Today, the earthquake in Napier, Hawkes Bay, New Zealand, and I decided to research any stories from the D/deaf people and people with disabilities. Sadly there was nothing I could find except for the people without disabilities and reading the books in the libraries and museums.

It is ninety years ago when the earthquake strike without warning and there were about two hundred fifty-eight people, including children killed. I know and met for approximately six years as a deaf health carer, was Frances Cleary. She told me about her experience with her sisters and living in Napier before moving to Hamilton before 1935. Frances was a nurse at the Waikato Hospital for many years until she retired and living in Silverdale, Hamilton. She passed away at the age of ninety-nine years in 2011.

The Richter scale of the magnitude of 7.8 in the morning -10.47 am, and the quake lasts approximately two and a half minutes. There was a big shift in the seafloor more than 2.7 metres. Every building made from bricks tumbled down, water and gas pipes broke up into pieces even cause fire and gas smell in the air making everyone sick. The worst-hit to one of the buildings was Napier Nurse’s home built a year before the quake strike. There were twelve nurses killed in the Nurse’s Home.

The Fire Brigade station collapsed and wreaked fire engines that firefighters could not use fire engines to go and put fires out. Napier’s port was wrecked, and one of the ships – HMS-Veronica tied up to the port, and the captain noticed something was not right when he saw the waves rising up and down. The only communication was from the ship to other ports around NZ. See the quote “The Veronica radioed Auckland, and within hours, two cruisers were on their way. Each carried 450 men, as well as doctors, nurses, and medical equipment.” https://nzhistory.govt.nz/media/video/hawkes-bays-big-shake-roadside-stories

I found a list of victims in the Papers Past and nothing mention any of them were disabled in the Papers Past. The newspaper listed Napier, and several small towns and one local Old Men’s home. https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/AS19310205.2.62

Further update list of names published as well. https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZH19310209.2.108

To my disappointed – where are the stories from the D/deaf people, people with disabilities or family member of the disabled child/D/deaf children who survived 1931 Napier’s Earthquake?