SEVERE EARTHQUAKE

Wairarapa Times-Age, 16 December 1938, Page 7

SEVERE EARTHQUAKE

WELLINGTON & HAWKE’S BAY DISTRICTS

WAIPUKURAU BADLY SHAKEN.

SOME DAMAGE IN SEVERAL

CENTRES.

An earthquake, which in some centres was the most severe for several years, was felt throughout the southern portion of the North Island between 9.11 p.m. and 9.17 p.m. yesterday. The tremor was characterised by a long, swinging motion, and in the Wairarapa, Wanganui, Levin and Wellington was accompanied by a low, rumbling noise.

The centre of the disturbance appears to have been between Waipukurau and Dannevirke. Reports indicate that Waipukurau suffered more severely than other towns.. Great alarm was caused and in a number of shops stock was littered all over the floor. Several plate-glass windows were broken. After the disturbance a large supply tank at the isolation ward of the hospital burst, causing a good deal of damage. Plaster fell from the walls and ceiling of the main hospital and cutlery was thrown from the kitchen shelves. The patients remained calm.

The shock in Dannevirke was the most severe since the Napier earthquake. People rushed out of the Town Hall Picture Theatre and congregated in the middle of the street. Many shop assistants who were working late at Christmas decorations left buildings hurriedly. The worst damage occurred in a large store where a whole window of crystal ware was destroyed. Articles were thrown from shelves in many shops and houses.

MANAWATU. A severe shock was felt throughout the Manawatu district at about 9.14 o’clock. It was the most alarming tremor felt since that which wrecked Pahiatua, but except in a few minor cases no damage was reported. Theatre audiences in Palmerston North were startled, both by the noise and the shake. Without exception, people in five theatres made a hurried exit and in two instances women had to receive attention. In another theatre that part of the audience which remained indoors during the interval rose and rushed outside. The skill of attendants at this and another theatre probably averted panic. Most of the picture patrons returned, however.

The quake put the transmitter of the commercial broadcasting station in Palmerston North out of action for about 10 minutes. Though patients in the Palmerston North Hospital were alarmed by the shake, there was no sign of any panic. An official described their behaviour as very calm under somewhat trying conditions. Hotel guests were not alarmed unduly. Order was maintained well at the break-up ceremony of Palmerston North Boys’ High School. In a few cases in Palmerston North plaster on walls was cracked, but no reports are available yet on structural strain or damage. It appears that Bulls, Ohingaiti, and Hunterville all felt the quake severely. Walls were cracked in several public buildings throughout that area.

No jolting motion was felt in either Napier or Hastings, though in Hastings some window displays were demolished. People left the theatres, though there was no panic. In Waipawa there was a good deal of minor damage in shops, goods being thrown off shelves. In many private homes there were breakages. Both the Wairoa and Gisborne districts experienced a sharp shake, with a jolting motion at the outset.

DAMAGE IN DANNEVIRKE NOT VERY EXTENSIVE. CHIMNEYS DOWN IN COASTAL AREA. (By Telegraph—Press Association.) DANNEVIRKE. This Day. Despite the severity of the earthquake at 9.12 p.m. last night—it registered seven on the Rossi-Forel scaledamage in Dannevirke was not extensive, consisting of cracks in five or six plate glass' windows and the smashing of glass and chinaware displayed in shop windows. The disturbance was particularly severe in the coastal area and a number of chimneys are down. In some places residents vacated their houses and patrons of places of amusement made for the streets.