AT HIGHEST FLOOD.

Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 247, 18 October 1926, Page 5

AT HIGHEST FLOOD.

THE WATERS AT MERCER. OVER THREE FEET ON ROAD. RAILWAY PLATFORM OVERLAPPED. FALL NOW HOPED FOR. (By Telegraph.—Own Correspondent.) MERCER, this day. The flood at Mercer .is believed to be now at its peak. A steady rise was maintained all day yesterday,* the level of the flood last iiight being two inches higher than at one o'clock on Saturday afternoon. The flood apparently became stationary at an early hour this morning, and it is expected it will commence to recede during the day. Heavy rain fell all yesterday afternoon and the weather is "still showery. If similar downpours have fallen through the YVaikato basin the fall of the river will be retarded. The local rain will have no appreciable effect upo nthe flood. The main road in the vicinity of Mercer railway station is now submerged to a depth of about three feet four inches. Even under the most favourable circumstances it will not be negotiable for motor traffic before Thursday or j Friday, and even then horses will be I necessary to tow cars through. The turning point of the flood came : none too soon for the railways. The ' depth of water at the station was nearJ ing the limit of safety, though engine j drivers consider they could have run I through several more inches before the ! water readied the fire boxes. As it is ! a section of the station platform is flooded, but this only affects a width of three feet or so in front, as the platform slopes steadily upwards towards the offices. Between Mercer and Whangamarino j stations, where the track has been built ■ across swamp country, the water is up to the sleepers in several places, and to | prevent erosion, several stretches of the | permanent way have been protcted with I fascines. Lake Waikare Overflowing. A local resident accounts for the some- | what rapid rise in the YVaikato River jat Mercer on Friday night and Saturday morning by the overflow of Lake I Waikare. He states that when he passed along j the Te Kauwhata-Waerenga Road on j Friday, water was pouring across it like i a mill race. Fully three-quarters of the | road was affected, the water in some , places being a foot deep. Sections of the I road were badly scoured and considerable i damage must have been done. An enormous volume of water was ! also finding an outlet from the lake i across the swamps to the Whangamarino ' Stream. On Saturday morning the road was practically clear, but water was still J racing down to the Whangamarino. The level of the lake, the resident ; added, was fully three feet higher on j Friday than it was during t-he peak of I the big flood last year, this estimate | being based on his own personal obser- : vations. 1 ?- ' —