Nola Manley was one of the survivors who attended a ceremony in Napier today, marking exactly 90 years since the quake. She was a nine-year-old schoolgirl in Havelock North when the quake struck and remembered rushing outside with her classmates. It was a nasty, nasty thing and I wish we could get rid of all earthquakes. He could not remember the quake itself, but had lived in Napier his whole life and saw the city rise from the ashes.
At The bell is a key symbol of the earthquake and the navy's help in its aftermath, as it is from the ship HMS Veronica. At the service, Commodore Mathew Williams, the navy's maritime component commander, retold the story of how the ship assisted the city in a time of desperate need. The earthquake left in it's wake an unimaginable level of destruction and devastation.
Dust rose in clouds from shattered buildings, making it difficult for people to breathe, and huge splits appeared in the roads. Panic-stricken people ran out to onto the street and were struck by falling masonry, as stone decorations on many buildings crashed to the ground. Many were killed instantly when buildings collapsed, but others were buried alive in the rubble. To add to the initial devastation of the earthquake, fires burned throughout the city of Napier for a full 36 hours before they could be contained - levelling most buildings that had survived the initial assault of the quake.
Napier was not the only city impacted. Almost buildings were destroyed in Hastings, and most of the deaths there were in a single department store, though many also died in the public library. Hastings also suffered from fires and the firefighters had problems with their water supply, but the spread of the fire was not as great as in Napier. The response to the earthquake is a story of heroism in the face of extremely adverse and challenging circumstance.
Water for fighting the fires ran out because underground pipes had cracked and broken. Fire engines at Napier's central fire station were covered in debris from the destroyed brigade building, and they couldn't be used when fires broke out in the town. Napier Hospital's nurses' home, built only a year earlier, collapsed, claiming the lives of 12 nurses.
Rescuers fought to bring out trapped and injured victims from the rubble before the fires reached them, but many died in the inferno. Am berthed at Napier. Earthquake lasted for about 3 minutes. Ship trembled violently and bumped jetty. Securing wires eased. No damage to Veronica. The destruction they found at Napier was devastating. Parslow, who was serving as a stoker on the Dunedin. The crews joined the relief teams that had been at work for nearly 24 hours.
The Navy took charge of clearing streets and breaking down precarious remnants of buildings. They aided in the recovery of bodies. Others took up jobs to help support the stunned survivors. The town was searched for food and supplies. Food depots were set up in schools around the city, a telegraph station at the Hastings Street School, medical tents and make-shift shelters with ground cloths along the Marine Parade.
Says one survivor, Agnes Bennett:. It was a pleasure to see the tents being set up with military precision — marines and bluejackets were in evidence and a good fire and a big oven gave promise… Volunteer workers were busy and the Nelson Park camp was the most promising bit of organising that one had seen. The dull expressionless faces were disappearing and life and interest had begun to return.
The evacuation effort progressed steadily. By 7 February nearly 5, people were evacuated, some by ship, some by car, and others by train. Fires continued to threaten the town through the evening of the 5 February and the aftershocks continued on for many days.
Of the killed, 93 died in Hastings, three in Wairoa, and in Napier. Two victims were never identified. All this made relief and evacuation easier, but by no means put Napier back on its feet. Hastings and Wairoa had also been very badly damaged. In the end, the death toll reached , with dead in Napier, 93 in Hastings and 3 in Wairoa.
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