DAMAGE AT SUMNER

Star (Christchurch), Volume LXIV, Issue 740, 19 April 1933, Page 8

DAMAGE AT SUMNER

Buildings Unroofed in Fierce Nor’-wester. WORKMAN INJURED. A good deal of damage was done in Sumner by the north-west gale that broke over the borough at 3 a.m. today. The wind reached almost cyclonic force between 7 and 8 a.m., and. in the opinion of an old resident, nothing like it had been experienced before. Sand flowed along the beach like £7* ter, dry grass was torn from the hillsides and thrown into the air, while a pall of dense dust hung in the sky, giving the appearance of twilight. Workmen proceeding on bicycles to their jobs were unable to compete with the wind. Mr P. Oliver, of Redcliffs, was carried into the air at Shag Rock corner, where the wind was at its full force. He was dashed to the ground, receiving injuries to his hands and one of his legs. He had to be taken home. Roof Off Pumping Station.

At the pumping station the roof was lifted bodily and thrown down beside the building. Fortunately all the reservoirs were full and there will be no shortage in the borough’s water supply. None of the machinery was damaged. The electric reticulation of the borough which was recently strengthened was thoroughly tested in the gale. Save for a slight break in the power at Clifton, there was no failure. Shopkeepers in the heart of Sumner were startled at 7.15 a.m., when a loud crash marked the collapse of six feet of new brick roofing that is being constructed at the new shop near the Cadena Tea Rooms. An old wall underneath also collapsed and the brick work crashed on to the roof of Mr Norman Donbvan’s hairdresser’s shop, almost penetrating the iron roof. Loose bricks were strewn all over the roof of the shop and along a right-of-

Half an hour later the iron roof of the shed at Gibbs Bros.’ yard, measuring 40ft bj* 25ft, was lifted bodily and broken in two, one piece of the roof being carried over a chain to crash into the Sumner Borough Council’s yard adjacent to the firebell tower. The rest of the roof was strewn about the yard, and no covering was left for the firm’s motor-lorries.

Mr J. H. Thomas, one of the proprietors of the business and an old resident of the borough, states he has never seen anything like the gale. It was a veritable tornado, he said. Boat Found Drifting.

None of the boats tying in the harbour at Redcliffs was affected by the gale, as good shelter is afforded by Fisherman’s Point. Mr J. H. Round, of the Christchurch Sailing and Power Boat Club, salvaged an unknown 16ft boat found drifting down the Estuary. The height of the gale was reached at dead low water and the Estuary was more or less unaffected by the wind. No changes have taken place at the pier or at Scarborough, though the high seas were pounding heavily on the stone breakwater at the boat harbour. A big drift of sand has piled up against the new wall near the band rotunda at the pier.

CAR UNROOFED. Incidents in the Gale at Sumner. A touring car which was proceeding to Sumner early this morning when the gale was at its height, was completely unroofed. Fragments were blown far and wide. The incident happened near Shag Rock. Residents of Sumner were terrified in the early morning by the manifestations of the gale, and many spent a sleepless night. The crash of falling fences, wireless masts and trees kept them awake. Showers of small stones were blown out of crannies in the cliffs, giving the tar roads the appearance of having been shingled. Many pedestrians and cvclists were sprayed with the windblown particles. ORCHARDS NOT AFFECTED. The orchards at Loburn and those in Christchurch were not affected to any great extent by the gale. Most of the fruit is now in, and only late apples remain to be picked. In many cases picking is now proceeding, and where the fruit has been blown from the trees no great loss will be suffered. The Papanui orchards received the full force of the gale, but no damage was reported this morning.