SECOND SEVERE QUAKE

Dominion, Volume 35, Issue 261, 3 August 1942, Page 6

SECOND SEVERE QUAKE

Wellington Suffers SERIOUS DAMAGE IN BUSINESS AREA Buildings Badly Cracked

For the second time within six weeks, the lower half of the North Island was rocked by a severe earthquake at 12.34 o clock yesterday morning. Though it lasted only 50 seconds, the shock did damage which, it is estimated, will run into hundreds of thousands of pounds. Chimneys fell, windows shattered in thousands. In several parts of Wellington city large blocks of masonry crashed into the street. Widespread cracks opened ominously in a number of buildings, and extensive demolition work seems inevitable. A large .section of Manners Street has been closed to all traffic, vehicular and pedestrian, because of the immediate danger. No casualties have been reported, thoug i there were several narrow escapes.

The epicentre of the earthquake was about 50 miles from Wellington. The shock was slightly less intense, and of shorter duration, than that ou June 24, but was only a degree or two less on the Rossi-Forel scale. The structural damage to buildings .in Wellington was considerably greater than on the first occasion, because of the cumulative effects of tlie two visitations. . The quake accentuated the effects on buildings left by the last one, brought about the collapse of weakened sections of brickwork, and opened so dangerously what were before minor cracks in walls and parapets, that a number of heavy and immediate demolitions have been made necessary. Damage done in Wellington by the earthquake runs into many thousands of pounds; in fact, that is an underestimate when the cost of structural repairs and the strengthening of damaged buildings is considered. Owners, in some cases are facing heavy commitments for restoration work.. . “The damage done by the earthquake is definitely very bad,” said the city engineer, Mr. K. E. Luke, “and we can be grateful to Providence that it ceased when it did. Just another few seconds and it would have been most disastrous.”

Chimneys left standing both in'Wellington and other districts by the previous earthquake again received a battering, and many more • were brought, down, including several which had recently been repaired, adding, to the problems of restoration, which have been serious on account of the shortage of labour. The Kelburn district, in Wellington, suffered particularly badly again, and there must be few chimneys still standing there which are not defective. Street Closed.’

After an inspection made by the mayor, Mr. Hislop, the city engineer, Mr. Luke, and other officials, it was decided at 12.30 p.m. yesterday to close Manners Street, from Willis Street to Cuba’ Street till demolition work on dangerous parapets has been carried out.

Meanwhile ‘traffic was diverted to other routes, and trams which ordinarily pass through this sector to the suburbs were sent via Jervois Quay. The first demolition work to be put in hand today will be the removal of a high parapet from Charles Begg’s building. This parapet is very badly cracked and is considered likely to fall at any time into the middle of Manners Street. Wairarapa District. The Wairarapa district again fared badly, .and more damage was done to buildings and homes, but not on anything like the scale of June 24. The earthquake this time did not reach quite the same intensity in Mastertou, but was felt heavily at Eketahuna, and worst of all in the eastern coastal areas. “Slips and subsidences on the Wairarapa railway line at various points between Eketahuna and Masterton in consequence of the disturbance have again blocked this section of the route, which was impassable .for sev-, eral days after the June earthquake. However, it is expected that the line will be cleared sufficiently for traffic to be resumed at midday today. There have been subsidences at the approaches - to some of the railway bridges, and'reballasting will be necessary at other places on the line. A slip came down on the llimutaka incline between The Summit and Cross Creek. Though of some dimensions, it was cleared by 11.30 a.m. yesterday. The rail-car for the Wairarapa did not leave Wellington yesterday, and, till the line is cleared traffic between Eketahuna and Masterton is suspended. No ‘blockage occurred on the Main Trunk line, and there was no further trouble at the Pukerua Bay slip, where the second track was reopened yesterday afternoon for through traffic. Though a few circuits were put out of action, telephone and telegraph communication was maintained uninterruptedly with all points. Repair gangs were immediately put to work on the damaged circuits. Toll traffic between Wellington and other affected areao was very heavy yesterday, and there were considerably delays, partly because of the increased volume of calls and partly because of the shortage of circuits. Hundreds of requests for information were received by “The Dominion” during the day from relatives and friends of people living in Masterton. Observatory Records. The earthquake, which had a duration of 50 seconds, compared with 1J minutes for that of June 2-1, came at 12.34 a.m. From what was disclosed by the records up to last night, the Dominion seismologist, Mr. Hayes, was able to place the epicentre at about 50 miles distant from Wellington. Till further records were received from other centres, it was impossible, he said, io state in which direction from Wellington the epicentre lay. “On the present information,” said Mr. Hayes, “I would place the strength of this earthquake at 7, or 7 plus, on the RossiForel scale.” From the direction of the swaying movements, it appeared that the direction of the ’quake was from east to west. Not many reports had been received from other centres last night, but it was stated that the shock had been felt in Dunedin. There was a short, noisy and rumbling earthquake tremor at 4.47 p.m. on Saturday, about eight hours before the major disturbance, and a slight aftershock was felt at about 7.45 a.m. yesterday. The mechanism of the delicate seismological instruments at the Dominion Observatory was put out of action by the big ’quake, but excellent

records were obtained on the heavyduty apparatus. Wellington iieople were awakened by a sickening swaying movement. Then followed a gyration, which seemed to be interminable, and finally a shuddering uplift, which ended abruptly just as- walls were cracking ominously and seemed about to split asunder. Despite the alarming nature of the ’quake, the reaction in Wellington was of comparative calmness and people quickly.recovered their composure. Anticipating heavy damage, numbers of people made a tour of inspection, and all were amazed that the city had escaped as lightly as it did. though the damage was serious enough. Just as the ’quake finished Wellington was plunged into darkness as the lighting went off, and the power was not restored for about 20 minutes. The failure was caused by the automatic release of an earth clamp on a transformer at Pahautanui. This functioned when the earthquake reached such an intensity as to throw a dangerous strain on the flexibility of the transmission lines, and it threw out the switches at the Mangahao power station. During the earthquake large buildings in the city area of Wellington rocked and creaked heavily. The bells of the central post office clock, after being silenced by the last big earthquake, swung crazily again. Two pedestrians walking .across Willis Street- were unable to cope with the unbalancing earth movement, and were thrown to the ground. Trams, swaying heavily, came to a standstill as they were making their last run home to the barns. Both the water and gas installations of a tea-room in Manners Street burst and the water did some flooding before both connexions were got under control. Plate-glass windows again collapsed in numbers of business premises. Glass showered down from windows high in buildings and in places the footjiaths were strewn with powdered and splintered glass. Numerous small fragments of .stone fell, tiles were shed from walls, and plaster rained down inside certain buildings. Window displays were thrown into confusion, but shopowners and staffs were soon at work clearing up. ■ Many were making close' examinations of their premises yesterday During the disturbance the orchestra and vocalist of a city cabaret continued their number without interruption. 50 Ton Parapet Crashes. Weighing anything up to 50 tons, the whole parapet came away from the top of Levin and Co.’s building in Jervois Quay and fell in a solid mass across the kerbing, partly on the footpath, where it cut through the concrete flagstones like a knife and embedded itself deeply in the edge of the roadway. The huge block of masonry tore away the power-lines in its fall. The premises of Aubrey Gaulter and Co., which suffered in the last earthquake, had three more large windows broken and valuable china smashed. The tower of the Windsor Hotel, overlooking Willis Street in the heart of the citv, was badly cracked, with at least two heavy concrete facings yawning wide open. Manners Street Damage. ' Along Manners Street the damage done to brick structures is extensile. Some of the interior walls in the three-, story Mercantile Exchange building on the southern side of the street, opposite Cornhill Street, tumbled into the main entrance passage to the building (which forms a light well). As the upper section of these walls appeared to >be badly shattered. Ibis entrance was closed to the public. The coping of a three-story brick building on the other side of Manners Street, on the corner of Cornhill Street, was also disturbed. The Duke of Edinburgh Hotel, which suffered on the eastern side in the June earthquake, has cracked badly on the Manners Street frontage. . . Ninnno’s five-story brick building, on the corner of Willis and Bond Streets, shows cracks running across below the tower. Dowden’s threestory building, on the corner of Bond and' Farish streets, has she’d some of its parapet, and the rest of the corner looks dangerous, and is roped off for public protection. The earthquake also attacked the old Public Library building, where brick-work and ridging tiles were 'displaced from the roof by falling chimneys. 'file side wall of the old Technical School building in Wakefield Street, and also the old Education Board building in Mercer Street have been seriously damaged. It looks as if these two buildings will have to undergo extensive repairs or demolition, as another severe shake might end their existence. Another building to receive further damage is the Working Men's Club. In the June earthquake this building was 'disturbed on the southern frontage, but. now ominous cracks have appeared on the Victoria Street facade. to weiglt three or four tons, a heavy chimney which had been toppled over, was resting precariously yesterday on the roof of the wooden' building nt Perrett’s Corner. In Courtenay Place, Rod’s building, already undergoing repairs, suffered additional damage. The Allied Services Club in Manners Street suffered heavy loss of crockery, glassware, and stores. “It is heartbreaking after we had only just got the club running properly,” said the manageress, Mrs. Ina Allan. Workers cleaning up behind the bar in the cafeteria were ankles deep in broken crockery and glass, she said. In the storeroom there was chaos. Eggs and bottles of sauce were broken and large quantities of meat, butter, flour and tea had to be thrown out because particles of glass had fallen among them. Another 100 windows were broken al the premises of John Chambers and Co., where 300 were smashed in the

June earthquake. The big coping over the skating rink in Wakefield Street is in a dangerous position. ■With the outer section of its double walls shattered, and debris scattered ou the streets, a two-storeyed brick building at the corner of ’Willis nd Ghuznee Streets was left in bad shape by the ’quake. Other premises in Upper ’Willis Street suffered considerable damage, and one building was so badly shaken as Io be regarded as distinctly unsafe, the top giving indications that it might disintegrate at any time. Many windows were .‘-mashed on the Waring Taylor Street frontage of the State Eire building, and the parapet on the McGinnity Street frontage of the building of Ballinger Bros., .Ltd., in the same street, collapsed .on to the street.

The building organizer of the Dominion Farmers’ Institute, Mr. O. Fennell, asked last night, that a rumour that the building had been seriously damaged and that fire-watchers had been injured, should be contradicted. It was entirely untrue, he said. There was only minor damage. Wall Collapses.

The top section of the wall behind the stage of the Wellington Training College hall fell outward, smashing through the roofs of outbuildings be-' low. The caretaker of the college was sleeping just inside the wall. He escaped because the debris fell the other way.

The ’Wellington Fire Brigade received no calls to fires resulting from the earthquake, but several automatic alarms in buildings were set off by the vibration and this involved considerable work in checking.