Pumps All Out To Lower Floods

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30154, 11 June 1963, Page 14

Pumps All Out To Lower Floods

(New Zealand Press Association)

NAPIER, June 10. All available pumping equipment is being used in an attempt to drain floodwater from the Ahuriri Lagoon, on the outskirts of Napier. Since the rain began last Monday, more than 500 million gallons have been pumped from the farm land into the main outfall channel.

Of this total. 383 m gallons have been pumped from the Lands and Survey Department area and this has lowered the water level by 3ir> after 192 hours of continuous pumping. Lt is estimated that there is still an average depth of 2ft over 2000 acres.

The Napier Harbour Board pumps have moved 126 m gallons off 800 acres to lower the depth by about 6in on the board’s area of the lagoon. There are still 2ft to go to grass level It will probably take another 10 to 14 days to drain the water

This afternoon, a jet-boat was used to feed hay to stock stranded on stop-banks and small patches of higher ground on the lagoon area The Tangoio post office which was narrowly missed by a huge slip in last week's flood may be closed The postmistress. Mrs R Beere. has moved to Raupunga near Wairoa. and past office officials are uncertain whether to reopen the building Mrs Beere has declined to return to Tangoio after her experience last week A landslide narrowly missed the post office at the height of the flood, and damaged a cemetery nearby Debris is piled up at the

back of the office, and silt and mud cover much of the section.

Landslides m the rugged Motu country after several days of very heavy rain are causing concern to the Post and Telegraph Department at Gisborne. The telegraph line through Motu has been out of action since Thursday and slips on the roadway are so extensive that the telegraph Linesmen are unable to get in to repair the damage.

With the Motu line out of order, the entire telegraph service to and from Gisborne could be disrupted if anything happened to the direct circuit. The full extent of the blockages on the Motu road were .not known today and there is a possibility that the route will not be open until late this week.