RAINSTORM IN CANTERBURY

Press, Volume LXXXVIII, Issue 26868, 22 October 1952, Page 8

RAINSTORM IN CANTERBURY

NO BAD FLOODING REPORTED SOME LOSSES OF, STOCK No serious flooding has been reported as a result of rain which has fallen throughout Canterbury since Saturday night. Many rivers rose appreciably, but by last evening most had.begun to recede, and any threat of flooding was averted. Rain fell in Christchurch yesterday for the third consecutive day, but apart from some flooding in low-lying areas, the rain has had little effect. In Centaurus road, a wall of concrete blocks was weakened by the rain ana collapsed. _ The road over Arthur’s Pass is unsafe for traffic and has been closed. The Ministry of Works said last evening that a big slip had occurred on the zig-zag on the Otira side of the pass, and the road was now only nine feet wide. An engineer from Greymouth will inspect' the damage today. The Lewis Pass road was still open last evening, according to advice from the Automobile Association (Canterbury). The Waimakariri, Selwyn, Hawkins, Ashley, and Cust rivers are still running high, but there are no reports of flood danger. The Waimakariri was much lower last evening than on Monday. Farmers Warned to Move Stock Warnings to remove livestock. from the lower reaches of the Orari and Waihao rivers were issued yesterday morning by the South Canterbury Catchment Board. The position had at no stage been serious, an officer of the board said, but it was thought that farmers should be put on the alert in case of a- possible breakthrough. The Orari river was reported to be in fairly high flood, but the Opihi. Temuka, Waihao, Pareora and Makikihi rivers and the Waimate creek were said to be falling after moderate freshes. Some farmers in these districts are believed to have suffered small lamb losses as a result of the south-west change, but apart from the possibility of flooding, it is thought that the rain will benefit crops which had not had a good soaking since snow fell four weeks ago. , .. More than two inches of rain fell in the Waimate district from Saturday to 9 a.m. yesterday. Streams have been running high, but no serious flooding has been reported. . Some anxiety was felt by farmers m the Lower Waihao area on Monday evening, but a heavy sea moderated later, enabling the river to breach the shingle bar at the mouth and avert possible inundation of a wide area of the coastal flat. Showers fell yesterday, but the weather in the afternoon showed signs of clearing. At Fairlie, losses of sheep were reported by farmers who had completed shearing. Lamb losses are expected to be high in the foothills and m the area of Burke’s Pass, where lambing has just commenced. . The rivers are in flood in the Geraldine County, but no serious damage has been reported. Heavy snow covers the ranges, and frosts are expected. Stock Losses at Kaikoura

Sheep and lamb losses were reported at Kaikoura. The weather was very cold in the district yesterday, with light intermittent rain. Most farmers in the Leeston district welcomed the rain, but they were anxious last evening when there were no signs of the weather clearing. Rain fell at Little River all day yesterday, but there were no reports of flooding. Waterfront work at Lyttelton was interrupted yesterday. There was a slight delay on some of the services of the National Airways Corporation from the Harewood airport.