HEAVY DOWNPOUR.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1151, 12 June 1911, Page 4

HEAVY DOWNPOUR.

QUEEN STREET A RIVER. CELLARS FLOODED. CONSIDERABLE DAMAGE TO STOCK. (By Teleffiaph.-PrcES Association.) Auckland, June 10. Auckland was visited by a downpout of ruin this morning, of Mich tropical volume that the lower part of Queen Street was for a space flooded from wall to wall by a river which boiled round some of the corners in a turgid yellow flood more than knee-decp. Tho rain, which had been fulling steadily since early morning, settled down to something quite out of the common about toil o'clock, the clouds opening their floodgates and letting it down on tho city in a solid sheet of moisture, (ho supply lasting out the best part of an hour. Down the sloping ground the water swept from all sides into Queen Street, till sur- . charged traps nnd torrent-swollen sewers could contain the ever-increasing tide no longer, sending the muddy current back , into the street, which very soon waa i transformed in its lower levels from a ; thorotighfui'o into a river, through which, ■ t'ho tramcars and other vehicles swished \ their passage in a grand smother. Pedes- '. trians lor a little while, surveyed the now , waterway with more, interest than con- ; cern, but when the flood lapped over the . kerbs and showed a disposition to push , hostilities to (ho very shop doors, while the rain continued at an ever-merrier '. rattle, the laugh began to shape .the other way for those whose business down or up town was urgent, and the idle and well-vantaged ones soon had a spico of comedy added to tho entertainment. Damage was perpetrated by the mischievous waters wherever opportunity offered. Mr. i. S. Dickson suffered severely. The sewer not being able to take the (food water, (ho cellars under his shop soon filled to a depth of five, feet, nnd but a few pounds' worth of tho valuable stock in it was saved. Tho water oven found its way on to the floor of the shop, running from behind the counter and out at tho sido door like a mill race. Mr, Diekson assesses the damago done at between iEIiOO and .£6OO. Tho following additional places wero flooded, and suffered more or less damage. About one and a half feet of water found its way into Messrs. John Burns and Co.'s cellar, doing about ,£SO worth, of damage. Mr. ],o Roy states that ho suffered about ,£lo's worth of damage to his stock through Hie water bursting through (ho barricade he had erected and flooding hie cellar to n depth of two feet. Mr. Maekay s seed stock was damaged to the extent of .£3O. Messrs. Fischer Bros.' kitchen was badly flooded, and some difficulty was experienced in preparing the midday meal. Messrs. Smeeton's new cellar let in some three feet of water. Messrs. Evans and Co.'s fruit cellar was flooded to the depth of one foot six inches, but little damago was done. The following hotels suffered wverely:— Tho AVailemata, the Thames, the Wavorley, and the Occidental. In the case of tho Occidental, the kitchen was floodedt> the depth of five feet. The water burst through the walls, and the roof of the supper court and flooded several' rooms. Messrs. Milne and Choyce's cellar was flooded to a depth of nine inches through a door in tho back being left open. In tho centre portions of Queen Street the damage, done was considerable, the bursting of pipes causing tho flooding of cellars even as high up as Touson Garlick's. Damage was done in this respect. IN THE SOUTH. (By Tclccraph.-Press Association.! Christchurch, Juno 11. Heavy rain set in last night, and continued to-day, the lower parts of the city and suburbs being flooded. Ashburton, June 11. Heavy rain sot in hero about 8 o'clock last evening,. and etill continues' very steadily. Up till 9 j'clock this morning tho measurement recorded was i.Sd inches, and up till i o'clock this afternoon an additional 1.22 inches, making a total for tho 20 hours of 2.78 inches. Tho rain is at timus torrential, and is proving too much for the town drainage, but in the country it is bound to do an immense amount of good to the land, more especially in helping lo destroy the grass grub which has been quite a menace lately. Timaru, June 11. A wintry rain set in at midday on Saturday, and has since fallen almost without intermission. At times it has been moderately heavy. There is no sign of clearing.