THE EARTHQUAKE

Hokitika Guardian, 11 July 1929, Page 6

THE EARTHQUAKE

AIORE AT WESTPORT. (By Telegraph—Press Association). WESTPORT, July 10. “Not- so easy as it seems,” said a business man interested in a large way in coal mining operations. “What we have to do .now is to forget all about the earthquakes and get right down to business!” Then a big quake came,' and the building in which he and his hearers stood rocked uncannily, and for several seconds.; That is tnc condition under which the people both in business and in their homes are working to-day. If a quake does, not come for a few hours, the people are tensely waiting for one. The waiting is very often worse than the effect when a quake actually takes place. The people are still living in a state of nervous tension, under the impression. one minute that the worst, has passed, and only slight shakes will be experienced, and the next finding buildings rocking almost as severely as with the earliest big shakes. Students of earthquakes have yet some deep thinking <o do before it can be said that they have reduced till subject; to an ox'act science. Besides early morning quakes, there were several this afternoon, including a sustained&no at 3.20 p.m. •'

EARTHQUAKE’S CENTO E. IS IT IN THE HILLS ? CHRISTCHURCH, July 10. “An upthrust, thirteen feet wide, has been discovered in the rock formation in some'hills eight miles west-north-west of Murchison. This is prooably part of the main fault/ and investigation is almost certain to show that this is the seat of the origin of the big earthquake.” This is according to Mr H. F. Skey, the seismologist at Christchurch Magnetic ’ Observatory, who returned today after having spent a week in the Murchison district. The fault, said Mr Skey, looked like a big step, the lower part having sunk thirteen feet. It was not far distant from one of the recognised lines of fault, and it seemed to run across the Bulleir !V alley iand parallel'.' to the Lyell Range. This upthrust would be further studied, said Mr Skey, and its nature determined. There was little doubt that the centre of the origin' of the earthquake was in this vicinity. He said that booming noises in the valleys continued in the Murchison area. These noises nad been heard for years, but they had not caused much concern to the settlers. Sometimes shocks t carnet with ..these noises, but more often they did not. He had noticed that the noises that were followed by shocks were peculiar, being something like the spluttering of a motor car when about to start. A sound ranging apparatus was being taken to 'the spot to detect the origin and direction of these noises. Mr Skey said that he was convinced that the big movement was over, ano that the minor shocks now occurring were due to the earth settling to rest.

NELSON DAMAGE OVER £300,000. NELSON, July 10. The City Engineers’ estimate of the earthquake damage to private buildings in Nelson City is £79,000, this not including the Boys’ College. This, with the damage in the Nelson rurai districts, totalling £237,000 makes a total of £317,000 with the Motueka Borough still to come. THREE MAIN CAUSES. CHRISTCHURCH, July 10. There were three main causes of die damage of the buildings in the earthquake area, according to Dr C. E. Adams, Government Seismologist, who has returned from a tour of investigation. They were: Bad foundations, the use of designs'not intended to resist horizontal stresses; and in less frequent cases, the 1 , use* of interior materials. He considers that some building regulations similar to those adopted at S'an Francisco after the earthquake there, may be enacted here to provide that buildings must be braced to make them capable of resisting a lateral pressure of thirty pounds to the square foot. Dr Adams says the fact that miners who were 1200 feet underground at Reefton are declared to have felt the earthquake, disproves the popular impression that earthquakes are not noticed far under the surface.

MORE REFUGEES. FROM SEDDONVILLE. WESTPORT, July 10. Another 120 residents of Seddonville, 'mostly women and children, came into Westport this evening, and they will leave, some for Christchurch, and others for Wellington. A good number of the refugees are going to relatives or friends, and the others to be billetted out. The Salvation Army has the transport and billetting arrangements in hand. KARAMEA SHIPPING SERVICE WESTPORT, July 10. The steamer Nile, which is due here to-night from Ivaramea, called in today at Little Wanganui, and she is to leave again for Kara men, for which port the auxiliary schooner Fairburn, with a general cargo, left early this morning.

RELIEF FUNDS. GORE, July 10. A cheque for £27(1 was forwarded to the Central Earthquake Relief Fund to-day, representing the total collected to date by the Mataura Ensign, Gore. CHRISTCHURCH, July 10. The Mayor’s earthquake fund now totals £7,843, -while “The Press” fund is £4,055.