CLUTHA VALLEY FLOOD.

Bruce Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 43, 4 June 1917, Page 4

CLUTHA VALLEY FLOOD.

WATER RECEDES QUICKLY. BRIDGES AND -ROADS STJFFKR. STOCK LOSSES COMPARATIVELY SMALL. Two outstanding features mark the flood which broke over the Clutha Valley on Sunday night—the great .rapidity of the rise-in the iMolyneux river and the various other district rivers and streams, and the almost equally sudden fall of the waters in these streams. Considering the vast, area that has been under water the losses in stock have been remarkably small. DAMAGE AT BARNEGO. Now that the flood waters have receded at Barnego some idea of the damage sustained in that locality can be ascertained. Fortunately the water fell as quickly as it rose, but in the, interval between the rising and the falling Barnego has been made to bear a wrecked appearance. A big hole was torn in the embankment at the quarry. At this place the contractor (Mr McKay)' had taken a foot off the top to get his engine in, and the engine was shifted bodily up the stream for about a chain. Some idea of the strength of the current may be gained when.it is stated that the metal und.er the gravel was thrown four or five feet high before the embankment burst. At present about two chains of the road has been washed away.

Messrs A. Stevenson, Murray, Morgan and Symous were compelled to leave their houses. In Mr Stevenson's house there was about two feet of water, but as Mr Stevenson had already ou a previous occasion bought his flood experience at a high price, he took the precaution to lift his furniture up to a level which assured its safety from the water. Mr Holgate was much the heaviest loser at Barnego, his sheep losses adounting to over £SOO. Mr Holgate has 9ince been busy carting his dead stock per medium of a six-horse waggon and two three-horse drays to the freezer, where a market can be found for the skins and also for the carcases, the latter being of some value ( on account of the fat and manure to be derived from them.

'Too much praise cannot be given to Mr 'Smith for the manner in which he worked in his skiff to savejiis neighbours' stock. He worked his frail craft with great skill, and worked like a Trojon with a pair of wire cutters opening gaps in the fences to enable the sheep to pass through, and by this means was mainly instrumental in saving eight of Mr Holgate's horses, which* were enabled to swim to safety. STIRLING'S UNFORTUNATE PLIGHT.

A great deal «f damage has been done at Stirling by the invading waters, and the township presented a very desolate appearance when viewed on Wednesday afternoon. Although the river water has now subsided large pools have been left lyiug in the hollows, and a considerable period must elapse before these finally disappear. The worst break in the protective embankment occurred behind the locaj blacksmith's shop, the breach in this place being about 15 yards long. Here a drain had been inserted, and most probably this helped to dislodge the bank. Two other smaller slips occurred, and the water came through with a great rush. Before the bank bnyke it bore a-, normal appearance, and its present aspect should be a forcible reminder to Balclutha residents of the inconstancy of similar protective works when extreme pressure is put upon them. A strong current had flowed up the principal street. At one place, op-' posite Mr Henderson's coachbuilding premises, a large and deep hole was scooped out by the force of the waters, and the road has suffered much damage, a hole being scooped out to a depth of from three feet to five feet. When the flood was at its height a depth of from 10 feet to 15 must have. obtained in this place. Considerable debris has found a resting place in the streets. A large tank containing cases of petrol was carried from behind Mr Essou's shop on to the road in front. The tank was extremely heavy, and great force would be needed to shift it.

A recently erected building near Mr Farquhar's store, owned by Miss Morrison, of Kaitangata, has been lifted from its foundations and carried on to the footpath. The building was fortunately unoccupied, The verandah posts of this shop have become jammed between :their foundations and the kerbing. of the water channel, otherwise- in all probability the shop must have been carried right across the street by the force of the waters. The present appearance of the building is very unsightly, part of the verandah having been torn away from, the front of the shop. Mr Pope's small tailoring establishment has been floated on to'the footpath,.and a residence owned by Mr McKinlay:, near the railway station, has been damaged to a great extent, the front of the house having been forced, away and one corner lifted from its piles. Although this place is but a few yards from' the high ground of the railway station, the occupants could not be rescued till Monday morning, no boat being available for the purpose till then. Those marooned in the house must have had an exceedingly anxious time, as the water reached to a -high level inside.' The most serious damage to the stock in the business establishments occurred in Mr Esson 's shop. Here, the water lay to a. depth of about 20 inches. The building ( was heavily stocked with merchandise right to the floor, the floor space having been utilised for new stock, including a.ease of boots from which only one pair had been removed. All these received a thorough soaking, and much of the drapery stock was utterly ruined. A larg* quptity tf'ftw waßhable articles

has been cleaned and dried and will still. ha saleable. Mr Esson is a very heavy loser as a result of the flood. The traffic bridge to the Island bears a very unstable appearance. One of the piles £as broken apart from its stays, and the only connecting link between it and the upper part of the bridge is at present a piece of rope. As a result of the heavy pressure brought to bear upon it the centre of the structure, has a-distinct curve. ON THE ISLAND. The settlers ou the island, when the magnitude of the, flood waters is. coh'sidered, sustained remarkably small losses. Some of them naturally tost a lew head of stock, but the losses in this direction were comparatively slight. Some remarkable swimming feats on the part of the cattle were witnessed, in one instance- a mob of 250 fat bullocks belonging to one farmer swimmiug to safety without a hoof being lost. Still, .though the preseut losses are small, the after effects of the flood will be severely felt, as the turnip crops must have sustained a great amount of damage. This can only result in a big shortage of w r inter feed, and the feeding of the cattle must then present a big problem. In this respect it is unfortunate for the farmers that- the Freezing Company cannot at present find space for cattle, as this would largely settle the question of winter feed. . OTANOMOMO FLAT.. All the low lying portion of the Otanomomo flat is still under water, and the ditches are standing full and will remain in this.condition for some time on account of the lock at the Puerua bridgo having been partially carried away. It will probably take between £6OO and £7OO to have the lock repaired, and as the class of timber required for the work is hard to procure it is difficult to say when the work of repair will be completed. The damage to the lower road to Port Molyueux cannot be yet ascertained, as it is still completely under water. AT PARETAI. An unusual sight was witnessed at Paretai in the early hours of Tuesday morning, when a two-roomed cottage owned by 'Mr Thomas Dale was seen to be burning in the midst of the flood waters. The cottage .was untenanted, but contained seven tons of lime, 60 bags, of oats, four tons of- chaff and three bags of grass seed. It is surmised that the lime becoming heated caused the lire. We have been unable to ascertain whether there was any insurance on the building and contents. Several houses in the locality suffered from the effects of the flood waters, but others fortunately were above the mark reached by the water. The postmaster's (Mr Fiudlater) residence contained over a foot of water, and Mr Findlater was compelled to seek a haven of refuge at Mr Plew's. The postmaster's furniture has suffered much damage, and he can only gain an entry to the house by the front door. The'water in this locality is receding very slowly, having only fallen a few inches up'to yosterday. Though the full extent of the losses in stock is not yet known it is considered that these will be surprisingly small, most of the animals having been removed in time to the higher land.