floods in south CANTERBURY

Press, Volume LXXXI, Issue 24571, 21 May 1945, Page 4

floods in south CANTERBURY

HOUSES EVACITATED^ FARM WORK FURTHER DELAYED From Our Own Reporter TIMARU, May 20. Flood* which threatened to be a* disastrous a* those of last February occurred in South Canterbury on Friday evening ond on Saturday. Fortunately, however, the floods began to recede just when they had reached - danger level, and as far as it is possible ascertain, losses have been very slight. The worst feature of the floods wil be the delay caused in the sowing of wheat. Footrot in sheep, which has become more prevalent with continual rain and abundance of feed. 13 also a danger. Although the potato harvest will be delayed, it is not expected that there will be much damage to crops. At Timaru, the Mayor (Mr A; E. aHanan) has appealed to citizens to use water only when absolutely necessary, as the pumps which have been supplying water to the town reservoirs have been withdrawn frohi Purviss crossing, and cannot be used again till the river goes down. Restrictions on the use of water which were enforced last February, have been reintroduced. When the floods'threatened homes at Saltwater Creek on Saturday morning, Mr Hanan called on E.P.S., St. Jonh Ambulance, and Red Cross workers to stand by immediately. These organisations established headquarters In the flooded area, and evacuated three families as a precautionary measure. By 10 p.m. E.P.S, workers reported that the water had receded below the danger point, , Snow in Mackenzie Country But for a heavy fall of snpw oh the hills at the back of Fairlie, the flood damage would have been as bad as « was in last February, said the engineer to the Mackenzie County Council (Mr J. F. D. Jeune). At Tekapo. there were three inches of snow, and on the side roads from Timaru up to a foot of snow. Mr Jeune said that just as the Opihi river reached a peak where it would have subsequently flooded dangerously the water began to recede. There was bad scouring on many of the roads, and temporary work on the river after the last floods was breached in several places, but fortunately the flooding subsided at a critical time where the breaches were worst. , The approaches were washed away from a temporary bridge at Skipton, and the road to Geraldine had to be Closed. Throughout the Fairlie district continual rain has made it almost impossible .to prepare land for sowing, wheat, with the result that most sowings will have to be postponed until the spring. A total of five and a half inches of rain was recorded at the meteorological station at Hprwell Downs, in the Mackenzie Country, from May 10 till May 19 inclusive^ Six Feet of Water at Airport From 9 am. on Friday until 9 ©’-clock this morning, 2.94 inches of rain were recorded at the meteorological station in the Timaru Botanic Gardens. There was very little water lying in the streets of Timaru. At the Timaru airport at Saltwater Creek, the water was about six feet deep near the administration block, A special relief train left Timaru at 4.10 p.m. on Saturday to take passengers through to Lyttelton to connect with the steamer express, as the Invercargill express had bsen held up by floods further south. Apart from the running of this extra train, the usual railway time-table was followed. A pole in the . electric power transmission line which feeds the Geraldine County was washed out in the Opihi riverbed. The county was without power throughout Saturday afternoon, but temporary repairs enabled light to be restored about 6.30 pm. The power was off again to-day, while permanent repairs were being made. An appeal for residents to help shopkeepers to move their stocks to higher shelves, made by the Mayor of Temuka (Mr George Harris), meet with a good response, and a number of shopkeepers availed themselves of the assistance. At Walmate Flood 'Waters, which held Up traffic north and south of Walmate on Saturday afternoon, after heavy rain in the back country, receded to-day, and it was expected that conditions would approach normal to-morrow, though deviation near Bradshaw’s bridge would still be necessary in the south, and caution would be advisable a little south of this bridge and at Maklkihi in the north. Deviation through Waimate is essential'because the Waimate creek has washed put the approach to the bridge on the main road. An 'estimated total of 275 points of rain fell in Waimate between Friday evening and this morning, when ,the weather cleared. No estimate was made of the fall during Fridhy night, as some persons had tampered with the recording instrument at the Waimate observation station, but the fall during Saturday totalled 155 points. ■ Many settlers worked till dark on Saturday at the mouth of the Waihep river, and managed to make a gap in the shingle bar sufficient to prevent any further rise in the level of the river, which had broken down the floodbank at various points.

RIVERS IN NORTH CANTERBURY

RELATIVELY LIGHT FLOODS

DAMAGE TO WHEAT AREAS REPORTED Although surface water was extensive, the rivers in North Canterbury were in comparatively light flood yesterday. The surface flooding will, however, have a serious effect on wheatgrowing. Wheat already sown will be washed out and the planting of other prepared areas will have to be postponed. By 8 p.m., all the rivers were falling. ...... None of the rivers broke its banks. The heaviest rainfall was for the 24 hours ended at 9 a.m. on Saturday, when a fall of one inch and a half was recorded 'at the Waimakariri Elver Trust’* office at the Waimakariri bridge; the fall for the next 24 hours was one inch. A small flood of from three to four feet was recorded in the Ashley river and the Waimakariri river was about three feet above its ordinary level from .below Kowhai Bush. The Eyre was again in fairly high flood for the third day yesterday, but had nowhere broken its banks, and the Cust and Cam rivers *were also carrying small floods. Late yesterday afternoon when the rain was easing, there was no threat of the rivers causing damage. No damage to aqy of, the flood-protection banks was reported. . Springs have made their appearance over' a wide area, and the effects of these under-currents are likely to be experienced for some months. The worst surface flooding in the big area betwen the Waimakariri and Ashley- rivers was at Fiaxton, where paddocks aggregating between 150 and 200 acres were under water. They were mainly pasture lands. Considering the heavy rainfall, the water lying on the roans was surprisingly limited and little scdbring was reported. Ponds had formed on many farms, but their extent and depths were relatively light. The Selwyn Eiver -From observations made late yesterday afternoon by Mr H, W. Harris, engineer to the North Canterbury Catchment Board, there was no overflow of any consequence from the Selwyn river, Mr Harris’s tour of the Ellesmere -and Springs counties was made after he had received a report that the Selwyn had broken its banks at Springston. The Selwyn was in flood, yet late in the afternoon the level at the Upper Selwyn Huts was not within three