COMMUNICATIONS INTERRUPTED

Press, Volume LXXXVI, Issue 26123, 27 May 1950, Page 6

COMMUNICATIONS INTERRUPTED

MANY LINES DOWN DIFFICULTY IN CHECKING DAMAGE Wind and flood damage interrupted communications in parts of the South Island yesterday. The most serious aspect was that all telephone and telegraphic links with the West Coast were lost for long periods and Canterbury services were curtailed in some parts. The engineers responsible for public services—telephone and telegraph, railways, and electric power—were hampered because only bald reports oi trouble were available through the very breakdowns they desired to remedy. All three services have sent extra staff to the Arthur’s Pass r< gion; but they are held up by transport problems. Beyond reports that road, rail, and wire links were cut. there was little certain information of ths extent of the damage. The Post and Telegraph Department in Christchurch was using its own emergency radio service lor ur. ent communication with Greymouth last evening and the Railway Department has enlisted the help of the Emergency Radio Corps (amateur operators) to seek information on damage to the West Coast line'. “A sorry tale.” was the terse comment on communications with the West Coast given last evening by Mr ...... i. ■ i Del< raph I Christchurch. The normal service was broken between Kowai Bush and Cass cariy in the day and the department “borrowed" one communication channel between Christchurch and Greymouth from the Railway Department; but this independent link was lost later. Other interruptions occurred in the neighbourhood of Cass. West Coast end but ganes from that side apparently could not get through because there was four feet of water over the road at Wainihin hi and the railway service was out. An attempt was made to get gangs through from Cass but they were held up there last i ight and hoped to move up by heavv truek early this mornin ~ Mr Tyrrell said. ..n emergency radio I nk was established t > carry urgent telegrams in Morse code during the afternoon and it was again brought into use about 7 p.m. When the telephone link broke down, calls were diverted on a threechannel carrier through Wellington, but this service also broke down at th? West Coast end last evening. Sketchy reports from the West Coast received by. Mr Tyrrell indicated that 27 miles south of Hokitika a large tree had fallen across the lines breaking two poles. Other trees had brought down wires at Pukekurc. Fergusons, and Lake lanthe. All communication with South Westland had apparently been lost and repair gangs could not get through because of washed-out roads. High winds caused faults on the east coast, too, Mr Tyrrell said. A pole blown out of alignment 10 miles north of Kaikoura “noised uu" some circuits to Blenheim. Nelson, and Wellington: but this was righted bv the afternoon. An elusive line fault near Templeton was finally traced to a piece of light wire blown across the wires, cutting out half of the telephone carrier circuits between Christchurch and Ashburton and Christchurch and Timaru. This trouble was corrected about 4 p.m. Ashburton-Meth ven and MethvenRakaia services suffer'd interruption from trees over the lines but these breaks were restored fairly quickly.