Wind and rain isolate Mt Cook, Arthur’s Pass

Press, 3 December 1979, Page 1

Wind and rain isolate Mt Cook, Arthur’s Pass

North-west winds buffeted the Mackenzie Basin yesterday, electrical storms unleashed heavy rain, toll communications were lost, power disrupted, roads inundated. and creeks and rivers flooded. Further north more than 60 people were stranded overnight at the Arthur’s Pass township as State highway 7 was closed by slips and flooding on both sides of the pass. The Lewis Pass road remained open late last evening as the area was hit by strong winds and heavy showers. Trees and slips partly blocked the road in places.

The assistant chief engineer of the South Canterbury Catchment Board (Mr D. W. Herd) said an electrical storm had struck at Mount Cook, where from 200 mm to 250 mm had fallen since 7 a.m. “It bucketed down, washing out roads and the creeks are high,” he said.

The South Canterbury Electric Power Board's chief engineer (Mr F. C. Stevenson) said that lightning cut the supply to Mount Cook in the morning but staff restored it about noon. Radio communication with Mount Cook was prevented last evening by what the Post Office area overseer at Fairlie (Mr H. J. Walker) described as a “massive” electrical storm.

He said it was thought that an approach to the Twins River bridge had been washed out and that flooding had occurred at Dry Creek, beyond Unwin Hut, on the approach road to the Hermitage.

It was the heaviest rainfall at Mount Cook for 12 years, said Mr Walker. It was still raining heavily at Mount Cook last

evening and the PukakiHermitage State highway was impassable. An unprecedented wind run of 1150 km over 24 hours was registered at Mount Cook National Park headquarters. “The previous highest total over 24 hours was 900 km,” said the duty ranger (Mr M. J. Heine). The South Canterbury Catchment Board was advised from Mesopotamia station that the Rangitata River was rising and that flooding was expected. High-tension fuses in the Mackenzie Basin were lost because of lightning and a pole was blown over in the Waimate district. The resident engineer for the Ministry of Works and Development in South and Mid-Canterbury (Mr R. T. Bains) said there were two slips on State highway 80, a huge one at Ferrintosh station, which was blocking the Toad, and the one closer to Mount Cook. The Post Office district engineer (Mr B. Keys) said the toll line at Mount Cook was put out by lightning. It was hazardous to try to repair the lines at the height of an electrical storm, and the faultman who returned to the area had found his way blocked by floods. Strong winds were registered at Timaru: 22 knots at 10.30 a.m. to a maximum of 44 knots at 4 p.m. Rain fell all week-end at Arthur’s Pass, 105 mm (about 4in) being measured on Saturday and 225 mm (about Bin) in the 12 hours from 9 a.m. yesterday. It became torrential from 3 p.m. yesterday, bringing with it lightning and thunderstorms. Traffic from Greymouth was stopped at Otira yes-

terday as a slip and washout closed the road at the notorious Candys Bend. More slips closed the road between Candys Bend and Wallace Point on the east side of Otira, and later in the evening Lake Misery flooded across the road. At 8.30 p.m. the bridge approach at Halpins Creek was washed away leaving about 60 people stranded in Arthur’s Pass township. The only way out was by railcar. The Arthur's Pass National Park Board’s senior ranger (Mr J. Charles) said that work on clearing the

road was expected to begin at first light today depending on the weather. No accidents or damage had been reported. Northerlies gusting to 50 knots ripped the roof from a shed, broke a power line which caused a gorse fire, and left the Okuku area without electricity for about eight hours early yesterday. Wind also snapped a power pole in the Glenmark area. In Christchurch, winds gusted to 39 knots about 3 a.m. yesterday, and were up to 36 knots at midday.