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Cleaning Up On West Coast

(From Our Own Reporter) GREYMOUTH, September 1. After 24-hour rainfall figures which ranged from 6in to 17in and which brought the biggest flood in the Grey River for 34 years, all roads in the Greymouth Ministry of Works district were open today.

Bridge damage and damage to houses and shops was quickly cleaned up yesterday. Roads which had several feet of water rolling across them were clear and dry.

The flood, which at its height on Monday was threatening the heart of Greymouth, dropped steadily during the evening. Many shopkeepers tayed overnight in their shops on Monday. The only rail link not restored today was that between Reef ton and Westport. The department expected to be through to Inangahua tonight and “with a bit of luck” will have the line clear by tomorrow.

But there is much work to be done on the InangahuaWestport sector with two big washouts in the Rahui district. During the flood, the department withdrew its rolling stock from the wharf area and today both the Harbour Board and railways’ inspectors were examining piles and the river bank to make sure they were safe. The Westland Catchment Board said today that a feature was the length of time the flood stayed at almost peak level. It was at 20ft or more from 9 a.m. to 6.30 p.m. Two Faults The engineering section of the Greymouth Post Office found the two main cable faults caused by Monday’s floods. About 500 telephones were out of order as a result of the two breaks. The Post Office engineer, Mr D. C. A. Eddy, said that all Greymouth and Blaketown phones would be back in use tonight The Taylorville cable is broken where it crosses the Grey River from Dobson and Mr Eddy said that he was not sure when it would be repaired.

If the surface of the Victoria Park Raceway cannot be repaired in time, officials of the Greymouth Trotting Club may have to consider an alternative venue for the club’s October meeting. The half-mile limestone track was severely damaged

in the flooding. An inspection by club members showed extensive scouring in the front and back straight Water was still feet deep in the centre oval and was showing little sign of subsiding.

Not As Bad Considering the force of the flooding in the Buller district on Monday the damage is not as serious as expected. The weather improved rapidly overnight, according to the Westport reporter of “The Press.” All roads were reopened this morning apart from the Lower Buller Gorge road where the Ministry of Works is clearing extensive slips and repairing wash outs. This is the most badly affected highway in the Buller area. The slip on the old fern arch area was 100yds long and 20ft high and has been a problem because of a mixture of bush and stone. Heavy machinery is engaged on the Westport and Inangahua ends and the resident engineer (Mr J. S. Douglas) hopes that a track might be cut for light traffic by tomorrow night. There are trouble spots also at Rocklands, Whitecliffs and near the old tunnel camp.

Washed Out However, the lower gorge section is likely to be closed to heavy traffic for some time as the flood washed out the Bailey bridge over the Ohikanui River well out of position and a new one is being sought. The older bridge, situated well clear of flood waters, can only take light vehicles. Heavier traffic in the meantime will be forced to travel by way of Greymouth and Reefton to maintain schedules between Westport, Nelson and Blenheim. It was uncertain today when the Lower Buller Gorge railway will be reopened. After the mishap on Friday, which caused a derailment of

part of a goods train, work on repairing the washout which caused the trouble was hampered by stormy weather and recurring slips. It will be necessary to blast a massive boulder hanging in a dangerous state 80ft high on the hillside near Tiroria. With Kawatiri Airport drying out fast, Golden Coast Airways resumed its service to and from Westport today. Water is still lying fairly deep on some farms in the Orowaiti and Martin’s CreekCarter’s Beach area but the. run-off has been rapid in most places. However, some pastures will be affected by silting. Stock losses are not as big as expected although some farmers have not yet been able to check. Some fences were broken by timber swept, through paddocks by the flood.

Mopping up was done today in parts of Westport where the water had entered some houses and the fire brigade washed out silt from Palmerston Street, the main shopping area.

Flood relief committees may be set up at Westport and Reefton, the farm advisory officer in Buller (Mr M. Kennedy) said today. Mr Kennedy said that it was too early to establish the extent of stock losses in Buller and Inangahua, but he thought they were not as serious as thought. Mr Kennedy will be chairman of both committees which will comprise representatives of the Ministry of Works, Westland Catchment Board, Federated Farmers and Mr W. E. Rowling, M.P.

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Permanent link to this item

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19700902.2.10

Bibliographic details

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32391, 2 September 1970, Page 1

Word Count
860

Cleaning Up On West Coast Press, Volume CX, Issue 32391, 2 September 1970, Page 1

Cleaning Up On West Coast Press, Volume CX, Issue 32391, 2 September 1970, Page 1