RANGITATA’S RISE

Press, Volume XCVI, Issue 28471, 28 December 1957, Page 8

RANGITATA’S RISE

! Large Areas I Flooded

farmers on the Rangitata Island suffered severe stock losses and property damage when the Rangitata river rose to an unprecedented height and flooded large areas of land after bursting its banks aliove the Rangitata township. |One resident, Mr G. Edgar, said it j was the biggest flood he had seen there since 1924, and another, Mr F. H. Ruddenklau, a farmer wjiose home is about seven miles bdlow the highway, said that in 38- years of farming on the island hd had never seen the river within three feet of its present height.

]A good two-thirds of his property was under water, said Mr Ruddenklau. and if the water had risen another two feet none of hi£ land would have been visible.

| Stock Lost ’At 7.30 p.m. the water was going down slowly. |Mr Ruddenklau said he knew he had lost a lot of stock—at least 5Gp head of sheep—although he had been able to save nearly all hiis ewes and lambs. After hearing radio warnings he had moved his ewes and lambs to land that had naver been touched by the river. He thought they would be perfectly safe there. The dry sheep wpre also in what he thought wpuld be a safe place, but the river had risen to cover that land.

of his neighbours were probably worse off, said Mr Ruddenklau, although he was sure thiere were no houses flooded. Sqme of his outbuildings were flooded, however, and much of his fencing had been washed away. The flooding was caused by hdavy rain in the back country late on Thursday afternoon, said thfe secretary of the South Canterbury Catchment Board (Mr A.j L. Kirk).

Railway Flooded The peak at the main highway bridge came between 2 p.m. and 3 (p.m., when the north branch ofi the river broke into the south branch a mile above the Rangitaia township, causing flooding toj the railway line and to the Main South road to depths of between 6in and 9in. On the sopth branch the river broke thjrough on the south side and flooded a considerable area of land, in some places to a depth of- 6ft. The water in the north bipnch had receded by 3 p.m., but because of the break-through the south branch was still high. The peak flood came at Arundejl at 11 a.m. but the river went down fairly quickly there, Mr Kirk said. He said that much st(|ck had been marooned by the flood in spite of radio warnings. Vhe board would attempt to cl<yse the break-through with sandbags, hay bales, and gravel tol hold the north branch in its course, said Mr Kirk. Until this wAs done there was little chance ofithe water ceasing to run across the highway and the railway line.