FENCE HIGH

Evening Post, Volume CXXVIII, Issue 42, 18 August 1939, Page 10

FENCE HIGH

WATER ON THE FLATS

OROUA RIVER OVERFLOWS

(By Telegraph—Press Association.) PALMERSTON N., This Day. Through the Oroua River overflowling or breaking its banks at a number !of places flood waters last night : .undated hundreds of acres in the Lockwood and Lower Kairanga areas. The water backed up and across the Taonui Basin shortly before midnight and started to flow across the Foxton line towards the Manawatu River. The effect of this was to block the main highway at Rangiotu. the route soon becoming impassable owing to the water, which today was up to a depth of 2ft between Hamilton's line, just beyond Tiakitahuna and Rangitane. Between Rangitane and Rangiotu, where there are two important drains, there is a depth of 4ft. However, the water is slowly subsiding. Practically all the trouble has come from the Oroua River. Many farms are flooded The Karere Road was choked for a period this morning with 3000 sheep being driven from one property alone. At Lockwood they had to negotiate shallow water, which was flowing across the road owing to water backing up in flooded Irains. Large paddocks were flooded on either side of the Karere and Rongotea Roads. Sections of the Lower Aorangi Road are also flooded. Stopbanks held the Manawatu River to its course at Tiakitahuna and Hamilton's Bend or the flooding would have been much more severe, but lowlying land between the main road and the Manawatu River suffered the worst inundation since 1926, particularly in the locality of Riverbank Road, I where every farm is under water. J The Manawatu River overflowed beitween Rangitane and Rangiotu. ioining forces with the water from the Oroua River and Bourke's Drain. Considerable trouble has been experienced I along the banks of the Mangaone ' Stream, but the water dropped several

feet this morning. On some roads the water was as high as the fencetops. Situated on the edge of the Taonui Basin, close to Rangitane, the property of Messrs. Harrison and Lett suffered severely from flooding by the Oroua River, the water being 4£ft deep in places. Cattle were removed to high land on the other side of Rangiotu and breeding ewes were scattered along the railway line, which is out of reach of the flood. However, substantial lambing losses in flooded areas are considered inevitable. The flood also came, at a bad time-for young calves, which are standing in inches of water in some places. A newspaper runner was marooned by the flood on Mill Road, Kopane.. When he stepped out of his car the water was up to his waist. The Forlong family nearby removed their furniture by dray and later towed the runner's car to Rongotea, where they spent the night.

The main Oroua Downs-Sanson road is covered with water in seve-

places. Conditions generally are now improving.