EARTHQUAKES IN THE SOUTH.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XXIII, Issue 272, 18 November 1901, Page 2

EARTHQUAKES IN THE SOUTH.

SERIOUS DAMAGE AT CHEVIOT. OHttISTOHUROH CATHEDRAL BADLY SHAKEN PEE PfimSS ASSOCIATION, Wellington, November 16. The Postal Department; is advised that the Cheviot [Post Office was completely wrecked by this morning's earthquake. Everything was dismantled and j every jar in the office broken. Oc e death, that of a baby, is reported and two accidents occurred. ■ \ Cheviot is in a suite of collapse, busi-

ness being suspended. I Damage was also done to the Post; Office at Waiau. 1 Ohbistohuroh, November 16. I One of the sharpest shocks of earth-1 quake felt here for many yeare was ex- 1 periencei at 7.47 a.m., lasting over i 'bait a minute. The Cathedral spire! was cra'c&ed io two places, and part of j the spire undeV the cross has been j shifted about a foot. FURTHER PARTICULARS OF THB DISASTER. A WIDESPREAD DISTURBANCE. , TOWNSHIPS WRECKED. THE POPULACE TERRIFIKD. Chhistchubch, November 16. An interview with a gentleman who had come through to Rangiora from the Cheviot to-day, showed that the earthquake at the latter place had been most disastrous. There is hardly a house habitable in the township, and the defmsga is Variously estimated at from £lo',ooo to £20,000. Every chimney in the settlenatent is dowD,- not a single' one standing. The first shock was so stfvere' that people were thrown to the grotfnd in all directions. The child killed wat( only two niotiths old,- and belonged to Mr Charles Johnafotf. The family lived in a sod house with at! froA roofy and on the first shock the whole fltrtte-turecjllapi-ed, the child being rsovared . d«ad from the ruins. The body of Dr. Williamson, who died a few days previously, was thrown from the coffin and the housa was much damaged. ' The township looks as though it had ' been through a bambardment. Pen- ' berthy's large boarding-house fras completely wrecked. Scott's hotel was so ' damaged that it will have to b» rebuilt. ' McTnggart's butchery shop, ' which was built of brick, is simply a heap of ruius. Hubbard, Hall, and Company's store has been removed 1 completely from its foundations. Many of the inhabitants refuse tc 3 return to their dwellings, and are campr ing in the open. The Bluff and Be&ch--3 roads are entirely blocked, and th( ' school-house at Port Robinson ii 1 wrecksd.

Tha Telegraph Office suffered very severely, all the instruments being smashed and everything overturned. To illustrate the f>rce of the shock, heavy iron platos in the office were overturned.

The shock was most severely felt in Mackenzie and Spottiswood. At Domett houses were shaken and chimneys thrown down. When the last information came from Cheviot at 3 p.m., shocks were still continuing. At Waiauand Tipapa the shaking was felt severely. At Waikari a lot of damage was done.

The heaviest losers are McDowe'l, storekeeper; Kerinode, hotelkeeper; McNaught, saddler ; White and Company, storekeepers; and Looner, hotelkeepers. The vicarage of the Church of England is almost in ruins. Several women fainted duriog the panic. ! MAGNETOGRAPH RECORDS. Chbistohurch, November 17. Mr O. 0(1 rHge Farr, who is in charge of the Magnetic Observatory, on being interviewed regarding the earthquake, regr.tted he had not yet had time to place the seismograph in position, but the magnetographs, which he set in operation during the day (after the big shocks showed that there were frequent tremors during the afternoon and night.

At least twelve distinct shocks were recorded between noon and midnight, and between 7.30 p.m. and 10.30 p.m. the ground was'evidently in a constant state of vibration. • At 9.20 there was a sharp shook which was also felt at Cheviot. At six o'clock 1 his morning Mr Skey, Mr Farr''* assistant, says there I was another sharp shock, and this time the magnetograph record showed six I distinct shooks at seven minutes internal.

The heavv shock on Saturday morn-1 ing threw one of the three instruments! out of gear. * I Beyond the injury to the Cathedral spire the damage to the buildiog is not considerable. Several house chimneys fell, and the tank under the roof of the D.1.0. overflowed and damaged goods two stories bo'ow. It was feared that Wardell's new building at the corner of High and Cashel-streets 1 had gooe out of plumb, but experts state that this is not the cise, tbe only apparent damage being a crack in a small rhimnay. At the Normal School, which is built on ! peaty ground, several cracks are noticeable on the outside walls. One crack in the northern gible, though not .serious, seems to show that but for the buttresses the whole wall would have fallen. A leiding builder estimates tbat it will take £BOO to repair the Cathedral spire—the same amount practically as on the previous occasion. SHOOKS AT GREYMOUTH. Gkeymouth, November 17. , Several lighter shocks of earthquake I were felt here yesterday afternoon. I