Timaru roads awash

Press, 14 March 1986, Page 1

Timaru roads awash

In Timaru, both northern and southern entrances to the city are awash. At Washdyke, the Timaru milk treatment plant and Dominion Breweries’ brewery closed for the day. South, at Redruth, Alliance Textiles decided to stop work until Monday. Redruth residents were evacuated from their homes after Saltwater Creek overran its banks. In outlying areas, parts of south Temuka were flooded and homes evacuated. Geraldine lost a footbridge in the central part of town. Waimate people had to conserve water after a main burst, and further south the 50 residents of the small township of Hakataramea had to be evacuated from their homes. The floods have been

described as the worst in South Canterbury since 1945.

The Automobile Association yesterday morning reported many roads closed by flooding'

These included State highway 1 south of Waitaki, between Timaru and Glenavy, and from Timaru to Washdyke. State highway 8 was closed from Timaru to Takapo, and State highway 79 from Fairlie to Geraldine.

State highway 83 from Pukeuri to Kurow was closed, as was State highway 1 from Hinds to Maheno. State highway 82 from Kurow to Waimate also was closed. Motorists were advised to stay on the main road where possible when travelling on Banks Peninsula.

A state of civil emergency hung over Mid-Can-

terbury last evening, and two Hinds families were moved by the Ashburton police as flooding threatened their houses. Four from Maronan were taken to stay with friends. Although flooding began to increase after a flash downpour earlier in the evening, by 9 p.m. water levels were reported to be stable. The worst flooding in Mid-Canterbury was at Hinds, where the Hinds River burst its banks about 4.30 p.m. Mid-Canterbury had rainfalls ranging from 46mm in Ashburton to more than 150 mm inland from Methven on Wednesday night. Staveley, south-west of Methven, recorded 125 mm, Mount Somers 150 mm, and the Winchmore Research Station 66.1 mm.