1931 Hawke's Bay earthquake
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The Hawke's Bay earthquake, also known as the Napier earthquake, occurred in New Zealand at 10:47 am on Tuesday February 3, 1931, killing 256[1] and devastating the Hawke's Bay region. Centred 15 km north of Napier, it lasted for two and a half minutes and was estimated to have measured about 7.8 on the Richter scale, and 7.9 on the modern Richter Scale. The earthquake struck with a massive upthrust, and half a minute later came a huge resettling. There were 525 aftershocks recorded in the following two weeks. The main shock could be felt in much of the lower half of the North Island.
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[edit] Effects of the earthquake
Nearly all buildings in the central areas of Napier and Hastings were levelled and the death toll [1] included 161 people in Napier, 93 in Hastings, and two in Wairoa. Thousands more were injured, with over 400 hospitalised. The local landscape changed dramatically, with the coastal areas around Napier being lifted by around two metres. Some 40 km² of sea-bed became dry land, where the airport, housing and industrial property developments now exist.
The most noticable land change was the uplifting of the Ahuriri Lagoon. The lagoon was lifted more that 2.7 metres, which resulted in draining the lagoon. This is the location of the current Napier Airport.
Fires broke out in wooden buildings, which had survived the earthquake better than masonry and brick buildings. In Hastings, the fires were quickly brought under control, but in Napier, the water supply system had been destroyed by the quake and no water was available to fight the fires. The sea breeze turned and blew towards the city, and the fire burned down most of Napier.
The death toll might have been much higher had the Royal Navy ship HMS Veronica not been in port at the time. The sailors joined survivors to fight the fires, rescue trapped people and help give them medical treatment. The Veronica's radio was used to transmit news of the disaster to the outside world and to seek assistance.
A group of prisoners working at Bluff Hill in Napier had four of their number buried by the quake. The remaining prisoners dug them out, but two had been killed. The prisoners re-assembled without any attempt to escape and were locked up in the Napier Gaol.
In Havelock North, St Luke's church was destroyed just before a wedding was due to take place. The couple got married later in the day, but outdoors.
Within four days of the quake, cinemas around New Zealand offered news specials about the disaster.
New Zealand's first commercial air disaster occurred six days after the quake, when a Dominion Airlines Desoutter monoplane crashed near Wairoa. The small airline had been making three return trips a day between Hastings and Gisborne, carrying passengers and supplies. All three on board were killed.
The Napier Daily Telegraph had recently celebrated its diamond jubilee with an article describing Napier as "the Nice of the Pacific". The newspaper office was destroyed by the quake. The Hawke's Bay Herald offices in Hastings were also destroyed.
[edit] Rebuilding
The earthquake prompted a thorough review of New Zealand building codes, which were found to be totally inadequate. Many buildings built during the 1930s and 1940s are heavily reinforced, although more recent research has developed other strengthening techniques. To this day there are few buildings in Hawke's Bay taller than five stories, and as most of Napier's rebuilding took place in the 1930s when Art Deco was fashionable, Napier architecture is regarded today as being one of the finest examples of Art Deco anywhere. Hastings was also rebuilt with many Art Deco and Spanish Mission style buildings.
On the tenth anniversary of the earthquake, the New Zealand Listener reported that Napier had risen from the ashes like a phoenix. "Napier today is a far lovelier city than it was before", it quoted the 1931 principal of Napier Girls' High School as saying.
[edit] References
- Welch, Denis (4 February 2006). "Shake, Rattle & Roll". New Zealand Listener (Issue 3430): 29-30.
- Earthquakes. History of Earthquakes in Hawke's Bay. Hawke's Bay Regional Council. Retrieved on 2006-02-20.
- Hawke's Bay Earthquake 3 February 1931. Hastings District Libraries. Retrieved on 2006-02-20.
- Bateman New Zealand Encyclopedia, edition 4 (1995). Article: Napier
[edit] External links
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b The exact number of deaths vary according to different sources; the New Zealand Listener article cited above gives 258 deaths, but the Bateman New Zealand Encyclopedia gives 256. The difference is due to two people 'missing' and presumed dead. Some articles add these two to the death toll, while others do not.
