Suddenly and without warning (although some people reported feeling a strange stillness in the air), the Hawke's Bay areas was wrenched by a massive earthquake. It was as if the whole area had been lifted up and slammed down again. After the initial shock, the land continued to quiver and shake violently.
Many buildings collapsed with the first great shock, and there was a continuous roar and rumble of falling bricks and masonry. Napier was completely shattered in just a few moments with many shops and buildings reduced to ruins, and the streets littered with wrecked motor vehicles and rubble. Clouds of dust filled the air, and lamp posts leaned at crazy angles. The hands of the clock on the band rotunda remained frozen at 10.47am; the time the earthquake struck.
So sudden and unexpected was the earthquake that many people were stunned. Some were killed on the spot, buried beneath fallen beams and masonry. Others rushed out into the streets only to be crushed on the pavement as the walls of buildings collapsed outwards.
When the noise died down and the dust began to settle, the silence was broken by the rickle of falling masonry and the cries of injured people.
As people began to recover from the first shock, rescue operations moved into action.
Those who were not injured gathered in the streets. Some began to dig in the rubble to help free victims trapped beneath the ruined buildings. Others tried to give first aid to injured.
But worse was to follow. Many gas pipes were broken, and power lines snapped with the shock of the earthquake.
Fire soon broke out and rapidly spread from the direction of the waterfront. With the fire-engines crushed beneath the rubble of the collapsed fire station, and the water supply failing, there was little people could do but attempt to escape the flames. Fire added to the destruction caused by the tremors, and many of those numbered amongst the earthquake dead perished because they were trapped or injured and unable to escape the flames.
When the fires died down and the aftershocks ceased, hardly a building remained standing in Napier or Hastings and only the shells of many remained.
At the waterfront the sailors on the sloop Veronica witnessed an amazing sight. The ship was buffeted about violently and many of the sailors rushed up on deck. They saw the cliffs around the harbour crumbling away and crashing onto the roadside below, throwing massive clouds of dust into the air, as if a mighty explosion had taken place. Some unfortunate motorists were buried in their vehicles under the fallen hillside.
The wharves around the harbour buckled and were wrenched out of shape by the shock; the roadside rippled like a pond and split open in places; and the railway lines twisted about like snakes.
The waters of the harbour receded as if they had been sucked out by a giant vacuum cleaner and the Veronica hit the harbour bottom with a bump. If she had not been tied to the wharf she would have capsized. The sea continued to wash back and forth violently, and whole areas of the sea bed were left exposed as the land was raised.
When they had recovered their wits, the officers and men of the Veronica rushed ashore where they gave a leading hand with the rescue operations.
At the nurses' home near Napier Hospital many of the night staff were still sleeping when the earthquake struck. The building began to fall like a house of cards. There was no chance of escape, and twelve of the nurses lost their lives as the building collapsed about them.
The Park Island Old Folks Home was also destroyed by earthquake and fourteen of the elderly men who lived there were killed, some by shock and some by falling masonry. At the Technical College two teachers and ten pupils died when the lecture room they were in at the time caved in on them.
Most of the city's hotels were destroyed by the earthquake. The Masonic collapsed completely, killing a number of guests and staff and leaving others to claw their way out of the ruins. At the Empire an entire wall fell out, leaving the rooms exposed. One guest who had been sleeping-in had the strange experience of looking out into empty space.
It was estimated that more than 5,000 people in the region were left homeless. The gas and water supply failed due to shattered pipes, the electric power was cut off as a result of broken wires, and eventually the sewage system broke down. Many of the survivors had to spend a grim night in the open air while aftershocks continued to shake the ground. Fortunately the weather remained fine.
People showed amazing courage and resourcefulness in the emergency. The sailors from the Veronica were special heroes because they were early on the scene: rescuing trapped victims, tending the injured, helping to fight the fires and demolish the most dangerous ruins. Soon they were joined by others.
Emergency medical stations were set up in parks and reserves because the hospital buildings were so badly damaged. Doctors and nurses worked for hours on end tending the injured although conditions were difficult and medical supplies and equipment were lacking. The fire brigade did the best to contain the fires even after the water supply failed, and policemen risked their lives trying to rescue people trapped in the ruined buildings.
Many ordinary people, some of them suffering from injury, shock and the loss of loved-ones, joined in the work: digging for survivors, fighting the fires, clearing the streets or transporting victims to the medical centres.
Within hours the naval ships Dunedin and Diomede had set sail from Auckland. They carried fifteen doctors, eleven nurses and vital supplies of food and medical equipment. A special train was sent from Wellington bringing more doctors and nurses and carrying five hundred tents and thousands of blankets as well as food and medical supplies.
A system of carts was organised to distribute water to the people. Bread and other food supplies were brought in from outside the region and distributed by vans and lorries.
However, water was in short supply and there was concern over the breakdown of the sewage system. The exposed bed of the harbour was strewn with decaying fish and seaweed, and it was feared that diseases like choler might spread. The possibility of further earthquakes was another concern. A decision to evacuate Napier was made, and a steady stream of people began to leave the town. They travelled by rail and road, and may took their personal goods and possessions with them. By the end of the week almost half the population of Napier had left the district. Many people in Wellington and other North Island towns made their homes available to the refugees.
The work of rebuilding Napier began almost immediately. The streets were cleared and the wreckage and rubble of ruined buildings removed; road and rail links were reopened; and the power and water supplies restored.
Gradually the refugees returned and new buildings began to take shape. A park and marineland were developed where the seabed had been raised. A fine new city eventually arose out of the ruins of old Napier.