Six Cows Killed By Lightning

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 699, 26 June 1929, Page 8

Six Cows Killed By Lightning

TWO MEN INJURED BIG HERD KNOCKED OVER /From Our Own Correspondent) HAMILTON, Tuesday. Two farmers were knocked down and six animals killed by a flash of lightning at Matangi, five miles south-east of Hamilton, this morning. Mr. M. W. Coventry and his son were working in a paddock on their farm when a terrific thunderstorm broke. The impact of the lightning rendered Mr. Coventry, junr., unconscious for several hours, while both he and his father suffered from shock. Four cows and two calves were killed outright and the whole herd of over 60 head was knocked over. Mr. U. Coventry recovered consciousness this afternoon little the worse for his unenviable experience. The two men were working at a haystack at the time, and the stack caught fire, but the flames were extinguished by the rain. An electric service transformer in the Matangi settlement, a mile from Mr. Coventry’s farm, was also struck by lightning, and a number of lines leading from the station were thrown out of operation.

STORM AT TE KUITI DELUGE OF RAIN RIVER RISES RAPIDLY (From Our Own Correspo'ndent) TE KUITI, Today. An electrical disturbance, accompanied by torrential rain and wind of exceptional velocity, was experienced in Te Kuiti and district during the whole of Monday night, and continued till mid-day yesterday. The storm commenced at 9J5 p.m., when, following loud claps of thunder, rain fell in sheets. In a short time the gutters were overflowing, and the Mangaokewa River rose so rapidly that in a very short time there was about three feet of water covering part of the Esplanade Road. A swing bridge over the stream was . submerged. and leading from the Domain, the railway settlement on Te Kumi Road was flooded. 1 Several minor slips have occurred in the locality, but so far no serious inconvenience has been caused to road traffic. Intermittent heavy showers commenced to fall again dtiring yesterday afternoon, and a strong wind did havoc among sheds and fowlruns. At a late hour last night heavy rain was still falling.