MILD SENSATION IN LEVIN.

Shannon News, 18 June 1929, Page 3

MILD SENSATION IN LEVIN.

CROWD COLLECTS IN OXFORD STREET. A swaying ’motion, gentle at first, but gradually increasing until it resembled that of a ship in choppy water, caused occupants of shops, offices and houses in Levin yesterday' to feel uneasy and then to move out into the open as ?he word “Earthquake” was passed arcund. It was a peculiar disturbance, smooth but ponderous in its action, and caused suspended electric globes fo s-rVLig over a radius of probably twenty degic.es from the horizontal. Trees waved their branches, telephone and power poles and even veranda posts swayed, fronts of wooden buildings creaked, and all manner of articles hanging, in shop windows swung about as though set in motion by invisible hands. The'earth movement—for it could not be ca’ecl a shock —• was first observed in Levin at 10.18, and it. lasted for practically a minute. It was responsible for quite a crowd assembling in. Oxford c'tredt, where they watched with some apprehension the straining cf parapets and veranda roofs.

Cream in a vat at the Levin butter factor y, the level of which had been four inches below the top, splashed over the sides of the vat when the quake was at its height. Among the effects, of the movement was the overflowing of water from the gasometer at the Levin gasworks. In the upper part of a two-s,torcy building some damage was done to crockery, Avlrch the swaying toppled off the shelves. No serious effects are reported from business premises. Bottles in chemists’ shops rocked ominously, but did not lose their balance. In Messrs W. M. Clark’s premises some rolls of linoleum standing on end yvere throwm over.

ELECTRIC FOWER TRANSMISSION AFFECTED. The swinging together of electric .lines caused some interruption at the Power Board’s sub-station in Levin. Fuses were blorvn out, but there were no serious results. In 'the* southern portion of the district, however, disorganisation of the current occurred, and staff men had to be" sent to remedy, the troble. By 11 o’clock the ■service was again in -working order.