Widespread Damage At Port

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31653, 13 April 1968, Page 34

Widespread Damage At Port

Lyttelton is slowly recovering from its worst and most prolonged storm damage in living memory.

Torrents of muddy water mixed with clay, rubble and stones, cascaded down the steep hills during the storm, causing choked drains and untidy chaos. Homes from Cass Bay to East Lyttelton had windows broken. Makeshift boarding has been used for repairs. Office windows, notably in the Port Building and the interisland passenger terminal, were also broken.

files and corrugated iron sheets were ripped savagely from roofs, particularly in West Lyttelton. A number of homes suffered internal damage to wallpapers, coverings,

carpets and furniture because of the resulting leakage during torrential downpours. Trees were uprooted and branches broken in the plantation on the heights of East Lyttelton, and boulders there, loosened by torrential rain, were a hazard to residences below. Captain W. V. Wood, who lives at 22 Foster Terrace, said that a 3cwt boulder had crashed on to the corrugated iron roof of his new splitlevel home at 5 a.m. on Thursday. Workmen and bulldozers have been busy clearing streets, repairing power lines, and making roads safe. All three schools were closed at the port on Thursday. Damaged power lines and flying debris were the main hazards. Stone ramparts have col-

lapsed in some streets as a result of seepage, and a number of slips occurred in front of a few hillside homes. No work was done on the waterfront on Wednesday or Thursday, apart from the Maori and Hawea, because of the heavy rain. Vessels at the berths required extra moorings. After anchoring off the heads for more than 24 hours, the tanker Athelviscount berthed on Thursday afternoon at the oil wharf and was expected to sail for Timaru at 1 a.m. today.

The Maori, with 736 passengers from Wellington, arrived on time yesterday and, according to the master, Captain J. D. Cleaver, had a fair passage.

On her amended programme she sailed for Wel-

lington again on a daylight trip shortly before 10 a.m. yesterday with 567 passengers. She is due at Lyttelton again this morning and will leave for Wellington this evening at the normal time. She will return to Lyttelton on a southbound daylight trip on Monday, sailing that evening again for Wellington. A boat-building yard at West Lyttelton suffered considerable damage and small craft at Cass Bay suffered badly. The 46ft trimaran, Tactile, less than a year old, is a “write-off” after being holed in all three hull sections. Three yachts and two launches were damaged when driven on a lee shore.

Diamond Harbour launches were running again yesterday after being kept in harbour by rough seas.