Last Night's Gale.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XII, Issue 1743, 25 June 1886, Page 2

Last Night's Gale.

' A fearfully heavy^gale sprang up from the north-west about 10 o'clock last night. ; Some .seconds before the fury of the approaching storm was actually; experienced, roar which.accompatfieji itvw&s.heara, and many were.* at loss to' r know what dire disaster it por- ? tended. For about an hour the wind blew with terrific yiolence, at times* the fury of .the gusts being so irresistible that for pedestrians to make headway against' it was out of the question, The din and clatter of slamming doors, rattling win-, dows, empty cases driven hither and thither, and the whistling of the gale round the chimneys and down the thoroughfares, was something to be remembered. If the gale was felt, with such unprecedented violence here, surrounded as we are with bush, whati mast, its force have been m exposed localities and at sea. The oldest resident does not remember to have experienced such a visitation before m this district. Pre- [ vious to .its setting m, the air .was calm,. I the wind having dropped shortly \beforg.} | After rt had blown with* gastgof fearful violence for about three quarters of an hour, a cold driving rain set m, the squalls continuing intermittently with extreme force, causing serious alarm to many, who thought that the dwellings or chimne.ysicou.ld not, long- withstand the fuiry of >Jihe« tempest ttiat^wae raging. The Club Hotel experienced the full force of the storm, and it was. thought at : one time that the windows woiild have been blown m, the building itself absolutely rocking as each successive blast, hurled itself against the walls.' There was something phenomenal m the gale, and many are inclined to think that it was a whirlwind, and was perhaps confined to a narrow strip of country. The lamps m the Square were extinguished within the first few minutes, and several panes of glass blown m, and' fences levelled m all directions. The debris of the streets, comprising- sheets of paper, pieces of zinc, &c, &c, 'were 'Swirled round and round- and carried out of; sight m a moment. Mr Walkley 'informs us that the baroinei&r fell lower than ever he remembers to haveuseen it, although but little warning of the approaching gale •aDpears to have been given. In the Straits the fury of the storm must have been something awful, and it' will be strange indeed if tidings of disasters at sea and on -shore do not reach us within •the next few days. Exposed, treeless places like Sandon,Mount Stewarty Martpn,; and the high lands on, both sides' dfWariganui must have experienced the full; power of the storm, if its path included those districts. Some people began to think that a disastrous visitation was about to make itself felt, and the Rotorua outbreak was referred as possibly m some way connected with the present sudden and unexpected phenomenon. Just prior to the gale, commencing, the night' was ' exceptionally clear and bright, but after the rain set m,; the darkness became intense. During thb night the rolling of thunder kept; many awake, and m not a few pases anxious thoughts and apprehensions exercised a disquieting influence. During the next day or two we may fully expect to hear of damage, to property , and vary? prdbablj disasters at Bef and on land, caused through the irresistible fury of the gala, especially during the first half hour of its continuance. Had a fire occurred during the height of tiler etoriu, it is ? f e4rf ul to" eveo^speculate « to the ddykstation that would inevitably have been caused. We anxiously await intelligence, from other parts of the dis-v trict, and fjro'm the sea-coast, as; to jthe* possibly disastrous" consequences that may .yet have to be placed on" record.