaVe unmißtakeable indications that the oity was abont to be visited by another of those destrnctivo floods which seem to have now become periodical inflictions at this season of the year. Before six o'clobk the river had risen bank-high, and the lower end of Collingwood and Bridge streets were completely nuder water, the'gravest apprehensions being entertained for the safety of the various dwellings in the vicinity of the river, to many of which access could only be obtained by , wading knee-deep through the water. The "anxiety was not diminished by the steady continnous fall of rain, or tho sullen roar of the thunder, followed by vivid flashes of lightning, which ever and anon illuminated the scene with their fitful glare, and showed the river whirling along impetuously, bearing down large limbs of trees and embankments in its mad career, and threatening every obstacle to its onward progress. This continued until some time after midnight, when the wind lulled and tho rain ceased, and it was evident tliat the tempest had spent its utmost fury. The river gradually fell and when daybreak bfoke upon the scene, it was found that the three bridges had held out bravely against tho flood, and that, as compared with the I damage sustained in former years, tho river, though it had risen highor than on previous occasions, had caused far less injury to pi'operty, though veiy considerable inconvenienco was experienced by the flooding and undermining of the lower" portions of many of the honses in its immediate vicinity, especially those in Bridge streeti The end of Mr. Hooper's old brewery was washed away ; the mash tub, showing a very suspicious attraction towards a rival establishment, having been stranded lower down the river on the flat close to Mr. Fields brewery ; £40 worth of coal were also, we hear, lost in a similar/manner. The telegraph post near the Bridg* street bridge, too, was laid low, together with the lamp-post, part of the appi'oaeh to tho bridge being likewise washed away. We regard to say ' that an old and well-known settler, Lawrence t)evan^, met his death yesterday evening, having been iomi.d this morning lying dead on the side of the road below the College, entangled in the roots of some willow trees.