Most Major" Quake

There Could Be Worse To Come

Gives P-Ng A

Shake-Up

if they hadn’t been shaken up h in the last few months, what income tax and their stand he Legislative Council, Papua- Guinea people were given an jolt in November by an earth . In some areas it was the the old hands could remember, igh nobody was hurt. quake seemed to have been It from one end of the main nd to the other, and was lly described as being only a less violent than a major luake. The shake was tectonic, s, it was caused by an under d movement of the earth, and ot volcanic. ernment vulcanologist G. A. : had no good news to impart the shake. He said he believed Guinea could expect bigger letter shakes in the future, said the quake in the British ons in August, coupled with me, indicated that there was sral build up of tension in the ;he latest quake, among other , houses were damaged, water broken and cracked, several moved, cracks appeared in the ig airstrip and on many roads, ne ship’s master, Rev. William reported that his Catholic n cargo vessel, MV Petrus, on aiden voyage near Madang, ed as if it would break in two, began reaching for the life

60 Miles Underground

quake occurred about 9 p.m. )vember 19, the most violent i being felt between Madang jae, and esp3cially in Alexis , The main shock, according e Port Moresby Geophysical yatory, was about 60 miles ground, in the Finisterre Range Jpper Ramu Valley area, tiler shocks preceded, and ; followed the major shock, was recorded as strength 6 h le Richter magnitude (7 or s a major earthquake).

Madang, power was cut off two transformers fell. The tns shed and office were dam md the wharf was moved out ;nment. About £2,000 worth of ?e was done to other Admin on property there.

Lae, the town lighting was cut r and many people ran out

doors. “Everything swayed, it was a most terrifying experience”, said one woman. “This one felt worse than when Mt. Lamington blew up.”

Two big plate glass doors in the home of Mrs. J. Birrell were shat tered, and cars parked in gear were

(Continued on page 145)

The cracks in the ground in the photo im mediately above are in front of the entrance to Madang's small wharf. The y followed the November earthquake. At top, this 7-inch gap appeared when the mam wharf pulled away from the shore.

Photos: L. Dickson.

moving backwards and •ds. he Catholic Mission at Alex ei the fibro house of Bishop i Noser was knocked off its itions and fell flat on the 1 It was a complete loss, er Mission house moved four i from its location, but the hafen church, weakened by

s and ready to collapse any is not affected by the earth ; corrigated iron water tanks loose and crashed to the , and the Alexishafen con irharf was cracked in many and part of it pushed towards te Word Missionaries at , in the Western Highlands, le earthquake there lasted than any they had experi dnee they had arrived in the iins 12 years previously. Many at Wabag were terrified, huddled around, shouting another, “There is no earth there is no earthquake.” explained to Father Francis : later that the earthquake lave no effect on anyone who rsuaded that it did not exist, oldest residents of Goroka was the strongest tremor ever meed there and comparable hose felt at volcanic Rabaul. in Port Moresby buildings haken.