FLOODS IN NEW PLYMOUTH

Press, Volume XCII, Issue 27782, 6 October 1955, Page 14

FLOODS IN NEW PLYMOUTH

STREAMS OVERFLOW INTO GARDENS

(New Zealand Press Association) NEW PLYMOUTH. October 5.

The worst flooding in New Plymouth for 20 years was caused by a torrential fall of 3|in of rain between midnight and 9 a.m. today. Two streams that flow through New Plymouth burst their banks, swamping dozens of gardens and riverside walks. Spring vegetables and seedlings, which had progressed rapidly during earlier warm weather, were ruined. A car and a truck in the basement of a Spotswood home had to be removed by a break-down truck after the New Plymouth Fire Brigade had spent three-quarters of an hour pumping water from the basement. Alongside the Mangaotuku stream in New Plymouth, residents waded waist deep through water to rescue their fowls. The stream rose nearly Bft in two hours.

Bowling greens and school playing areas along the stream were covered by more than a foot of muddy water. Worse flooding was feared at midday today when the tide reached its peak, but both streams had fallen up to a foot by then, and there was no further damage. Bell Block airport was closed this morning, all aircraft being diverted to Wanganui.