FEARS OF DROUGHT ALLAYED

Dominion, Volume 33, Issue 1, 26 September 1939, Page 12

FEARS OF DROUGHT ALLAYED

Rainfall In Hawke’s Bay Dominion Special Service HASTINGS. September 25. Fears of an early drought engendered among Hawke’s Bay farmers 'by the prolonged dry spell were allayed by heavy falls of warm and soaking rain throughout most of the weekend and today. The fall came at a particularly opportune time, as, apart from the fact that the uuseasonal dryness had given rise to a serious shortage of feed, necessary cultivation operations such as ploughing had been made most difficult. The stimulation that will be given to early growth will be welcomed by farmers and residential gardeners alike, as the benefit to both pastures and gardens should be very marked. The rain will also minimize the danger of late frosts, a fact that will be greatly appreciated by orchardists in particular. During August only ,92in. of rain were recorded in Hastings, and up to the weekend only .(>6in. had been recorded for September, but the fall for Saturday night and Sunday was more than one inch, which will help to return conditions to normal. In the hill (country the first of the rain came early on Saturday evening, and on the plains steady rain was experienced for a period in the early hours of yesterday morning. The rain continued intermittently throughout yesterday and set in steadily again last night, continuing till late this afternoon. Floods Not Likely. The condition of rivers in the province .indicates that there were some heavy falls in some of the hill districts, but these must have been isolated, as the peak level was reached about midday today and the water was gradually receding this afternoon. The Tutaekuri River this morning was running higher than at any time since last winter, and the level reached was considerably higher than can fee attributed to the falls experienced locally. At Fernhill the Ngaruroro River was scarcely higher than normal, but the bed is very wide at this point and a four-foot rise was recorded at I’akowbai Bridge, where the channel is considerably narrower. All rivers are very discoloured, but it was not thought that there is any danger of serious floods. The Automobile Association patrol otlieer. Mr. M. Lock, reported tonight that the vain had not been sufficiently heavy to affect any of the roads, but it was believed that the approach to the low-level bridge over the Mangaone River at Dartmoor had been scoured out for several yards. It was reported that the river had risen several feet this morning and had overtopped the bridge, this being the first occasion the water had reached the decking since the structure was erected last November