FLOOD IN RAKAIA

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

FLOOD IN RAKAIA

North Bank Breached The Rakaia river, swollen in a bank-to-bank flood, breached its north bank about three miles upstream from the Main South road and railway bridges early yesterday morning. The torrent flowed down the Mead river road and washed out a short section of the railway line, 100 yards south of the overhead road

bridge on the north bank. It also swept across a natural dip in the road alongside the railway line and covered it to a depth of 30in. A small passenger train which left Ashburton for Christchurch at 8.15 a.m. was stopped at Rakaia, on the south bank of the river, because of the breach in the line. The first south-bound car traffic from Christchurch met with water across the road to depth of 2ft 6in, and long lines of cars, many laden with holiday camping luggage, and others towing caravans, rapidly banked up north of the overhead bridge over the railway line, waiting for the water to fall, or be towed through by heavy tractors. Passengers in the stopped train from Ashburton were transferred to a Railway Road Services bus, and the big vehicle was able to negotiate the flooded section of the road without much trouble about 8.45 a.m. Another railway bus which left Ashburton at 9.30 a.m. was also able to pass the flooded section of the road after 10 a.m. Electrical Storm The flood in the Rakaia came after torrential rain in the alps during a violent electrical storm on Thursday night. No rain fell on the plains, but at Methven heavy thunder in the mountains could be heard, and brilliant lightning, lighting up an inky sky over the ranges, could be seen from Ashburton. Foothill areas experienced a violent north-west gale on Thursday night and early yesterday morning, strong enough to lift stones on country roads. The extreme wind, and the rain, caused some disruption to power and telephone lines in the Rakaia Gorge and beyond. The Rakaia river, already above normal after summer freshes, rose rapidly, and early yesterday morning was “fairly roaring” through its gorge, according to local residents. The Double Hill Runs road through the Rakaia Gorge was washed out in places, and impassable. At the Main South road and rail bridges, the river was raging practically bank to bank, and lapping angrily within a foot or two of the top of the concrete piles of the railway bridges. Trees borne by the flood bobbed and tossed under the bridge. Downstream from, the the roaring, discoloured waters formed a vast, unbroken, expanse a mile wide. The breach in the northern bank, near Mowatt’s bridge, about three miles up the Mead river road, is estimated to have occurred about 4 a.m. The floodwaters flowed down this road, and right over the railway line ip the exact spot where the line was washed out during the last major flood in the Rakaia on Boxing Day, 1939. Line Washed Out

About 75 yards of the line was washed out, the line being left in places tilted and suspended in mid-air above swirling channels of water. In one part the line hung drunkenly over 20 yards of waist-deep water, flowing like a mill race, with one sleeper washed away in the very middle. The floodwaters then flowed straight across the road, just south of the overhead bridge over the line. They continued down the Leeston road for some distance, before spilling into paddocks.

About five chains of the Main South road were covered with water. About 8.30 a.m., before any south-bound cars had ventured through, cars were rapidly piling up, and stretched back along the road for about a mile towards Bankiside. Cars were also beginning to pile up from the south at this time. £2O for Car Towing

Early arrivals on the scene were Messrs Gerald Smith and Barry Breading, farmers and contractors, of Rakaia. With a heavy, wheteled tractor,-they were offering tows through the flood at ss, and Ihere was plenty of business offering at this price. From 8.30 a.m. until about 11 a.m., they had towed more than 80 cars through water deep enough to cover the front wheels of their tractor. By 11 a.m., with more than £2O for their morning’s work in their pockets, they were able to watch the first cars venture through the water under their own power, as the level of the water dropped. After 11.30 a.m., although there was still 18in of water over the road, even the smallest cars were able to negotiate it without trouble.

By 11 a.m., more than 50 men were at work making temporary repairs to the washed-out railway line. A work-train was sent from Rakaia with a load of sleepers, and with these the line wag packed up to make it stable.