1942 Wairarapa earthquakes

Earthquakes in New Zealand October 2019 October 2019 1942 Wairarapa earthquakes 1942-06-24 11:16:30 1942-08-01 12:34:06 iscgem900349 iscgem900404 900349 900404 no New Zealand 24 June 19422 August 1942 23:16 12:34 6.9–7.2 Mw 6.8 w 12 km en-UK -40.96 175.69 inline,title region:NZ New Zealand, North Island one death Two 1942 Wairarapa earthquakes shook the lower North Island of New Zealand on 24 June and 2 August. They were large and shallow with epicentres close together east of Masterton in the Wairarapa region. The June earthquake was sometimes referred to as the Masterton earthquake but both caused damage over a wide area, from Dannevirke and Eketāhuna over to Whanganui and down to Ōtaki and Wellington. There was one death in Wellington, on 24 June.Wright 2014 139-142Rogers 2013 132-141 The August earthquake can be regarded as an aftershock of the June earthquake. Both earthquakes were preceded by smaller foreshocks. As the second quake was slightly less in magnitude than the first, they were not an earthquake doublet where the second quake is slightly larger. The August earthquake was considerably deeper (40 km, not 12 km), though another source gives the depths as 43 km and 15 km.Hicks Campbell 1998 70 There was another large aftershock on 2 December and one in February 1943.Wright 2014 141 The Wairarapa region Geology of the Wellington Region The region had already experienced several large earthquakes, the very large 1855 Wairarapa earthquake, and the 1934 Pahiatua earthquake in the Northern Wairarapa. The 1855 earthquake occurred on the Wairarapa Fault which is part of the North Island Fault System. 24 June 1942 At 11.16 pm, a small and sharp but brief earthquake of magnitude 7.2 s (w 6.9–7.2) shook a wide area in the lower North Island from Eketāhuna to Masterton, Featherston, and Wellington; and was noticed from Auckland to near Dunedin. The main earthquake was 7.2 s and the epicentre was near Masterton and 12 km deep. The quake lasted for over a minute and was preceded by a foreshock three hours earlier at 8.15 pm.Rogers 2013 132 Many buildings were damaged in Masterton. The mayor Thomas Jordan declared a state of emergency and got troops to patrol the town.Rogers 2013 136-139 There was considerable damage in Palmerston North.https://www.stuff.co.nz/manawatu-standard/news/102099401/memory-lane-an-earthquake-caused-mayhem-and-there-was-a-lucky-escape An earthquake caused mayhem and there was a lucky escape Stuff (Fairfax) 10 March 2018 Twenty thousand chimneys fell in Wellington and there was one death in Kelburn, where a 70-year old retired chemist, Hedley Victor Evens, was killed by coal gas from a fractured pipe.https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/EP19420629.2.54.3?end_date=01-07-1942&page=2&phrase=0&query=earthquake&start_date=24-06-1942&type=ARTICLE Kelburn Tragedy Evening Post in Papers Past 29 June 1942 Some downtown pediments were damaged, but some had already been removed after the 1931 Hawke's Bay earthquake. The city engineer K. E. Luke said that damage was less severe as the quake ended swiftly.Wright 2014 140 2 August 1942 Another shock in the area struck on 2 August at 12.34 pm, preceded by a foreshock on the late afternoon of the 1st. This was of magnitude 7.0 s (w 6.8) or slightly less than the earlier quake. The epicentre was 40 km deep and at location 41.01°S and 175.52°E.Wright 2014 139 The settlement of Eketāhunahttps://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19420807.2.21?end_date=01-09-1942&phrase=0&query=earthquake&start_date=24-06-1942&type=ILLUSTRATION Huge fissures near Eketahuna (photo) The Evening Post 29 August 1942 did not suffer as badly, though in Masterton, the June damage was exacerbated.https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/EP19420626.2.13.1?end_date=1942-09-01&phrase=0&query=earthquake&start_date=1942-06-24&type=ILLUSTRATION Queen Street shop in Masterton destroyed (photo) The Evening Post 26 June 1942 Wright 2014 141 The 2 August aftershock was followed by a third severe aftershock on 2 December, with about 600 aftershocks recorded to the end of the year.Rogers 2013 140 thumb|A building damaged in the 1942 Wairarapa earthquakes thumb|A shop in Greytown after the 1942 Wairarapa earthquake Damage Repairs from the first quake were not completed, and the mortar for some repairs had not been properly set. Some buildings weakened in June suffered further damage, though it was sometimes hard to tell if further damage had occurred. Rogers 2013 141 In Masterton many buildings were badly damaged by the first quake; the fire station, the Bank of New Zealand, several shops, and St Matthew's Church (which was later blown up by the Army). The Waiohine River's road-bridge on State Highway 2 was badly sunken and was closed.https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZH19420627.2.17?end_date=01-11-1942&phrase=0&query=Waiohine&start_date=24-06-1942&type=ILLUSTRATION Queen Street and Waiohine Bridge (photo) New Zealand Herald in Papers Past 27 June 1942 After the second quake, Masterton's WFCA building partly collapsed.Rogers 2013 140,141https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/ODT19420629.2.77?end_date=1942-09-01&page=2&phrase=0&query=earthquake&start_date=1942-06-24&type=ILLUSTRATION Destruction in Wellington Province (photo) Otago Daily Times in Papers Past 29 June 1942 In Wellington, the first quake toppled some twenty thousand chimneys.https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZH19420627.2.16?end_date=1942-09-01&page=2&phrase=0&query=earthquake&start_date=1942-06-24&type=ILLUSTRATION Damage to businesses (photo) New Zealand Herald in Papers Past 27 June 1942 In August, there was serious damage near the Willis Street–Manners Street junction to three buildings: Charles Begg's music shop,https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/EP19420803.2.78.1?end_date=01-09-1942&phrase=0&query=Begg&start_date=01-08-1942&type=ILLUSTRATION Charles Begg split Papers Past (photo) 3 August 1942 the Duke of Edinburgh Hotel, and the Regent Hotel.https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/EP19420805.2.32.1?end_date=01-10-1942&phrase=0&query=Manners&start_date=01-08-1942&type=ILLUSTRATION Propped-up scaffolding The Evening Post (photo) 5 August 1942 Manners Street scaffolding New Zealand Herald in Papers Past (photo) 8 August 1942 Looking along Manners Street The Evening Post (photo) 12 August 1942 https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/EP19420803.2.77.1?end_date=01-09-1942&phrase=0&query=REgent&start_date=01-08-1942&type=ILLUSTRATION Top of Regent Hotel split The Evening Post (photo) 3 August 1942 Manners Street between Willis and Cuba Streets was closed for several months. https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZH19420808.2.19?end_date=1942-09-01&phrase=0&query=earthquake&start_date=1942-06-24&type=ILLUSTRATION Scaffolding in Manners Street (photo) The Evening Post 8 August 1942https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/EP19420626.2.22.1?end_date=1942-09-01&phrase=0&query=earthquake&start_date=1942-06-24&type=ILLUSTRATION Damage to Wairarapa Farmers Co-op Masterton (photo) New Zealand Herald in Papers Past 26 June 1942 A Wellington Hospital nurse was lucky to be on night duty as a chimney crashed onto her bed. At Porirua Lunatic Asylum (mental hospital), 800 patients had to be transferred to other hospitals.Rogers 2013 140,141 Overall cost and effect The cost of the damage from these two quakes was more than £2 million (pounds), a considerable amount for a war-straitened economy. In Masterton damage from the two quakes was still apparent some 12 years later.Rogers 2013 140 Another result was the establishment by the government of the Earthquake Commission in 1945.Wright 2014 141 See also List of earthquakes in 1942 List of earthquakes in New Zealand Notes Further reading Rogers Anna The Shaky Isles: New Zealand Earthquakes 2 1996 2013 Grantham House Wellington 978-1-86934-119-0 Wright Matthew Living on shaky ground: The science and story behind New Zealand's earthquakes 2014 Random House (New Zealand) Auckland 978-1-77553-688-8 Awesome Forces: The Natural Hazards that threaten New Zealand Hicks Geoff Campbell Hamish 1998 Te Papa Press Wellington 978-0-909010-58-4 registration https://archive.org/details/awesomeforcesnat0000unse External links 900349 900404 Category:Earthquakes in New Zealand Category:1942 earthquakes Category:1942 in New Zealand Category:June 1942 in Oceania Category:August 1942 in Oceania Category:Natural disasters in warfare