(continued from "Disasters") Two weeks earlier a phantom canoe was said to have been seen on nearby Lake

Tara wera. ...June. A series of eruptions affecting Tongariro Te Mari craters began and la sted a decade. 1888 Floods. July. 11km of railway track were inundated in flooding at Taieri and Outram. ...Earthquakes. An earthquake occurred which reached damaging intensity in Chri stchurch and North Canterbury. It was felt in the South Island parts of the Nor th Island. 1891 Earthquakes. June 23. Chimneys toppled in Auckland during an earthquake centred near the mouth of the Waikato River with intensities of 8 at Kawhia and Raglan. 1895 Eruptions. March 10. A large eruption of Mt. Ruapehu resulting in a numb er of lahars. 1897 Floods. April. Twelve died when the Tutaekuri River flooded. ...Earthquakes. 7 December. An earthquake along the Wellington coast was felt between Auckland and Timaru with the highest intensity at Wanganui. 1903 Eruptions. August 30. A guide and three tourists were killed when the Wai mangu Geyser erupted. Now extinct it was at one time the world's largest , play ing to a height of 988 m. 1907 Fire. Parliament Buildings destroyed by fire. 1908 Drought. January-February. Damage caused to property in both islands by fires arising from drought. 1914 Earthquakes. 7 October. One person died when an earthquake measuring 7.5 was recorded at East Cape. 1915 Floods. July. Six express trains stranded by severe flooding between Oto rohanga and Taihape. Some of the 300 passengers slept on the trains for four ni ghts. 1917 Eruptions. April 1. The Waimangu Geyser again erupted destroying the acco mmodation house at Waimangu. Two people died from burns. 1918 Epidemics. November. A WORLD WIDE NFLUENZA EPIDEMIC claimed 5,561 Europea n and an estimated 11,200 Maori lives in New Zealand, most of the casualties occ urring in November. 1921 Earthquakes. Centred at Hawke's Bay this was felt throughout most of the country. 1922 Earthquakes. 19 June. A shock reaching damaging intensity was felt in the Taupo District. These were followed by similar shocks on July 15 and July 17. 1928 Tidal Wave. 27 May. A tsunami caused damage at Gisborne and along the Eas t Coast. 1929 Earthquakes. 9 March. A 1,000 m vertical face was carved on Falling Moun tain when it split in half, the result of an earthquake based on Arthur's Pass.

...16 June. THE MURCHISON EARTHQUAKE. This measured 7.75 was based at Buller an d felt on both islands. This earthquake which claimed 117 lives uplifted land b y as much as five metres. Murchison and Nelson suffered heavy damage. At least six after shock all of at least 7 were recorded for two weeks, during which tim e there was heavy rain and flooding. 1931 Earthquakes. THE NAPIER EARTHQUAKE. 3 February. Occurring in the mornin g the earthquake measuring 7.9 hit the Hawke's Bay area, causing extensive damag e o Napier, Hastings and many smaller nearby settlements, leaving 256 people dea d. In Napier there was a major landslide from Bluff Hill and Ahuriri Lagoon was uplifted producing 3,600 ha of dry land. Within a few minutes of the earthquak e fire broke out and swept through four ha of buildings. Fire also broke out in Hastings that evening after a second shock. North of Napier stretches of coast fell into the ocean and throughout the region rivers changed courses or banked up and whole hillsides were destroyed and the landscape was scarred with huge fissures. After shocks, some of them nearly as intense as the original continued for 10 days. The earthquake put an end to Nap ier's tramways. Buses took over. 1932 Earthquakes. 15 September. roads and communications were damaged when an earthquake measuring 7.3 hit the Wairoa and Gisborne areas. 1934 Earthquakes. 5 March. An earthquake measuring 7.5 had its epicentre at P ahiatua and as felt in both islands. 1 person died. 1936 Floods. 11-2 February. Trains derailed and severe flooding when two stor ms met over the North Island. 1938 Floods. 18 February. A cloudburst at Kopuawhara north of Wairoa claimed 2 1 lives. Stock was lost and farms buried under silt. Streams in the Gisborne area rose a s much as 20m. ...April. Catastrophic floods occurred between Hawke's Bay and Poverty Bay. 1942 Earthquakes. 24 June. An earthquake measuring 7 shook Wellington. ...Floods 13 July. Wairarapa experienced its worst flood for 46 years. 1947 Tidal Waves. 26 March. An earthquake at sea caused a tsunami on the East Coast of the North Island. The main wave was five to seven metres high. 1948 Earthquakes. 22 May An earthquake with an intensity of about 8 centred on Waiau was felt over the northern half of the South Island ...Tornadoes. 25 August. A tornado cut a path up to 200m wide through parts of Hamilton and Frankton Junction. three people were killed. 1949 Eruptions. February 9-March 3. Mt. Ngauruhoe erupted with lava flows. 1953 Earthquakes. 29 September. An earthquake centred on the Bay of Plenty and measuring 7.1 was felt in both the North and South Islands. December 24 Christmas Eve. THE TANGIWAI DISASTER. 151 people died hen the north bound Auckland Express was swept off the Wangaehu River Bridge by a sudden disch arge of water from the Crater Lake on Mt. Ruapehu. This wave carried thousands of to nnes of ice, ash and boulders down the river striking the bridge just before th e train arrived. 46m of the (Disasters continued)

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