The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1907-11-16
TIDAL WAVE At
SAMOAN ISLANDS
WAVE TEN OR TWELVE FEET
HIGH EXPERIENCED EARLY IN
OCTOBER.

On Sunday, the 6th inst, at $50 p.
m, several small tidal waves occurred |
at high tide, and about quarter of an
hour later a huge wave swept in, be-
fore which the numerous people gath |
cred on the beach had to flee precipi- |
lately The wave was ten or twelve |
feet high and rusned in with great
velocity. 1t came from the same di-
rection-northeast-a the previous
tidal waves had come. At the d. II. q |
P. G.s place the full weight of the
wave struck the boat shed, which was
wrecked Several boats were damag- !
ed, and a buggy that was housed in
the boav sned was completely smashed
up The timber used withstood the
pressure of the water, but some of the
timber was floated away The barbed
wire fence on the seaside and the
picket fence round the dwelling house
were completely swept away Forum
ately the water only reached up to the
verandah of the house itself, and then
gradually diminishing in height, ran
underneath the house on to the main
street. The store escaped all damage
as it was high enough from the ground
to allow the water to flow underneath.
The yard was covered with a thick
layer of sand, slime and rubbish.
The tidal wave extended fronp Sa-
leaula up to the d. H. & p. G's place.
In Safai the large village boat was
splntered to matchwood. The water
rolled through the Samoan houses
standing nearest the beach and car
ried away mats and even stones COW
ering the floors of the houses. The
most of the inhabitants of this village
went to Avao and further westward toI
sleep for the night. In Satoalepai
several boats and canoes were destroy
ed All the Samoan boat sheds from
Safai up to Fagamalo were swept
away. The large village boat of Faga-
malo was split lengthwise by the force
of the wave.
Mr. A. Brunt appears to nave suf-
fered the most damage by far. OF all
of his buildings only the store escap-
| ed unscathed
! That side of the copra shed facing
the sea was stove in, and the waters
| rushed into the shed forcing the Op-
posite wall outward. All of the small
er buildings were swept away. When
it reached Mr. Brunts residence, the
tidal wave was still about six feet
| high, it smashed in the windows and
furniture, smashing up a good deal Of
| it, The posts of the veranda were all
wrenched away and the veranda roof
was left hanging without supports.
The house has a big crack in it in one
| place, and is at present not habitabe.
The buggy shed was crushed in by
| the force of the wave, and in its fall it
! wrecked three buggies that were in
| the shed at the time. The power OF
! the tidal wave and the enormous pres
sure of water is demonstrated by the
fact that a 4OO-gallon tank full Of wa
ter was lifted bodily from its stand
and deposited on the cement veranda;
| the new tank stand is two feet higher
and six feet further away than was
the old one. A smaller tank of 100
gallons was carried out on to the
street
Besides this tidal wave, the district
has been devastated by an "ua sami''
Crain of salt water) which caused
great damage to the vegetation. 1t
was reported from Matautu on Octo-
Der 18th, that since Tuesday after
noon, the Sth instant, continuous salt
and ash rains were falling, with short
intermissions. On Tuesday a dry rain
of ashes was observed, which not
blackened everything outside, but al
so penetrated into the houses and GOV
cred the furniture with black dust
From Saleaula up to Avao very little
green is to be seen. The leaves of the
breadfruit trees are black and are fall
ing off, the fruit, which was just be-
ginning to ripen, is also dropping OFF
The leaves Of the bananas and cocoa
nuts are shrivelled up, but il is prob
able that the fruit will not be damag-
ed. Even the foliage Of the fau, gatae
and talie trees has fallen off, and
small shrubs and plants in the gar
dens appear to have been killed alto
getner The cause of the rain of sail
and ashes is, as was the case former
ly, the smoke cloud where the lava
flows into the sea. The smoke is car.
ried over the Matautu district by the
easterly winds. Unfortunately the
volume of smoke has increased con
siderably during the last few days
and the volcano appears to be more
active. On Monday last, between l1:3l
and II o'clock noon, slight but con.
p tinuous shocks of earthquake took
) place. On the lava fields great guam
titles of surphurous vapors, arising
from the subterranean lava flow, ar,
ascending into the clouds, and a red
dish-black cloud hangs over the vol