WAIMAKARIRI DAMAGE

Press, Volume XCVI, Issue 28472, 30 December 1957, Page 8

WAIMAKARIRI DAMAGE

Urgent Repairs Being Made

North Canterbury Catchment Board staff were in action throughout last night strengthening damaged stopbanks at Engelbrechts, on the Waimakariri river, the site of the main breakthrough on Friday. Repairs are being, concentrated at Engelbrechts/where hundreds of tons of material has been swept away to breach a gap about 200 ft wide in the loop bank.

“This afternoon we have cut off the channels flowing towards the break in the loop bank. We are concentrating tonight on the strengthening of defences to hold back a possible medium rise in river levels. This will continue as fast as possible until the breach is permanently sealed,” said the chief engineer of the board (Mr H. M. Reid) last night.

Members of the board inspected the Engelbrechts' break-through yesterday morning. Big Bulldozer at Work

A large amount of material placed to form a cut-off bank to protect the loop bank had been washed away. A 24-ton bulldozer was busy building up this protection until a late hour last night. Catchment Board employees were also strengthening protection around the perimeter of the bay caused by the break-through, and large quantities of shingle were being reinforced on the river side with large tree trunks anchored With steel cables. Catchment Board surveyors were yesterday measuring the extent of damage to the loop bank beyond. Yesterday afternoon the South Island’s biggest earth-moving machine began moving hundreds of tons of material to repair damage where the river broke through at Jury’s, on the north bank downstream from the traffic bridge. In the Coutts Island area, where the flooding was heaviest, most of the water had receded by yesterday afternoon. The shingle-crushing plant of Waimak Shingle and Sand, Ltd., was still badly flooded, and there was nearly 3ft of water on the approach road to the plant. The road was impassable for* cars, and heavy trucks and utility vehicles were able to get through with difficulty Damage at Coutts Island

Some residents in Coutts Island took advantage of the sunny afternoon to attempt to dry out furniture and bedding soaked when the flood entered their dwellings. The damage was most severe to field crops and hay stocks Mr N. Hagglow. who milks 50 cows for town supply, lost about 600 bales of hay. Messrs N Radford and S. Borcoskie also had quantities of baled hay damaged by the flooding. Broken fences and flattened crops showed the force with which the flood had swept across "ountry when the loop bank gave at Engelbrechts Tar-sealed surfaces were severely scoured on* the road between Belfast and Coutts Island, where the Jast-moving flood had cut away some chains of surface near the verge of the road and left some deep potholes. Work began yesterday on repairs to damaged stopbanks behind the Belfast Hotel Further renairs would continue with all possible speed, said Mr Reid.

Japan’s Population.—Japan has the fifth largest population in the world and ranks third in population density among the major countries in the world. The Statistics Bureau of the Prime Minister’s Office said yesterday that on October 1, Japan’s population totalled 91.100.000. or 246 persons a square kilometre.— Tokyo, Dec. 27.