JOY AND HAVOC.

Evening Post, Volume LXXXI, Issue 48, 27 February 1911, Page 2

JOY AND HAVOC.

A TORRENTIAL DOWNPOUR. SATURDAY IN THE COUNTRY AND THE CITY. FLOODED STREETS AND INTERRUPTED TRAFFIC. Wellington residents had an experience on Saturday night which they are not likely to forget very readily. The rain which, set in early in the morning continued steadily throughout the day. In the evening a south -easterly gale sprung up, the downpour increased in intensity, and by 8 p.m. water was literally falling in torrents. So it continued right through the night, the ceaseless pattering being varied only by loud peals of thunder and vivid lightning flashes. The discomfiture of citizens was only equalled by the joy of the farmers in the country. The surface channels in the city were quite inadequate to carry away the enormous volume of water which, flowed down from the hillsides and th& lowlying streets soon resembled canals more than anything else. Lambton-quay, between the Government Buildings and the Public Trust Office, fared worst. There the"water lay several inches deep, aaid ma-ny people who had been in town shopping divested themselves of their boots and waded to a dry thoroughfare. Business premises in the low-lying parts of the city were flooded in many instances. Cellars were converted into wells, and "bailing-out" was a very general occupation as a result. Vic-toria-fctreet, from Mercer-street intersection to Farish-street, was flooded to a depth of several inches. The Dominion Sign Company's premises suffered a good deal of damage. Other premises were affected to a. lesser extent. Newtown was worse treated than the city, if anything. In some streets the water lodged to a depth of 3ft. Pen-rose-avenue was covered with 18in of water. The Newtown School was flooded, and several householders in Memstreet had to walk about in water. Wil-son-street feared no better. In one house the furniture could be seen floating about: The dip in Constable-street was converted into a lake, and all tram traffic was blocked for a time. It was a curious sight on Saturday to see about a dozen men earning good money by carrying residents of Upper Constablebtreat across this locality. That portion, of Kent-terrace between the Basin Reserve and Vivian^s-treat was also converted into a lake for the time being. The chief mischief wrought 'here was the disturbance of a considerable area of wood-blocking, apparently caused by the- expansion- of the timbers in consequence of Jfche thorough soaking which they received at points where the surface covering of tar and sand had •worn away. Gangs of men have been put on to effect repairs. _ . Apart from the inconvenience, caused in the streets, hundreds of householders had an anxious 1 time at their homes in protecting their property from damage by the rush of surface, water. DAMAGE IN THE SUBURBS. In the hill suburbs the greatest damage was caused by slips. On the road to Karori a big filling, at the boundary of the Karori and the city, was partly washed away. This will necessitate a good deal of labour before the tramway track over the filling can be .relaid. Yesterday passengers for Karori by tram had to disembark on this side of the wash-out. On present appearances it will probably be a week betore the full service can be restored. Numerous small slips also occurred in the borough. In Johnston-street, where falls of earth are of such regular occurrence after a heavy rainfall that residents have come to look upon them asa matter of course, a good quantity sf earth fell, though traffic was mot impeded thereby. The most extensive damage was occasioned at Mr. T. Hope's residence, where a division wall of concrete was undermined, and a section of about 13ft came away, whilst a chain or so of earth bank also fell. The concrete wall, being very close to the side of the house, did not fall heavily, but simply toppled over, smashing a window or two. The work of re-erection, however, will be one of difficulty. A big slip happened on the deep cutting for the Wades-town tram-line Hear Goldie's Brae, and several smaller earth falls are noticeable along the Wadestown-road. Island Bay, the Hutt, and Pet-one experienced the full force of the deluge, but no damage of any serious consequence i* reported. DAMAGE AT ROSSNEATH SCHOOL. The storm caused damage at Roseneath School to the extent of about £150. Of the two approaches to the school, one is now impassable and the other is dangerous. Banks are washed away, breastworks torn down, hedges rooted out, and tho tennis court damaged. The money raised by the energy of the committee, teachers, and parents during the last three years and subsidised by the board has gone with one night's rain. THE TRAMWAYS. The tramways traffic superintendent,, Mr. G. E. James, had a trying time on Saturday night in endeavouring to keep the service moving. At many points the cars had to run through as much as 12 inches of water — at others progress was absolutely blocked. Most of the Lambton-quay cars had to be diverted to Jervois-quay, and the Maramar-Seatoun-Lyall Bay lines were rendered useless for about half an hour after 6 p.m., probably owing to water getting into the electrical mains. Owing to a storm water drain overflowing at the Nairn-street corner, and a large quantity of rubble and debris being distributed over the line, through traffic was rendered impossible. Cars ran to this point from the city, and passengers for the suburbs were then reauiied to disembark and board cars which rifii between Brooklyn and the place where the breakage occurred. On the Karori line all traffic past the deviation on the Karori side of Baker's Hill tunnel' was stopped after 9 p.m., the "filling" being partly washed away. A big slip also occurred near the Kelburne viaduct, the last car for town just emerging from the tunnel before tho earth tumbled down. The Oriental Bay cars could proceed only as far as the Clyde-quay Hotel after 9 p.m. A great sheet of water lay across the roads opposite the corporation yards, and residents had either to wado through or take to the hill. Service on the other lines was maintained. A record of the fall taken ay Karori shows six inches of rain from Saturdaymorning to Sunday morning. ON THE RAILWAY. No damage was done on the Hutt line, though there was plenty of flood water, and the Sunday service was run as usual. About 10 p.m. on Saturday night traffic was blocked on the Manawatu Hoe by a slip near Ngaio. Ths late train to town from Johnsonvillb was unable to get through, and the 11.15 p.m. train from Wellington had to bo cancelled. Some of the intending passengers walkedhome; the remainder had to stay in town. A gang of men, was gut on to

clear away the slip, and the line was reported all clear in the afternoon. The usual Sunday train to Otaki was not run. All services aro running a& usual to-day. EFFECT ON SHIPPING. One effect of the storm was to disorganise shipping, but fortunately no serious mishaps occurred, though several vessels of the coastal fleet report rough experiences. As is usual in a southeaster, a very heavy sea ran in Cook Strait, and at 7 p.m. on Saturday conditions on that stretch of water were so bad that two vessels — the Pateena and Mapourika — en route to 'Wellington from Nelson came no further than Long Island, where shelter was taken until daylight yesterday. When the weather moderated somewhat they resumed their voyages. The Pateena came direct, anU experienced a rough time. She arrived here shortly before 11 a.m., and was followed 'five hours later by the Mapourika, which made a call at Picton. The Victoria, which left port for Port Chalmers at 1.40 p.iu., had a rough trip down the coast, bnt she reached her destination well up to time. At 11 p.m.- when the Mararoa was s fixed to sail for Lyttelton, the gale was at its height, and Captain Manning decided to remain at the ■wharf until Sunday, when he proceeded south at 5 a.m. The Himitanga, which arrived from Lytfcelton at 9.15 a.m. yesterday, and the Kapiti, which reached Wellington this morning from Wanganui, were severely buffeted. The Himitangi camo right through, but the Kapiti sheltered for several hours off Waikanae. The Pukaki, which arrived from Timaru this morning, reported that the sea on the coast had gone down considerably. TELEGRAPH AND TELEPHONE SERVICES. The telegraph service suffered a good deal through the storm, but the staff managed to cope with the work, and though many "faults" are still noticeable to-day tEey are mostly of a minor character. The telephone service in the city fared worse. At the height of the storm on Saturday night, the wires were tangled and interrupted to a quite unusual extent. Repairs were effected where possible yesterday and to-day the interi;uptions probably do not exceed two hundred.