CLUTHA VALLEY FLOOD.

Clutha Leader, Volume XLIII, Issue 92, 1 June 1917, Page 3

CLUTHA VALLEY FLOOD.

WATER RECEDES QUICKLY. BRIDGES AND .ROADS SUFFER. \ STOCK LOSSES COMPARATIVELY \ SMALL. ( Two outstanding features mark the flood which broke over the Clutha Val- { ley on Sunday night—the great rapid- ] ity of the rise in the 'Molyneux river and the various other district rivers \ and streams, and the almost equally [ sudden fall of the waters in these 6 streams. 1 By Monday afternoon all danger to ] Dalclutha was past, thanks to the effective manner in which the embank- ' unit withstood the tremendous pressure of the, flood waters of the 'Moly- 7 neux. As a precautionary measure a I gang of workmen patrolled the em- , bankment throughout Monday night, . but fortunately nothing untoward happened. f By Tuesday morning the water had j receded from the road in the south end of Clyde Street, which consequently ' could again be negotiated by pedes- ' tiiaus. The low lying laud in that por- ' tiun of the town is gradually assuming ] its normal condition, but much water ', still remains over a large area in that \ locality. The houses which came within the flood area have been left in an unsightly condition by the thick de- ' posit of silt which remained in the ' buildings, but fortunately little dam- • age was done to the furniture, as the \ residents had sufficient notice to re- \ move it out of the danger zone. 'Some ' ■ fowl fanciers have been left to mourn ! the loss of some of their birds, but , most of the latter found safety (where '. necessary) in the adjoining trees. Considering the vast area that has been under water the losses in stock ■ have been remarkably small. DAMAGE AT BARNEGO. Now that the flood waters have receded at Barnego some idea of the damage sustained in that locality can be ascertained. Fortunately the water fell as quickly as it rose, but. in the interval between the rising and the falling Barnego has been made to bear a wrecked appearance. A big hole was torn in the embankment at the quarry. At this place the contractor (Mr McKay) had taken a foot off the top to get his engine in, and the engine was shifted bodily up the stream for about a chain. Some idea of the strength of the current may be gained when it is stated that the metal under the gravel was thrown four or five feet high before the embankment burst. At present about two chains of the road has been washed away. Messrs A. Stevenson, Murray, Morgan and 'Symons were compelled to leave their houses. In Mr Stevenson's house there was about two feet of water, but as Mr Stevenson had already on a previous occasion bought his flood experience at. a high price, he took the precaution to lift his furniture up to a level which assured its safety from the water. Mr Holgate was much the heaviest loser at 'Barnego, his sheep losses adonnting to over £SOO. Mr Holgate has since been busy carting his dead stock per medium of a six-horse waggon and two three-horse drays to the freezer, where a market can be found for the skins and also for the carcases, the latter being of some value on account of the fat and manure to lie derived from them. Too much praise cannot be given to Mr Smith for the manner in which he worked in his skiff to save his neighbours' stock. Tie-worked his frail craft with great skill, and worked like a Trojon with a pair of wire cutters opening gaps in the fences to enable the sheep to pass through, and by this means was mainly instrumental in saving eight of Mr Holgate's horses, which were enabled to swim to safety. THE KAITANGATA LAKES. Been from the top of North Balclutha hill one vast sheet of water stretches from the foot of the Kaitangata hills to the Lovells Flat district. The water from the lakes has inundated a great extent of country, and the flood waters will take some time to abate, the only means of exit being the Kaitangata canal. ( i STIRLING'S UNFORTUNATE j ! PLIGHT. j j A great deal of damage has been ! done at Stirling by the invading waters, \ 1 and the township presented a very ; i desolate appearance when viewed ou I | Wednesday aftenioou. Although the j ; river water has now subsided large j I pools have been left lying in the hoi- ] j lows, and a considerable period must I ; elapse before these finally disappear. The worst break in the protective em- ; bankment occurred behind the local blacksmith's shop, the breach in this place being about 15 yards long. Here ~i\ drain had been inserted, and most probably this helped to dislodge the bank. Two other, smaller slips occurred, and the water came through • with a great rush. Before the bank broke it bore a normal appearance, and its present aspect ishould be a forcible [ reminder to Balclutha residents of the ■ inconstancy of similar protective works ■ ! when extreme pressure is put upon 1 them. A strong current had flowed up the principal street. At one place, opposite Mr Henderson's coacbbuilding premises, a large and deep hole was scooped out by the force of the waters, - and the road has suffered much dam--1 age, a hole being scooped out to a 3 '. depth of from three feet to five feet. ' i When the flood was at its height'a p j depth of from 10 feet to 15 feet must t have obtained in this place. y i Considerable debris has found a restt iug place in the streets. A large tank 8 containing cases of petrol was carried r . from behind 'Mr Esson's shop on to the j road in front. The. tank was extremely j heavy, and great force would be needed e to shift it. Y ', Several buildings have beeu left in f a dilapidated condition. The sheds be- ! longing to several cottages are -now * lying away from their foundations, the

sides having been wrenched apart in j some instances. ] But this damage is insignificant compared with what is met with further on. A recently erected building near Mr Farquhar's store, owned by Miss Morrison, of" Kaitangata, has been lifted from its foundations and carried on to the footpath. The building was fortunately unoccupied. The verandah posts of this shop have become jammed between their foundations and the kerbing of the water channel, otherwise in all probability the shop must have been carried right across the street by the force of the waters. The present appearance of the building is very unsightly, part of the verandah having been torn away from the front of the shop. Mr Pope's small tailoring establishment has been floated on to the footpath, and a residence owned by Mr MeKinlay, near the railway station, has been damaged to a great extent, the front of the house having been forced away anil one corner lifted from its piles. Although this place is but a few yards from the high ground of the railway station, the occupants could not be rescued till Monday morning, no boat being available for the purpose till then. Those marooned in the house must have had an exceedingly anxious time, as the water reached to a high level inside. The most serious damage to the stock in the business establishments occurred in Mr Esson's shop. Here the water lay to a depth of about 20 inches. The building was heavily stocked with merchandise right to the floor, the floor space having been utilised for new stock, including a case of boots from which only one pair had been removed. All these received a thorough soaking, and much of the drapery stock was utterly ruined. A large quantity of the washable articles I has been cleaned and dried and will ' still be saleable. Mr Esson is a very | heavy loser as a result of the flood. > A considerable amount of stock in Mr FarquhaVs establishment has been saturated, but owing to the height of the building the loss is not so serious as in Mr 'Esson's case. The water in Mr Little's (butcher) shop reached a height level with the counter, a great deal of silt having been left in the windows. 'Considerable damage was done to private residences, and the railway yards have also suffered as a result of the unwelcome visitation. The flooring of the cattle yards, consisting of blocks of wood, has been uprooted and strewn broadcast. 'The lower end of the railway platform has been washed away to a certain extent. The traffic bridge to the Island bears a very unstable appearance. . One of the piles has broken apart from its stays, anil the only'connecting link between it and the upper part of the bridge is at present a piece of rope. As a result of the heavy pressure brought to bear upon it the centre of the structure has a distinct curve. ON THE ISLAND. The settlers on the Island, when the magnitude of the flood waters is considered, sustained remarkably small losses. Some of them naturally lost a few head of stock, but the losses in this direction were comparatively slight. Some remarkable swimming feats on .the part of the cattle were witnessed, in one instance a mob of 250 fat bullocks belonging to one farmer swimming to safety without a hoof being lost. Still, though the present losses are small, the after effects of the flood will be severely felt, as the turnip crops must have sustained a great amount of damage. This can only result in a big shortage of winter feed, and the feeding of the cattle must then present a big problem. Tn this respect it is unfortunate for the farmers that the Freezing 'Company cannot at present find space for cattle, as this would largely settle the question of winter feed. " With regard to the Island the top portion is the key to the whole position, for if the water finds egress at the top practically the whole island is certain to be flooded, as a hollow extends along the middle portion and the water must necessarily run along to the lower end. i THE BABBIT NUISANCE. I The rabbit nuisance is one which the settlers must tackle in earnest, as it is : well known that the embankment it . several places constitutes a huge rabbit ; warren. After au embankment is I erected it is not reasonable for the set < tiers to sit back and consider that thej j have been made secure. Put in a nut j shell, if those interested do not pro , tcrt the embankment they cannot ex ! pect the embankment to look aftei ! them. These remarks also apply to th< •■ protective works in the town. ' Bunnj ; has for a considerable time held un : disputed sway, with the result that tin ! top end must have been burrowed inti to a large extent. To many who con I sidered the embankment secure fron ' the ravages of Brer Rabbit, last Mon | day must have been an eye-opener k i when the small boys and the dog [ reaped a rich harvest. OTANOMOMO FLAT. i All the low lying portion of th> i Otanomomo flat is still under water • and the ditches are standing full ani ; will remain in this condition for som i time on account of the lock at th< , Puerua bridge having been partiall; ■ carried away. It will probably tak i between £6OO and £7OO to have the loci . ' repaired, and as the class of timber re i quired for the work is hard to procur [ . it is difficult to say when the work o ; repair will be completed. The damag • , to the lower road to Port Molyueu: i ' cannot be yet ascertained, as it is stii 1 completely under water. 3 I The engineer for the county counci ,' [ has been notified of numerous wasl 1 outs and damage to small bridge j throughout the county, which will tak l considerable time to put in order agai - ' owing to the scarcity of labour. Wher 7 available extra men, are being put o s to help to effect as speedy \ |

possible to the existing state of the roads and bridges. The approaches to the Pomahaka bridge on the Clinton-'Clydevale side have been partially washed away, but the damage is not serious, and the work i of repair should be completed in a little over a week's time. In regard to tne lower ClydevaleWaiwera bridge over the Pomahaka which was washed away, the engineer has given instructions as a protective measure to have the road barricaded in order to avoid the possibility of accident. The flood water at the bridge reached almost to the top rail, which means that it was about 26 feet above normal. The portion of the bridge that was carried away was completely wrecked, and now lies high and dry a few chains further down, parts of it being turned upside down. The force of the water may be imagined when it is stated that the piles were forced right out of the water. The portion of the bridge that remains in its original position is of course rendered useless. The bridge known as Goldsmith's bridge in the Puerua Valley was washed away, not a vestige of the timber work remaining. Several small bridges throughout the county have also been washed away, but though this will cause considerable inconvenience in the meantime the damage is not of a serious nature, and repairs should be carried out within a fairly short space of 'time. The county workmen, reinforced by all the available labour procurable, arc working at high pressure t» restore things to something approaching a normal state, but dwellers in the country must perforce endure considerable inconvenience in the meantime. Quite a number of small swing bridges have been washed away in the Catlins district, but full particulars are not yet available. The washout in the Owaka Valley will necessitate the erection of a new bridge. AT PARETAI. An unusual site was witnessed at Paretai in the early hours of Tuesday morning, when a two-roomed cottage owned by Mr Thomas Dale was seen to be burning in the midst of the flood waters. The cottage was untenanted, but contained seven tons of lime, 60 bags of oats, four tons of chaff and three bags of grass seed. It is surmised that the lime becoming heated caused the fire. We have been unable to ascertain whether there was any insurance on the building and contents. Several houses in the locality suffered from the effects of the flood waters, but others fortunately were akove tkft mark reached by the water. The postmaster's (Mr Findlater) residence contained over a foot of water, and Mr Findlater was compelled to seek a haven of refuge at Mr Plew's. The postmaster's furniture has suffered much damage, and he can only gain au entry to the house by the front door. The water in this locality is receding very slowly, having only fallen a few inches up to yesterday. Though the full extent of the losses in stock is not vet known it is considered that these will be surprisingly small, most of the animals having been removed in time to the higher land. OUTLOOK AT KAITANGATA. The outlook at Kaitangata is at pres- ; ent anything but bright, The flood water extends in one vast sheet from the lake for many miles. It is considered that the height reached by the water is about seven feet above normal. iMuch anxiety has been caused by the state of the approaches to the bridge, which have already collapsed several times, and it is only with difficulty that traffic can get across. The approaches have been falling since "Wednesday night and men are kept constantly employed in an attempt to cope with the menace. In Clyde Terrace the water is almost over the footpath, and in some of the houses in the cross streets adjoining there is over a foot of water. A number of residents have had to seek refuge with their more fortunately placed townsmen. There is about four feet of water on the railway line. 'The mine has been forced to cease work owing to the in- ' ability to get coal away, and the trucks at present contain a full freight of coal. A number of men have thus been rendered idle, as all hewing work has j stopped. ) A meeting was held at Kaitangata on ' Wednesday at which some members of i the Bruce'County Council were present to discuss the best means of letting the water away, A suggestion was made relative to'openiug 'the canal where U enters the river, but this proposal did not find favour, as it was generally thought that the road would suffer in consequence. No finality on the matter was reached at the meeting. Kaitangata has been practically marooned for about two days, and the mail service has been in a state of chaos. 'Heavy rain fell nearly all day yesterday, and the weather is exceedingly cold.