TOO MUCH RAIN.

Press, Volume LXI, Issue 18487, 15 September 1925, Page 11

TOO MUCH RAIN.

FLOODS IN THE CITY.

STREETS SUBMERGED.

SWOLLEN CREEKS AND

CHOKED CULVERTS.

An intensely, heavy rainfall was experienced in the City yesterday morning. Creeks and side-channels overflowed, and flooding occurred in various portions of the metropolitan area. Appeals for help were received by the Drainago Board and the City Council, and tho two engineers, Mr A. E. Galbraith (City Council) and Mr J. Cullens (Drainage Board), made a joint visit of inspection during the morning. At the close of tho inspection, Mr Galbraith informed a "Press" representative that the locality at the intersection of Salisbury - and , Durham streets was found;to.be flooded, and portions of-other streets in the vicinitv were also under water. Dudley Creek, in tho St. Albans area, was running higher than had ever been known, for ■ the past 34 years, and in consequence I Westminster street east was badly flooded. The eastern end of Flockton j street and the connecting streets be- j tween Flockton street and Westminster street were also more or less under water. Eutland street, St Albans, was also partially flooded from Morven' street to Innes road. Innes road itself was in places under six inches of water, the whole of the roadway being coverel. At the intersection of Shirley road and Hills road there was a little flooding, but the water was getting away into Dudley Creek. There was nothing in the nature of' severe flooding in the Lmwood district, but the river was running extremely high, higher than ever known before, and the Drainage Board's draihs were running full. Many sections in the district were partially under

Spreydon Swamped. Barrington street,. a the Spreydon district, was flooded from Neville street and Wychbury street right up to Jackson s Creek, and the creek itself was running higher than any previous level Ihe roadways in places wer 0 flooded right over to a depth of eighteen inches m the deepest portions. South Crescent road was badly flooded at the bend, and a subdmsional road in the locality was absolutely under water. At the -junction of Selwyn street and Moorhouse avenue there was bad flooding, and even the footpaths on the west side were covered.. The locality near the intersection of Lincoln road and Haglev avenue was also partially under water, in Moorhouse avenue, on the north side, from Selwyn street to Manchester street, the water was overflowing the channels and encroaching on the footway.

Getting the Water Away., r, "-Ju 0 Comeil '" added Mr Galbraith, "had the.whole of tne cleansing staff out with.cleaning-rods, and the men did all they could to clear the choked culverts and- gullies. ' Everything was was possible in'.order to help tne flood waters to get away." Fortunately, the downpour ceased shortly after 10 a.m. The river Avon however continued running. a t. an unusually high i eve]# » * un Damaged Streets. *i, Tl i-^ rdinary work on j-j • street 3 has been seriously impeded, in consequence of the remarkably wet season, and the surfaces, except where efficiently tar-sealed, are in process of disintegration. It' i s estimated by the City Engineer that the damage to the streets will run into something like £IO,OOO. Most of tho streets are now pitted with potholes, and awkward scourings have occurred along the,tram rails. In the opinion of the Engineer street fioodings would bo less likely to happen if fewer cul-

verts were built across the side-chan-nt'ls. Tlie culverts had a tendency to become choked_. and then acted as stopwaters, and so prevented the side-chan-nel water from getting away rapidly. j Ground Saturated. J Mr J. Cullens, the Drainage Board's Engineer, who accompanied the City Engineer during a part of Jus tour of the flooded areas, confirmed many of the statements made by Mr Galbraith. .Referring to the areas under water in Innes road and Rutland street, Mr Cullens said that the Board's drains in the_ locality were rnoro or less rural drains, and as settlement became closer and more houses were erected the ''run off" from the dwellings and from the pafed streets had increased greatly. The state of the ground had to be taken into account, The fain that fell yesterday and on Sunday was not sufficient of itself to ezplain the flooding of the areas. ° The fact was that- the exceptional and extraordinary rains of last month and this month had completely saturated the ground, with the result that Sunday's and yesterday's downpours could not be absorbed, and simply lodered on the surface or ran off and ledged on the lower-lying portions. Barrinpton street. Spreydon, for mbont a quarter of a mile in the vicinity of the old Boroueh Council office, was flooded, yesterday, for a depth of about one foot.

North-East St. AlbanS. Jackson's creek, being a natural watercourse, was not nearly so flooded as what is known as New Dudley creek, the backing rfp of the water in which was tho cause of the water lodging in parts of Shirley road and Kensington avenue. In 6ome parts Dudley creek was overflowing, and in other parts the water was running a iC hanker." The drainage of that locality, it was hoped, would be improved as the result of tho diversion of Hornets drain, northwest to Preston's road, and thence by Hawkins road to the river Styx. For .that work a loan of £2OOO was raised, and there was also available a sum of £IOOO from rates. North Linwood and Moorhouse Avenue. The Avon at Dallington was not so high, and the outlet from Brittan's drain (taking the drainage of North Linwood) was much betetr than on August 10th; the outlet to tho drain yesterday was, m fact, eight or nine inches lower than on the date mentioned. That was probably due to the tide being low * yesterday. No complaints ~ad been received regarding that portion of Moorhouso avenue between Manchester street and Barbadoes street; but there was a certain amount of (backing up in the side, channels on Moorhouso avenne west of Colombo street, but it was not serious, j

Drains and Sewers.. Mr Cullens added that the Board had asked him to report on storm-water drains generally, with the view of obviating flooding. He would also report on two or three individual cases, such as Barbadoes street, Moorhouse avenue, and Furiri street, Lower Riccarton. The contractors for the new sewers were being much hampered by the weather, and by the almost continuous rains. Ground that in a dry season would stand up without timbering had to be timbered under the conditions ruling last month and this month. After a day or two's rain it took about a day to get the_ trenches free of' water, and sometimes they had just effected this when another downpour occurred. At Sumner and Redcliffs.

Many residents of Sumner and Redcliffs viewed with alarm the heavy downpour of yesterday. Streams • rushed down the hillsides into the borough, and many of the hack streets of Sumner were again flooded". In Arnold street tho creek overflowed its banks, and tho Scarborough end of Oolenso street was a. raging torrenfe. Many new waterfalls made their appearance, and by midday many of theso resem-, bled miniature Niagaras. In Redcliffs rowboats were again brought into use to reach several of the shops, and to negotiate some of the streets. When the weather looked like clearing lato in the afternoon, many sighs of relief were to be hoard in the borough.

IN THE COUNTRY.

EFFECT ON LAMBING.

LOSSES REPORTED, Tho primary producers' reason is starting badly. T be agriculturist should now bo congratulating himself [on having his crops in, instead of which ho finds himself scarcely more than begun, with no chance of completing his programme. The pastoral community, however, is perhaps only a degree 'freer from worry. Lambing is now practically at its busiest period, and the cold wet nights and the waterlogged state of the fields hare ueen. fatal to numbers of newly _ cropped lambs. Flocks on the Plains have practically completed the lambing, but where tho operation was in progress this past week a good few . newly dropped lambs never found their teet. Such a happening on tho Plains does not promise well for flocks on trie colder country nearer the hills, wnero lambing is now in full swing. Small Flock Losses, Reports of losses, though not heavy individuallv, cover a. wide area, One North Canterbury grazier is stated to have lost several hundred lambs m one night during the week, but this report is not verified. In a Peninsula flock 60 lambs were dropped one night, and 40 were counted dead in tho morning. On a farm close to Christchurch, one mornings toll was 21, and other instances of "30 to 50 are far from uncommon. The mortality will reduce the forecast made some iimo ago or , the season's lambing. |

Scarcity of Feed. The slow growth of grass is aggravating the position, as the country is very bare of feed, and flockowners are at their wit's-end to keep the milk flow of their ewes up. Artificial feed has largely been consumed, as ordinarily at this time of the year the grass is coming away rapidly. The high price of ewes throughout the season does not permit much reduction in the lamb crop if flockowners are to square themselves on their purchases. It was the prospective price of the lamb that stipulated the nign prices for ewes, the value of the fleece being a minor factor. It can only be hoped as an offset to those districts where losses have occurred that there axe other parts where the lambing was too far advanced to be much affected or that the conditions have not been so severe as in Mid-Canterbury.

NORTH CANTERBURY.

Bangiora. The weather is still very wet and unsettled, and all farm work is at a standstill. Very heavy rain fell on. Sunday night -and early yesterday morning, flooding the low-lying lands and bringing up the rivers. The Ashley river was very high and started to overflow its banks above the bridge, but fortunately the rain ceased before any damage was done. Akaroa. The weather continues most depressingly unseasonable. Conditions looked « distinctly brighter on Friday, when for a few hours the sun shone and a gentle nor'-wester seemed to give, promise of better things to come. Before, theafternoon was half-way through, however, it was raining again, and tie outlook became worse as the night wore on. The downfall at times, especially on Saturday morning, was particularly heavy. The wind veered to the nor'east on Sunday, bringing more ram from that quarter. At noon yesterday rain was still falling, with no prospect of a clearance. The outlook for dairy and sheep farmers is gloomy at this stage of tho season. Reports from various quarters state that losses among i the lambs arc seiious. All farm work is at a standstill, while the factories have barely commenced operations. Sefton. Tie usual dull and showery weather during the week-end culminated in a> warm easterly downpour yesterday morning, with at result that again a. quantity of land is under water and cultivation has had a further setback. In tho afternoon the sun managed jo> break through occasionally, but tho weather was by no means settled. The one or two autumn-sown wheat crops ! are showing rapid growth, but the ground is too wet to allow sheep to eiaft off tho and improve the yield. Kir-wee. Rain set in on Friday, when 11 points fell. On Saturday 39 points were regisitered, on Sunday eight points, and yesI terday to midday 85 points, making a total of 1.43 m. This makes 2.7 Gin for the month, rain ha,ving' fallen on ten days out of the fourteen. The weather is now clearer, with the wind in the i east. i ' [ MID-CANTERBURY. Ashbtirton. There is no sign of a brealk in the weather. From Saturday morning until 9 a.m. yesterday 01 points of rain were registered. All the hollows have been concerted into miniature lakes. Mt. Somers. Heavy and continuous rain on Friday and Saturday sent streams of water through the township like a mill-race, and portions of the main road were submerged. Over two inches of rain fell and residents say that more water hanked up than after the snow some time ago. The mail contractor did not go up the Gorge on Saturday, but got through on Sunda.y. The Ashburtou river is very little higher than usual, as snow has been falling en, the country beyond Hakatere. It is many years since so much snow was lying" on the hill country. Heavy rain again set in on Sunday evening. * Rakaia. The weather during the week-end was extremely wet Sunday was rant-y with frequent showers of rain. Toward? evening it became clearer, but early yesterday morning steady rain again came on and continued throughout the day. The rainfall registered for the past 24 hours was 133 points. The ground is sodden and streams of water are running at the road sides. The. continuous wet weather and the consequent scarcity of feed are causing a heavy mortality . among ewes and lambs.

SOUTH CANTERBURY. Timaru. For the fourth time in three months South Canterbury is inundated as a result of steady soaking rain, and considerable damage is reported from, the outlying districts. Although the floods are not so serious 33 the last experienced, the abnormal rainfall of the past two months has thoroughly soaked the ground, and consequently there is no outlet for vast stretches of surface water, while steady rain in the backcountry fdr severai days past has nie'?ed the snow and Hooded the rivers. Ji had been hoped that the latter end of "the present month would be sufficiently fine to enable a little more wheat to be sown, but the week-end rain seems definitely to Lave ended any prospect of

further wheat going in. It will prbbaoiv be tound, also, that the percentaco of lambs this season will show a decided clrqn on account of tho increased mortality resulting from tho wet and cold weather. No improvement appeared likely last night, although the rain nad temporarily ceased. The rainfall since Friday night amounted to Si points. Waimate. Heavy rain which commenced on Friday night continues and resterdav the creeks wero overflowing their banks. Grass is verv backward and turnips are almost finished. Several farmers state that sheep are on the last paddock of green teed. Stockholders will have an i ai ?iP c ! US tlmo ior so™? weeks, as there will be no feed available for a while. Several large flocks of station ewe?, havI mg been on turnips all winter, are now I being returned. Considering tho wet period ihey look extremely well, and will repay the outlay of winter feeding. In anticipation of a change in the weather, farmers are demanding draught, horses so as to work extra teams, consequently these animals are bringing high prices. Woodbury. &t> unseasonable weather continues, and it is impossible for farmers to work the land. There is practically no wheat sown in the district, and the outlook is anything but bright. Many lambs havo been lost during the recent storms. Since Friday 2.6 inches of rain have fallen, the total to dato for September being 4.14 inches. The total for this year to date is 36.84 inches. ' Geraldine. Since Friday night the rain has been almost continuous,, and the weather having become warmer, there has been a melting of the snow on the high lands, with a result that all the rivers ■were pretty high flood by Saturday evening, though since thenthev have I gone down. The Waihi river "spread out over a wide area, and near -Mr ' Lysaght's, on the Orari road, it overflowed the bank. The Orari river was also very high, but the upper bridge was not injured. The Tengawai river carried a con.sidera.ble volume of storm water, and the Kakahu rose two feet above the previous high level mark in the vicinity of the Limekiln Bridge, and the approaches to the bridge were scoured. The Opuba river was reported to have done some damage, but this has not been confirmed. Considerable loss has been incurred by many farmers. The mortality amongst the lambs has been heavy One man reports hpjving lost 100, another 80, another 30, and so on, and unless conditions change for the better immediately the aggregate loss on this account will be very serious. Nor is tho loss confined to the lambs, for a, good many ewes have gone down neve;* to rise again, while, in the heavier country cattle have been bogged and have perished.

SUMMER SPORTS

OPENING DAYS DELAYED. Soaked grounds will probably put back the opening days of cricket, tennis (grass court), and ibowl.ing until late in October this year. Cricketers had expected to be able to commence play on October Ist, but the groundsmen at Lancaster Park and Hagley Park have dispelled that optimism. Mr B. Priest, groundsman at Hagley Park, said that there was not a possible hope of getting the Park into shape by October Ist. It was practically under water, and the creeks were flowing over tho banks. At present he could not get on the ground with a horse. Operations for the preparation of the ground for cricket were suspended in the meantime. Even if the weather took up now it would be impossible to have the ground prepared until late in October. Mr T. Haiku, groundsman at Lancaster Park, said that it would he November before the park would be ready for cricket. At present it was covered with water, and when this had drained away tho ground would have to <be top-dressed. It would then require a month's rest. Flooded Courts. It will probably be .the end of October before the United Lawn Tennis Club declares its courts open for play. The season usually opens between October Bth and 15th. Tho courts have been flooded, and the subsoil is charged with water. The president of the club, Mr W. N. -Seay, said yesterday that the weather would delay the opening of play for n. few weeks, but if the weather cleared up and a dry spell began, the recent ram might not make a. great deal of difference. Last year the official opening was held about the middle of October, but play had to be postponed for two or three weeks on account of the weather. The rain would do the new courts at Wilding Park a certain amount of harm. Bowling Greens. „, Tiie green superintendent 'of tho ■ohnstchurch Bowling Club, Mr W Helliwell, said that as far as his green was concerned, it would be impossible to commence play before the third or fourth Saturday in October. It is usual for the men to be at work now preparing the green, but on account or the weather it could be approached only .with a boat, The Christchurch green would be one of the last to open. ACTUAL RAINFALL^ The rainfall for tho twenty-four hours ended at 9.30 a.m. yesterday was O.OGOin, and from 9.30 a.m."to 5 p.m. it was 0.260 in, making a total of 1.220 in. The heaviest fall was between 0.40 a.m. and 8 a.m.. half an inch of ram being recorded in that time. ■Last night the skv was still overcast, and there wore light showers. The wmd was still easterly, but with a tendency towards the north, which is a favourable sign. . . |. ron i June Ist to September 14th, is- 1, the rainfall registered at the Seljyn Plantation Board Station, Darneid, was 2.89 m on 15 days, and for the period this vear the precipitation hav been 21.12 m on 45 days.

TRAFFIC CUT OFF,

FLOODS IN NORTH OTAGO, I?EESS ASSOCIATION TELEGSAiI.) OA3IARU, September 14. Ueayy- rain lias been experienced in. the country districts during the last couple of days. This has resulted in. floods, which have cut off traffic in various directions. Slips Lave occurred in Mime places and settlers are having a, tl >-mg time. j„ * ,s raining heavilv, and further uamasj is expected. The prospects for v'i? Sp , nn g sowing of wheat are now €l y gloomy. ====== i

the i nee:l of a tramc bridge across ti-r, a ° n & Antigua street was men- . uned at ia s t night's meeting of thvi «Vj .i ynci l bv Cr. >A. B. Ford, who nW* 8 * the time was ripe for the rel* -cement of the present foot-bridge by I' structure. Tho matter for erred to the Works Committee lor *'resort, <