FLOODS AND SLIPS

Auckland Star, Volume LXXVI, Issue 119, 22 May 1945, Page 3

FLOODS AND SLIPS

TE WHAITI DISTRICT

WATER RECEDING SLOWLY

O.C. ROTORUA, this day. "This time the storm was not nearly so severe as the one experienced IS months ago, but all the same it was bad enough," said a resident of Te Whaiti last evening, in commenting on the stormy conditions that prevailed in that district over last week-end. The township was isolated for approximately 24 hours due to slips on the Te Whaiti-Rotorua road on Friday evening. The Whirinaki stream, which runs through the settlement, rose very quickly during Friday evening, breaking its banks and swirling across the roadway. At the height of the storm six inches of water blocked the road, and it was impossible to get buses through. Private motorists also had difficulty in surmounting" the slips, but some managed to get through to Rotorua. On Saturday one motorist did the trip in four and a half hours for a normal journey of just over two hours. Public Works Department men were' on the job early on Saturday, clearing away the worst of the debris that blocked the road. The most serious implication of the flood was the fact that the Wilson timber mill roadway was submerged by four feet of water, and the water itself penetrated under the mill to a depth of five feet. It was, therefore, possible to resume operations yesterday, and it is expected that the mill will be out of production for two or three days. Timber in the yard was swept up into a heap in the corner by the force of the water, but no loss was suffered. Apart from the rising of the river, no serious damage resulted in the township, although telegraphic and telephone services were interrupted for a short time. The bridge over the Whirinaki River, which was swept from its position in the last storm, was not damaged. Storm water was stated last evening to be receding very slowly, and no rain of any consequence fell yesterday.