SEVERE STORMS CAUSE CHAOS

Press, Volume CV, Issue 30998, 2 March 1966, Page 1

SEVERE STORMS CAUSE CHAOS

Woman Dies; Deep Floods; Roads Cut

fAew ’ fenlanrf Frest Association) AUCKLAND, March 1. Death and escapes came with Auckland storms described as the worst in memory. Flood waters prevented a doctor from reaching a dying man at Coroglen, near Whitianga.

A landslide of mud and rock crashed down upon a Waiheke Island beach cottage where an elderly woman and her sister were sleeping.

Richard John Allum, aged 44, proprietor of the Golconda Hotel, Coromandel, became ill at the Coroglen 1 lotel early todav.

Dr. AV. Latham, of Whitianga. was summoned. but could not get through floodwaters. Mr Allum died soon afterwards.

Miss Myrtle Warner, aged about 70, died Instantly in a landslide. Her sister, Mrs C. Quilter, escaped injury but spent a night of terror in the wreckage of the house. The sisters had gone to the Island from their home in Gibraltar crescent, Parnell, to spend the week-end. Bad weather delayed their return. After the landslide, Mrs Quilter sheltered from the mud. rock and water still cascading down the hill. At first light she made her way to the home of a friend. Mr A. Homersham, who summoned medical help and organised a party to recover Miss Warner’s body.

"It’s a miracle Mrs Quilter is still alive,” he said. “She must have spent a nightmare four hours in the rubble.” Left Home Further along the beach at Onetangi. Mr and Mrs W. Wiley had to leave their home when mud and water swept through the back door. A nearby house was pushed from its foundations.

Mrs G. Mawdslay. aged 71. was evacuated from her cottage at Morrinsville by canoe. Accommodation was found for

her at the local maternity hospital. “1 never thought at 71 I would be taken to a maternity hospital at 4.30 a.m. and in such a hurry,” she said. Two Katikati boys had a narrow escape from drowning. Sons of Mr S. Richards, of Tuapiro, they were moving sheep to higher ground when caught in the floodwaters of the Tuapiro river. They were swept more than 400 yards downstream and under a railway bridge before they scrambled ashore. Cut Off Many homes in Auckland’s southern suburbs and outer areas were still cut off by road blocks, slips and deep floods tonight. Many had no fresh water.

Some had lost their telephone link. Parts of Papakura were without water all day after the bursting of the town’s dam, still under construction in the Hunua gorge. At Coromandel the supply was contaminated by slips into the reservoir and supplies were suspended. Farmers have surveyed pastures that in places have become an inland sea and dread the tally-taking that will reveal the severity of stock losses. At Kaiaua only six ewe lambs from a flock of 500 survived Monday night’s deluge. Six miles away at Mangatangi another 400 sheep drowned. Lighting struck and killed two heifers at Kerikeri.

But rescue came for pigs which huddled on the roof of their flood-encircled sty on a farm near Tauranga. They were taken off in boats.

From the Kaiaua camping ground a caravan wa4 washed out to sea. It has now been "moored” by fishermen off the Whakatsvai poiht. Mrs Sarah Smith, aged 85. said Katikati’s floods were the worst in her memory. Swept Off Several houses were flooded and one swept from its foundations. In a panelbeater’s premises cars and trucks were submerged. Just under lOin of rain fell in 24 hours, the heaviest fall since iccords were first kept in 1932. An Auckland woman who normally completes the journey from Thames in two hours yesterday spent seven hours on the road. ‘There were slips everywhere but the road gangs were doing great work,” she said. At Whitianga supply lines bringing water from a reservoir were washed away, leaving the town—its population greatly increased by international game fishermen—with only the water held in private tanks.

Some of the worst flooding was in the Coroglen area where one fanner lost 11 cows. The Waihi Volunteer Fire Brigade was this afternoon distributing water in the town, as the water supply was disrupted during the storm.

The Mayor of Waihi (Mr A Thomas) said damage to the water supply mains was one of the major items in a dam ages list that would cost cost thousands of pounds to repair. Stock Losses Many houses in low areas throughout Thames Valley were surrounded with water There have been light stock losses reported, although with the Waihou river rising steadily it is likely that more farm land will be inundated. At Waitakaruru, 30 miles north of Paeroa, severe flooding has Occurred. Many houses have up to 3ft of water through them. Many farms were under water this morning, and a number of herds of cows were standing knee deep in flood water.

The heaviest rainfall recorded since records were first kept in 1932 fell in Katikati in the 24 hours ended at 9 o’clock today when 9.71 inches were registered on the gauge of Mr O. W. Williams. At one time during the downpour the bucket on the gauge was overflowing and the instrument had to be dug out from the flooded ground.