FLOOD INVADES COROMANDEL

Press, Volume XCIII, Issue 27985, 4 June 1956, Page 10

FLOOD INVADES COROMANDEL

4ft Of Water Down Main Street

HEAVY DAMAGE TO PROPERTY (New Zealand Press Association) AUCKLAND, June 3. Torrential rain spread across the Auckland province on Saturday. Coromandel township was worst affected. It had the biggest flood in memory. A spectacular burst of pent-up water from a swollen creek which burst its banks, rushed more than 4ft deep, along the main street of Coromandel at 8.30 p.m. on Saturday. The water carried all before it. It lifted houses from their foundations, smashed bridges, damaged shops, and stranded cars.

Tonight no estimates of the damage were available, but more than £7OOO worth of stock and equipment in the shopping centre was ruined. Several families are homeless, and nearly all road communication to Coromandel has been severed.

Other buildings were partly stovein by the sudden onrush of water, which subsided as fast as it had risen. Two wooden bridges were destroyed in Kennedy’s Bay road, but other bridge and road damage cannot be assessed until an inspection is made. Shopkeepers worked until early on Sunday lifting floor coverings, salvaging stock, and clearing up silt more than a foot deep. The force of the water pushed in the front of Mr R. Radford’s butchery, tore out a side wall, and deposited the office desk, filing cabinets, and furniture in the neighbour’s garden. An electrical firm had valuable machinery covered with 3ft of swirling water. Shop counters were awash. Mr C. A. Belcher. County Clerk at Coromandel, said tonight that it would take many months of hard work to repair the damage. Minor flooding took place near Auckland early on Saturday afternoon. Most sports were cancelled, but a band of hardy race-goers braved the elements at the Ellerslie racecourse. For the 24 hours ended at midnight on Saturday, 2.29 inches of rain was recorded in Auckland.

NORTH ISLAND STORM

FLOODS IN NAPIER AND HASTINGS

STOCK LOSSES REPORTED IN FARMING AREAS (New Zealand Press Association) WELLINGTON, June 3. Wintry storms caused floods in districts on the east coast of the North Island from Napier to north of Wairoa. Some stock losses were reported. Napier had its worst flood for many years. After torrential rain on Saturday night, water was flowing 18 inches deep in several city streets, and business premises and houses were damaged. Streets in Hastings were also flooded. The levels of all Hawke’s Bay rivers mounted, and tonight were still rising as heavy rain continued in the back country. Considerable flooding has been reported on the Heretaunga Plains, and flood warnings have been issued to farmers elsewhere in the province. Stock losses have occurred in the Wairoa district. The worst damage so far known is in the Whakaki-Nuhaka area. The storm at the week-end followed flooding on Thursday, when 300 sheep were drowned in the district. On Mr J. Smith’s farm at Whakaki, 100 dead sheep were counted today. At Wairoa. only the breaching of the bar at the river’s mouth is believed <o have saved the town from flooding. Water ran within four feet of the main bridge. No severe road damage has been reported in Wairoa county.

Extensive flooding occurred in the Woodville district today. Large areas of farmland to the south of the town were covered with up to three feet of water. The main road south to Pahiatua was flooded in several parts. Cars were just able to get through. A number of secondary roads were blocked. In Wellington city, icy south-east winds, with gusts up to 50 miles an hour, kept most people indoors. An inch of rain fell on Saturday night, and there was more today. Bitterly cold southerlies were experienced in the Wairarapa district. Rivers in the district tonight were all fairly high, but no damage was reported. The Manawatu district had half an inch of rain on Saturday night, and cool southerlies with scattered rain today.