FLOODED FARMS

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29829, 23 May 1962, Page 14

FLOODED FARMS

River Bursts Bank (NZ. Press Association) WHAKATANE. May 22. Half of two farms, amounting to 700 acres, lay completely under water today as the Rangitaiki river flooded through a breach in its bank, near Thornton. Whakatane The farms, owned by the brothers Messrs N. F. and W. M. Reynolds, are expected to be out of production for a considerable period, particularly that of Mr N. F. Reynolds, and it is thought that the water will possibly lie in the depressions for months. In some places the depth of the water exceeds 15ft. Mr M. M. Anderson, headmaster of Thornton School, who was driving alongside the river on Monday afternoon saw the events which led up to this, the worst flooding ever known in the district There was a violent upheaval of earth in a paddock about six chains from the river, said Mr Anderson, and water, reaching a height of 6ft, gushed from the hole that was formed. Two minutes later the bank of the river opposite the geyser collapsed and millions of gallons of water swept across the road.

By midnight on Monday, roads were blocked, homes evacuated and stock moved to safety The river appeared to have reached its peak by midday on Tuesday and is now dropping slowly

Even after the river level is back to normal, however the problem of closing the breach is expected to pose a major problem to drainage engineers and it is thought that some land will be underwater for up to six months