SEVERE QUAKE

Hokitika Guardian, 6 May 1932, Page 2

SEVERE QUAKE

IN NORTH ISLAND. LIGHTS OUT IN MANY TOWNS iUy Telegraph, Per Press Association.. WELLINGTON, May 5. The Secretary of the Post and Telegraph Department, Mr G. McNamara, has been informed as follows from the undermentioned postmasters:—

Hastings:—There was a severe shake at Hastings at 7.56 o’clock this evening. Tfie electric lighting system was temporarily cut off, but it was re_ stored after five minutes, . A ..few of the shop., windows were damaged thrpagh the' contents of the ,w.ndows falling down. There was no structural damage....

Napier . reports that the shake was severely felt there. The lighting system failed, but ft has been restored. All communications remain intact. There was ho structural damage.

Woodville: There was a slight earthquake here of short duration at 7.54 p.m. The electric light failed .nimediately before the quake, , Dannevirk; An earthquake shock was felt here at approximately 7.55 pan, The lights failed for a few seconds oefore the shotk, which was of moderate intensity; It had a rolling motioh. There is apparently no damage. ' WUiptikufaU: There wUs hit earthquake hero at 7.55 p.m. No damage was done so far as can be ascertained. Waipawa: At 7.57 there was a sharp earthquake here. It lasted for about 33 seconds, and caused temporary interruption of the electric light services. There was no other damage locally. Te Kuiti and Taumarunui report that the quake was felt there, but was slight.

Tau'po reports ,that it had a severe earthquake. Hamilton and Rotorua did not experience the shock. The folowing is the advice from' the Chief Postmaster at Auckland: “No shock was evident here.”

Wanganui reports: At, 7.54 p.m. there was a fairly severe earthquake of a swaying nature, lasting 1 for over a minute. It was accompanied by a partial power failure. The /apparent direction was east to west. There was no damage done to the Postal Departmental building/

Tlie Nap er Police and Hospital authorities report that there are no .known casualties, and no apparent structural damage. The power was restored at 8.20 at Napier.'; ' ■ Gisborne reports: There was ,an earthquake here at 7.55 p.m. No damage resulted. Wairoa report: There was a. heavy and prolonged shock of earthquake here at 7.54 p.m. No damage is reported locally: Taradaie reports: Thebe was a fairly severe earthquake at 7.54 o’clock to-night. It brought doWn some of the chimneys around the district. The stock on the shelves in the shops was thrown to the floor. The electric light faded but it was restored at about 8.20 p.m. Taradaie adds: There have been several minor shakes since 7.45.

PEOPLE RUSH FOR OPEN. ALARM IN HAWKE’S BAY. NAPIER, May 5. An earthquake of an intensity probably equal, or nearly equal to that of the secondary shakes last year, shook Napier and Hastings severely, at 7.55 this evening, causing a certain amount of alarm and contusion. Although the general conduct of the people was remarkably calm, the street were quickly alive \vith people. The majority, quite naturally in view of past experiences made for the open immediately that it became evident that the shake was one of some severity. Theatre audiences, however, diq not become alarmed, and only a small number went out. Within ten minutes or so the programmes were resumed, and those who left the theatres had returned. The choir girls in a Nap : er church where a service was in progress had rather a bad scare. The failure of the lighting adding to their alarm. There were other cases where women Were a trifle panicky, more particularly at Hastings Memorial Hospital. So far it appears there has been no structural damage of any kind, apart from an odd plate glass window being broken, through the dislodging of goods on display. Some damage may have resulted from goods being thrown from shelves, though the information available thus far does not indicate that it has been very serious. The telephone exchanges at Napier anil Hastings were disorganised, but a service was soon restored. Yi ith a. few seconds alter the tremor started the light failed, or was cut off. but it was restored in ten minutes. Several minor shakes have been felt since the main one, the' hist being

soon after nine o’clock. They w T ere by no means severe.

TARADALE HAVOC

DAMAGE IN EVERY HOME.

NAPIER. May O.

Very considerable alarm was felt by the Taradaie people, all of whom immediate rushed from their homes. and 1 for two hours remained out on the streets owing to continued tremors. A large number of chimneys came down there in most cases being broken off at the roof. Fortunately, no personal injuries arc reported.

In every home, considerable damage took place among crockery, glassware and pictures. The damage in various shops was exceptionaly heavy, and the owners will suffer considerable losses. Large quantities of bottled goods were smashed and there was damage to other goods. The Soldiers’ Memorial Tower, which was damaged by the big earthquake last year, and which since has been reinstated, did not move. The chiming clock stopped, but was fortunately no't damaged, and wag soon se,t going. A further severe shake was experienced at a quarter past eleven, although at the. same intensity, it did not last so long as tile earlier one. At- Paketapu, where the settlers were considerably alarmed, the damage was confined to broken chimneys, and in addition household damage among the crockery was done.

At Gteenmeadows, Meatiee and Pakawhai, the quake was felt .with considerable intensity, but little damage is reported. The cutting off of the electric light, which was not restored for some time in these districts, was responsible for an added feeling of uneasiness.

NAJPIER’S RUSH FOR, SAFETY ALARM AT HOSPITALS. NAPIER, May 5. The people at their firesides in Napier and Hastings quickly moved from the danger of possible falling chimneys. (None fell however). They made haste to collect their sleeping infants, whose crying was isoon added to the barking of innumerable dbgsi outside. Nevertheless, as already stated, the movement of the people, was not panicky, being almost invariably dictated by the fact that experience has taught the residents what earthquakes can do, and the need! for finding places of safety. ' Within a very few minutes, the people returned indoors to search for candles and make an inspection of the interior of the houses, where the damage was found to be confined to comparatively a few pieces of crockery and ornaments. Confidence was quickly restored when the lights again came on, about fifteen minutes after the shake, and the people rfestimed their interrupted occupations, and duly retired to bed to sleep. (fhete have been, minor shocks between 11,1$ and 11,30, as this is being written, which may have disturbed some. The almost negligible extent of tne damage in the shops is quite' remark* able. Even precariously balanced articles in crockery shops maintained their positions'. Probably the action of the quake, which was not of the swaying variety, had something to do with this. The locality of the failure of the electricity service was restored by calling into use the local auxiliary plants. The telephone exchange staff had to be trebled in Napier, to cope’ with inquiries received from all over the North Island. The “Herald’s” inquiries came, from all directions. The news evidently spread quickly, and the concern probably was greater outside Hawke’s Ba,' than within. Most of the patients at Napier Hospital are housed in tents, not yet having being transferred to the recentlyreconditioned Coleman and Midgley wards. These latter, however, suffered no damage. A few female patients became hysterical, but soon calmed, and everything was restored 1 to normal. The reinstated Municipal Theatre in Hastings in which a cinema, programme was proceeding suffered no damage, The audience mostly left hurriedly, but in an orderly manner. This building was severely damaged in last year’s big quake. The damage in Hastinsg shops is of a minor nature, except for two large plate glass windows. There was a good deal of disorder in some cases, but the breakages are not considerable. Ah far as the two Hastings Hospitals were concerned, the patients in Royston Private Hospital, which is a wooden structure, behaved splendidly, but at the Memorial Hospital, which is a brick building, there was some panic among the women patients. The nursing staff however,'? wore able to quickly restore confidence, and everything was satisfactory when the fears had been allayed. A small amount of plaster came down in 90me of the wards.