FLOODS ON WEST COAST

Press, Volume LXXI, Issue 21404, 21 February 1935, Page 14

FLOODS ON WEST COAST

TOWN WITHOUT LIGHT PLIGHT OF HOKITIKA NO TOWER, NO WATER, NO GAS (SPECIAL to tub rREsS.I HOKITIKA, February 20. Hokitika to-day had the heaviest flood for about 40 years. After a hot. dry spell heavy rain commenced yesterday morning and there was a torrential downpour last night. 9.3 inches of rain falling for the 24 hours ending 9 a.m. to-day. It was high tide about mid-day to-day and the tide backed up the waters of the river so that the river was running level with the top of the wharf and had overflowed its banks in places. There was no outlet for drainage water in the town and the low-lying portions of the town were flooded to a depth of up to four feet. All the streets in the business area were flooded except Revell street, which although nearest to the sea is higher than ths nearby streets which were forced to take all the surface water. Women and children had to be carried from houses and shops when the flood reached its height. At Newmans' Motors garage there was two feet of water on the floor. In Trumans' Ltd., drapers, there was about four feet of water through the shop. Even on the higher portions of the town much water was lying. Through the yard of Hurrens' Bakery a stream of water was flowing out to the road and resembled a mountain torrent. Houses Vacated Many houses were vacated because in some the water was over the mattresses of the beds. People were seen with a few belongings wading from the houses in water over their waists. A portion of the middle of the traffic bridge at Kanieri on the main road south was swept awav. A bus with a load of school children had just crossed it. The railway bridge across the river on the south side of the town was in danger. There is a bend in the bridge of 12 inches and the train from Ross was not allowed to cross. Farm land on the south bank of the river between Kanieri and Hokitika were washed away and there wera some losses of stock. Aeroplanes Removed The river flowed over the landing ground of the Hokitika aerodrome to some depth and the aeroplanes were removed from the hangars to higher ground. Two trading vessels moored to the wharf appeared to be riding the flood in safety. The town water supply was off because of burst pipes and there is a possibility of the electric light being off as the water has done some damage at the power house. _ Since mid-doy the rain has been light and the river dropped rapidly as the tide went out. There is little possibility of a worse flood unless heavy rain falls in the hills again to-night. Losses to warehouses in Hokitika amount to thousands of pounds. The dining rocm of the Red Lion Hotel is covered with three feet of water. The outlying districts appear to have suffered. Homes in the Kokatahi district were vacated. The road to Harihari is open but the road to Greymouth is blocked at Stafford and there were no trains to or from Hokitika to-day. The floor of the harbour goodsheds collapsed after being undermined by water flowing from the town to the river. The Hokitikn '"Guardian" was not published today and the printing works are flooded with from two to three feet of water.

A large loss of stock from Mr J. J. Mcintosh's farm on an island on the south side of the river is reported.

Many Hokitika residents are wading about in bathing costumes. Fortunately the temperatures have been comparatively high. Local telephone communication is off and there is no connexion with Greymouth. Huge Flood in River The flood in the Hokitika river is considered to be the highest in the memory of living residents. It carried away 60 feet of the southern end of the Kanieri bridge on the Ho-kitika-Waiho main highway. The Hokitika harbourmaster has informed the Post and Telegraph Department that this span of the bridge has been carried out to sea and is drifting north, one and a half miles from Hokitika, constituting a menace to shipping, as it is partially eubmerged. . The flood also carried away Stribhng's creek bridge on the Lake Kanieri road, taking with it 12 chains of the Hokitika borough water supply pipes. A portion of the main Kanieri bridge, also much forest debris,

Water Enters Houses And Shops ROADS AND BRIDGES DAMAGED Torrential Downpour of Rain The worst flooding that has been known in Hokitika for many years followed torrential rain which fell there yesterday. In the 24 hours ended Z a.ra. yesterday, more than nine inches of rain fell in the town, and even heavier rain is reported to have fallen in Sout. Westland. Streets in Hokitika were flooded and damage which it is estimated will amount to thousands of pounds hus been done to stock in business prem'scs. Some women and children had to be carried from houses in the flooded streets, and boats were used to take goods away from most of the shops. Many houses had to be vacated. Last night the town was without lights and a water supply. South of Hokitikr. iry serious damage has been done to bridges. One bridge at Kanieri was washed away, and one span of it has been washed out to sea, where it has been reported to the Marine Department as a menace to shipping.

lodged against the combined traffic and railway bridge at lfokitika, which is out of alignment, the Ross train being held up on the south side of the bridge.

Unless the flood waters subside fears are held that this, the longest bridge on the West Coast, will suffer further damage. Flooded streets in Hokitika include Fitzherbert, Hamilton, Tailored, Sewell, Bealey, Weld, and in all these the water has entered houses.

In the "Guardian and Times" newspaper office the water reached a depth of a foot in the machine room, the company being a heavy loser from water getting to the reels of newsprint. In some streets the water is so deep that boats have been used to convey people from their homes. The rjver overflowed the bank at Gibson's quay, water pouring into the main business street of the towu, where it reached more than three feet in depth in places. In Bealey street a drain overflowed and the water entered homes, while it ran through J. Hurren's house, shop, and bakehouse, ruining much flour, which could not be removed in time to save it from the rapidly rising flood waters. Conditions South of Ross South of Ross conjitions are quite good. the dis trie l Latween lies* fid Hokitika suiieriug similarly to Hokitika. The roau io Kokatahi is blocked by two feet of water, and farmers in that locality suffered heavy loss of stock in parts. Hokitika is to-night without, water and electric light, and the ghs supply is affected in some parts. The water has receded somewhat, but the tide IS , rising, and there is little dangeu ot further damage. | In some houses there is a thick deposit of silt and there is a possi- , bility of the water supply being off I lor some time. Some hotels are overcrowded as a result of people having to vacate their houses. The ground floors of several hotels are uninhabitable. To-night the employees of stores and warehouses are wading round in the water doinp what salvage work is possible. Boats bicycles and drays have been busv in J£ e street . s all the afternoon. " The sea did no damage to-day as it has in previous floods It is reported that 120 feet of the bridge at Kanieri is down, but thp i ail way bridge will be available for traffic south. Water is over the floor of the Hokitika Post Office to a depth of from two to three feet. "The Press" correspondent in order to lodge the telegram cony®yir)6 this news had to wade through from two to three feet of water to reach the building. SOUTH WESTLAND AFFECTED HEAVY STOCK LOSSES FEARED (special TO THE PRESS.I HOKITIKA, February 20. Reports filtering through indicate that rain has been exceptionally heavy in South Westland, but the lack of communication prevents confirmation of reports of roading and farm damage. The district telephone services have been disorganised and the Greymouth-Christ-church line is faulting through slios on the Otira road. The GreymouthHokitika line was rendered useless past Stafford this afternoon, cutting off communication with Hokitika. All telephone lines south of Hokitika are faulting. All trains north of Greymouth are running to schedule, but the service on the Hokitika line is disorganised through the Arahura river washing out a portion of the line at the bridge just south of Arahura. The Hokitika-Greymouth train did not run this morning, the GreymouthHokitika train being held up at Arahura. This evening's GreymouthHokitika train ran as far as Arahura where the mails were transferred to a bus from Hokitika. The return mails were transferred to the train which returned to Greymouth. It is impossible for the railway authorities yet to tell when the service will be restored to normal and the Public Works Department cannot ascertain what damage has been caused to roads until the flood waters subside. In the Greymouth district the rain fell in calm weather, but in the Hokitika district it was driven by high winds which contributed to the damage caused to telegraph lines. Seldom on the West Coast does flooding of such magnitude occur without the snow on the hills being melted by warmth and thus the present record flood in Hokitika is unique. Heavy Stock Losses It is anticipated that ttlere will be heavy losses of livestock in the river flats along the banks of the Hokitika and other Westland rivers as the flood rose rapidly during the early hours of this morning. High water is about 3 o'clock to-morrow morning. Unless the rain ceases by then Hokitika will suffer severely^

DAMAGE NEAR KUMARA MINING *DAM BURSTS SETTLERS FORCED TO LEAVE HOMES (SPECIAL TO THE PRESS. 1 GREYMOUTH, February 20. Following three weeks of dryweather, torrential rain on the West Coast for the last 48 hours has caused widespread floodings with serious damage, the full extent of which cannot be estimated until the flood waters subside. Heavy rain has fallen along the whole of the West Coast, but particularly south of Greymouth, damage being confined to the Hokitika district and from Kumara along the Otira road. South of Greymouth, communication by rail, road, and telegraph is cut off. Until this afternoon the fall at Greymouth had been more than four inches. The record fall of more than nine inches at Hokitika caused record flooding in the town of Hokitika, where business has been at a standstill for the day. j At Stafford, nine miles north of Hokitika, towards Greymouth, very serious damage has occurred. The Waimea creek has broken through its banks, running down the road invading four houses in the small township to a depth of more than three feet. Workmen's huts at the Stafford Dredging Company's dredge have suffered similarly. The bridge over the Waimea creek is intact, but numerous washouts have occurred on the road, and it is not anticipated it will be fit for traffic for tw-i or three days at least, thus cutting off road communication between Greymouth and Hokitika for the first time for many years. Severe flooding occurred at Stafford from the bursting of a big dam up the Waimea creek, used by the dredge. As yet it is impossible to judge whether Stafford dredge has suffered in any way. The Stafford Sluicing Company has also been a heavy sufferer. Much of its fluming has been carried away and other damage caused by the rush of water. Cars cannot get through, and it is impossible to state what damage has occurred on the isolated nine miles of road between Stafford and Kumara. The Paradise Flat dam near Dillmans has also been carried away, allowing a stream of water to cross the road on the Kumara-Otira main highway. Slip on Homestead A bad slip has occurred at Horseshoe bend, while a slip came down on the Treacy homestead at Mount Turiwhate. It is understood that the occupants narrowly escaped death and were forced to leave their home, but because of the lack of communication details are meagre. There is another slip at Turiwhate Bluff, blocking the road, while two culverts have been washed out in the same locality. At Wainihinihi, a huge quantity of debris was washed down the river piling against the old bridge and endangering its safely. If it carries away during to-night the structure of the new bridge now being built will surely suffer, as it is already strained. Rain Continuing Rain during the afternoon has been intermittent, but has not ceased for any length of time. The Teremakau river and Greenvone creek are in high flood, minor damage being caused. Near Kumara a few head of sheep have been lost. A boring plant, operating at Greenstone, has been inundated, but serious damage is not likely. North of Greymouth the rain has not been so great, although the Grey river is in high flood, carrying much debris. No damage has been reported in the Grey Valley, although the Grey Valley main highway is impassable a few miles north of Greymouth, several feet of water being on the low lying road near Dobson. Flooding in Greymouth In the town of Greymouth some flooding occurred in the streets owing to the water tables being unable to cope with the excess water, but no damage resulted. Sawyer's creek, which runs through the residential part of the town, rose four feet this morning in little more than an hour, but no damage was caused, and it had begun to subside at nightfall. In the Reefton district there has also been a heavy fall, but no flooding is reported, and, in fact, the rain has been welcomed by farmers and gold miners, who have been short of water for some time. The West Coast tennis championships were to commence at Greymouth to-day, but the courts were under water, and the matches abandoned. Women Cricketers Delayed The English women cricketers arrived on the West Coast by yesterday's express from Christchurch, intending to visit the glaciers by car from Otira, but they have been held up on the way, and will return to Christchurch to-mor-row. TRAINS BLOCKED HOKITIKA BRIDGE DAMAGED (SPECIAL TO THE PRESS.^ HOKITIKA, February 20. The train which left Ross at 7.10 a.m. yesterday for Hokitika had an adventurous journey before it turned back for Ross without reaching its destination. Between Ross and Ruatapu, it was held up for about an hour and a half by a slip. This was cleared away, but as the train approached the Hokitika bridge, it /as discovered that the bridge was out of alignment. Investigation showed that a bridge higher up the river had been washed away and, riding on the flood waters, had crashed into the Hokitika bridge, damaging it. The bridge was still impassable at a late hour yesterday and the train was on its way back to Ross. The train which left Greymouth at 7.35 a.m. for Hokitika, got as far as Ho Ho, which is two miles and a half from Hokitika. It was held up there by a washout and water over the line. There were several slips on the main highway between Kumara and Jacksons, and one bridge was washed away.