Other information about Tangiwai Railway Disaster

The noise of the disaster was loud enough to be heard 10 kilometres away at Waiouru. The name Tangiwai means Weeping Waters in MāoriQueen Elizabeth and Prince Philip were visiting New Zealand when the disaster at Tangiwai happened. Queen Elizabeth made her Christmas broadcast from Auckland, finishing with a message of sympathy to the people of New Zealand. Prince Philip attended a state funeral for many of the victims.At the time, Tangiwai was the eighth biggest railway disaster the world had seen. It is still the fifth worst disaster in New Zealand's recorded history.On Christmas Eve each year the express train slows as it crosses the new bridge across the Whangaehu River, and the driver throws a bunch of flowers into the water. A card reads: "In memory of all who died at Tangiwai on Christmas Eve, 1953."The last three carriages had come to a halt before they reached the bridge. It was later discovered that the train had been able to brake before it hit the bridge, undoubtedly saving a number of lives.

How can we be prepared for another disaster like this?

Nowdays we have modern technology: we have computers that tell the operators of any faults on the tracks and trains in this modern time is a keep safe of many.

What happened to make this natural disaster?

A pyroclastic flow is a fast-moving current of hot gas and rock (collectively known as tephra), which travel away from the volcano at speeds generally as great as 700 km/hr (450 mi/h). The gas can reach temperatures of about 1,000 °C (1,830 °F). We can all agree that those are very hot temperatures.

So - a lahar is one of the effects of volcanic eruptions and is composed of water and pyroclastic material (very hot things, like lava, superheated water, and sometimes ash that didn't get high enough). It is a type of mudflow, which flows down the slope of a volcano. It is most common along the river valleys, as they get a proper course to follow. Lahars can be very destructive for the vegetation surrounding the volcanic mountain. They can become solid when the temperature lowers down, while in case of high temperatures they are extremely fluid. The origin of the term lahar is in the country of Indonesia where it first occurred.

Lahars can be very dangerous if they are of great density and speed and have the capacity to flow for a long distance and cover a large area. They can gather the momentum if they fall down a steep slope and travel above, and have been clocked at over 12 meters per second (27 miles per hour). One of the most devastating lahars in the recent past occurred in 1953 when the lahars from the Nevado Del Ruiz eruption in Colombia killed above 21,000 people.

A lahar can form during a pyroclastic flow if the snow and glaciers of the volcano's summit (which are very common for large volcanoes) are melted, results in lahars, the water picking up mud, and rocks, boulders, trees, and everything else that it can grab.

Flooding from glacier breakdown can also result in lahars, though not nearly as serious (usually) as a volcanically induced lahar.

Some very, very large and serious typhoons can drop enough rain in a short enough time to wash ash and rock that had been collecting on a volcanic mountaintop to create a lahar. This is generally the least damaging of the three types, because the fluid water doesn't usually pick up as much debris - on the other hand, they almost always travel farther than the other types.

There is no such thing as a good, safe, or small lahar, and certainly no one that you ever want to experience.

Who Helped to get life back to normal?

Counselors talked to people finding it hard to handle the disaster and gave advice.Red Cross gave out food,water and clothing to survivors and gave assistance when needed.Soldiers from the army camp at Waiouru came, along with local volunteers, but rescue was difficult and dangerous. The water was full of debris - rocks, trees and wreckage from the train - and still flowing with enough force to knock people from their feet. Oil and silt covered passengers and rescuers alike.

What Effect did it have on the people?

For long term-emotions, feelings of the loss of friends, family.For short term-seeing the remains of the disaster.

What effect did this disaster have on the land?

     These pictures are from the day after the tradegy.The engine was cut into pieces for removal instead of being buried at the site.Due to heavy weight of an engine of this type it was sometimes impractical to remove the remains, but burying the engine could not be considered in case of a disaster of this scale.

Who Was Affected?

There were 285 passengers and crew onboard, 151 died, 20 bodies of the 151 were never found and were thought to have of washed out to sea 120 kilometres from the bridge.134 survived.