Floods cut Hermitage, Haast roads

Press, 26 December 1979, Page 1

Floods cut Hermitage, Haast roads

Floods and slips after torrential rain in the Southern Alps have cut the Haast highway and the road to the Hermitage at Mount Cook. A section of State highway 6 between Ross and Harihari remained closed last evening as work continued on clearing slips after 254 mm of rain fell in the 24 hours from Monday morning. The main problem areas are at Bonar Creek. 14km from Harihari. and at Ebans Creek, 10km north of Harihari. A Ministry of Works spokesman said yesterday that a huge slip had dammed Bonar Creek. At Ebans Creek, floodwaters carried away about 20 metres of the northern approaches to the bridge and eight metres of the southern approach. Further south. Lake Wahapo broke its banks and covered the highway a ntetre deep before the rain eased and the level dropped. The highway from Otago through Haast and as far north as Harihari was opened yesterday afternoon after slips had been cleared at the Gates of Haast. be-

tween Fox and Franz Josef glaciers, on Mount Hercules, and in the Harihari township.

The rainfall at Mount Cook for the 48 hours to 8 a.m. yesterday measured 410 mm — only 127 mm less than was logged on December 3 when the region was hit by an electrical storm. The Pukaki-Hermitage State highway was closed last evening by washouts over the 15km from Glentanner station to the Hermitage. The road had been opened between 11 a.m. and nightfall. The Twins, Birch, and Kitchener streams bore the brunt of the storm. The resident engineer for the Ministry of Works in South and Mid-Canterbury (Mr R. T. Baines') said there had been no spillout at Black Birch Stream, nor any threat to the village on Black Birch fan. The residents had marshalled a fleet of trucks, and graders and bulldozers were working in the riverbed . “straightening up.”

Mount Cook National Park headquarters (Mr R. Ryan) said the region was hit by an electrical storm on Christmas Eve. The heavy rain, of which 70mm fell on Christmas Eve and 340 mm overnight, washed out a few tracks. Further damage had occurred on the Wakefield track, which was washed out in the previous rain. The Ball Hut road, which earlier had been reopened as far as Blue Lakes, was closed as a safety measure. The Sebastopol bridge was not fit to be crossed. The Rangitata River was in high flood yesterday and farmers had to move stock to higher ground because of a threatened break-out in the south branch. The South CanterburyCatchment Board’s chief engineer (Mr O. A. Stringer) said that although the Rangitata showed signs of steadying at Mesopotamia, the rain having eased in the back country, it was unlikely to drop appreciably until today as the forecast was for more heavy rain. At mid-morning the Rangitata River at Arundel was 10cm below the level of the big flood three weeks ago and there was a flow in the south branch. Mr Stringer estimates from debris marks at the main trunk railway that the river’s level there will be about 45cm lower than during the last flood. At Mesopotamia station 54mm of rain was recorded in the 24 hours to 9 a.m. yesterday. Floodwaters “boiled” through the mouth of the Rangitata which was wide open — 402 metres at the peak, at 2 p.m. The river encroached on the bank on the south side but did not threaten huts or caravans at the foot of the reserve. The Arundel bridge and its approaches. 18 kilometres north of Geraldine, on State highway 72. yesterday stood up to the flooding. On the West Coast, power-lines were cut by the storms and efforts were being made to take a portable generator to the Harihan area to help farmers milk their cows. Ministry of Works road and West Coast Power Board and Post Office linemen, had to forego Christmas dinner at home with their families. The weather cleared in South Westland in the morning and clear skies are forecast for today. The power board’s engineer-secretary' (Mr R. C. Western) said properties in the Ebans Creek area had been without power since Monday night. The power-lines spanning the Wanganui River had been carried away. "We have sent a portable plant, but the men cannot get past Bonar Creek. We have no communication because the telephone lines are also out,” he said.