FLOODS AND DISASTER

Evening Star, Issue 17313, 29 March 1920, Page 6

FLOODS AND DISASTER

PAPAROA SETTLEMENT SURPRISED. SEVERAL DEATHS. THE MATTHEWS TRAGEDY. [Pee United Press Association.] j AUCKLAND, March 29. '< Mathews, his wife, and five children ] were livinc in a temporary cottage'elose to : the river at the railway settlement, Upper Pararoa Valley, some four miles from | Paparoa. They were awakened at 4 a.m. j, by the water, which had reached their ; bed*. Mathews first swam ashore with i the baby, and on returning placed the ' : others on the top of the dwelling. But • the flood carried the cottage away, and ail ; were thrown into the swirling water The father was able to rescue , another child. ! but by this time the wife ar.d another; child had disappeared. Their bodies were I recovered later. . i. Mr Pear&e, a resident at the settlement, i was seen at daylight swimming towards . the railway bank. Suddenly he disap- j peared, and hi? body was recovered later, j One man Kived himself by climbing a j tree, from which he was rescued after six ; hours. Another man saved his life by i climbing on a floating hut, upon which he j chins: until he could jump to a' friendly i embankment. i A woman was rescued from a tree to! which she had clung in her night attire, , holding an infant in one arm. j Several others had to take refuge in ] trees, and were fortunate to come through : the ordeal alive. One of these, Mrs Cook, j is suffering considerably from shock. ; It is reported from Waipu Gorge that a 1 motov car dashed into a gtip left by a partly demolished bridge and was wrecked. I The body of one of the occupants (a returned soldier} has been found. 'The total loss of life is unknown. The chief sufferers bv flood at Paparoa are Mr Graft' (baker), Mr Sutherland' •( boardinghouse keeper), Mr Wiikins (t-slephone exchange), Mr C. Taylor f.imeworkg man a- ' ger). The first three were surprised by j the rapidly rising waters between 5 arid 6 j a.m. They telephoned to neighbors for ; help, but the latter were unable to furnish it, as thev were isolated by heavy Hood waters. At Sutherland's hoarding-horse the women sought, refuge in an attic. The water ro-c to about 3ft above tiie floors, ; and then commenced to subside, after i seriously damaging the house and furni- i hire, and carrying a way the outbuildings. | Jordan, a blacksmith, 1 had a- nan-owl escape. He sleeps in an office attached to ! his shop, and awoke to find the water ; rising in the room. He donned some j clothes and s wam to the boarding-house. J Considerable damage has been done to/j the construction works. Several bridges, on the road from Maungaturoto have been '■ swept away, and communication _wilh Paparoa township by vehicles is practically j blacked by damage to bridges and by landslides. ALL RIVERS HIGH. RECORD RAIN IX GTSBORNE. [Per United Press Association.] GISBORNE, .March 29. j Phenomenally heaiy rains are reported j in the Waiapu district. At Puketiti and | Waipiro were recorded : at Tokomaru j Ray, Win ; while at Ahikouka, between 5 ! p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. Saturday, 9in fell. All rivers are in heavy flood. A later message from Runturea, in Waiapu County, states that 18Ain of rain have fallen in three days up to 9 o'clock this morning. It is "the heaviest downfall since February of 1917, and there are enormous floods in nil rivers. The rainfall at Gisbome is 2in in three days. TORRENTIAL RAINS AT WHANGAREI. BRIDGES WASHED AWAY. FIVE MEN REPORTED LOST. [Per United Press Association.] j WHANGAREI, March 29. | A torrential storm burst over Whangarei on Friday night, and by midnight the j water- had reached the houses in the lowlying parts of the town. Serious damage was caused. The, storm was renewed with great fury pn Saturday morning, and the rivers In I all parts of the country rose to an excep- j tioml height. A number of bridges were I washed away, and there have been serious ' losses of stock. I It is reported that five men lost their ! lives at Maimgatv.roto, but this is not yet j confirmed. The general damage will run into many thousands of pounds. ' jThe electric power works at Waima j Falls were also flooded. The concrete walls i were keeping the water out, but the river | rose so high that it was feared the pres- j sure would cause them to collapse, so the [ water was allowed in, and Whangarei was ; I plunged into darkness on Saturday night. I ! The lighting service is now restored. j ! Train connection with the north was also : j inletrnptcd on Saturday, and shipping j was held up. I Tho Mania, -with Sir James Allen on | board, could not leave the harbor, but it ', | is understood that she left the shelter of \ j the Heads at 6 a.m. on Sundav. I j News is slowly filtering in", but much j of it lacks confirmation. One rumor just ! received is that a family living in a tent at i Hauiuru were swept away. The weather is now fine, but overcast. STORM HITS TAURANGA. FISHING BOAT MISSING. [Per United Press Association.] TAURANGA, March 29. Tanranga (south of Auckland) experienced the full effects of the south-easterly gale ' on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, but | very little rain fell. No damage' is re- ! ported, but a man named Godfrey Carlon, who went outside on Wednesday in a small boat fishing, has not yet returned, and the worst is feared. The Ngapuhi | did not reach here on Saturday, and her trip was abandoned.