NORTH OF NAPIER

Evening Post, Volume CXI, Issue 31, 6 February 1931, Page 10

NORTH OF NAPIER

ROADS IN BAD STATE

POSITION AT WAIKAREMOANA

(By "The Post's" Special Reporter.) N-APIEB, This Day. A boy was discovered on Thursday under the debris at tho Technical College. "Give' us a drink," was his only remark when he was rescued. Then he dashed off violently in search of his parents. The West Shore embankment, which i cost £18,000, is completely ruined. About halfway along tho concrete bridge" one span has fallen, and the private jetties at the summer residenco of Mr. Vigor Brown are now high and dry, tho yacht-racing course showing a foot of water. The Eskdale valley felt tho shock fairly severely, but not to such an extent as Napier and Hastings. The. residence of Mr. F. C. Clark, which was a well-known landmark in- the valley, was completely destroyed, and the residence of Mrs. Beattie was badly damaged. The France Home for Boys, at which orphans are received for farm training, was almost completely destroyed, and the boys will probabjy be transferred to Auckland. ' y Mrs. Jack Hindinarsh, who was seen on the'beach shortly after the earthquake, has since disappeared, and her husband is anxiously searching for her. When last seen she was suffering from injuries to the head and legs, so it is possible that she has been taken to an Outside hospital. - DAMAGE TO ELECTRIC STATIONS. The Taradale Government electrical sub-station suffered greatly, and the ferro-concrete building has been so wrecked that complete rebuilding will be necessary. Three transformers, each weighing 20 tons, were thrown from their bases and damaged, and the insulators and overhead controls fell. This means that Mangahao, with Wellington and Auckland, will havo to carry the load of the southern part of the Island for a considerable time. The Waikareinoana hydro-electric works were little affected, and there was no damage in the power-house, though every chimney in the settlement is down!, The transmission line stood well, and only, one tower came down at ;Pihanui, about 40 miles north of Napier, where the country was greatly disturbed, suggesting that possibly the centre of the disturbance was located at or near Pihanui. Until the tower is repaired no power can be transmitted, from Waikaremoana. .The I station is supplying Wairoa and Gis- j borne. A small amount of power.is being fed back from Mangahao to Napier, and in Hastings and in Napier it is being used for water pumping. No general water supply is \ possible at Hastings. A Diesel plant which escaped damage is being used for pumping purposes. ' RIVER DAMMED.^,--.■North of Napier the roads are in a very bad state, and the notorious Devil's Elbow is so blocked and broken that this route, may be given up and the service road used. A heavy slip on the Wairoa-Waikaremoana road blocked the road and dammed back the Waikaretaheke river for three miles, and a. great flood will sweep 'down should the earth dam break. The Wairoa bridge, is out of action for vehicular traffic 9. "Fairly heavy slips came down between Mohaka and Waikare, and there are bad slips in the Waikare, Matahora, and Waikohu gorges. n , .. The evacuation of women and children continued steadily till nightfall on Thursday, and a great number is now clear of the danger zone. Most of the homes in Napier and Hastings Rave been deserted temporarily, and ; the menfolk are sleeping in various camps until they have had an opportunity o± clearing up the frightful litter.