Disastrous Floods

Evening Star, Issue 21033, 22 February 1932, Page 5

Disastrous Floods

North Otago Badly Hit

Heavy Stock and Crop Losses—Train Passengers Week-end at Oamaru—Water on Main Road, North-east Valley

[Special to the 'Bstar.'] OAMARU, February 21. One of the severest droughts ever experienced in North Qffcago was terminated at the week-ertjil in an equally disastrous manner, a prolonged torrential downpour causing extensive flooding with heavy loss c(£ stock and crops. Up to noon on Saturday 260 points had fallen, and although the rain continued it showed signs of acting. This is said to be the worst flooding since 1878, and reports from country districts indicate heavy losses to ato already impoverished farming coirfenunity. , The Kakanui is. in full flood, and carcasses of sheep ajnd cattle are floating down the river, jwhich is flowing just a foot under the l ; sght railway bridge. At Maheno there is a solid sheet of water from the flouiparills to the township, and at the miss extensive damage has been done, theire being 9ft of water on the ground floors. The river is running higher than ever before in living memory. . On Saturdjay and Sunday there was 7ft of water, on the Main South road at Hampden, .and one venturesome motorist lost hist car while attempting to negotiate jbhe road. The Main North road is impassable past Studholme Junction, and, Saturday's northbound express did. not proceed past Oamaru owing ta washouts. After a wait of some four hours it was decided to return the train to Dunedin. The railway authorities would have utilised road transport had it'been possible to have dtone so. A number of the passengers ejected to remain in Oamaru over the •rteek-end in preference to the return journey. Ati Gemmell's Crossing the houses are all sjurrounded by water which is flowing as high as the window sills. At Kakanui a week-end bach containing a vahuable wireless set was washed out to sea. On the Waimate district only the ia»m highways are passable, and in places these are submerged to a, depth of 2ft. Garland's bridge over the Waimate Creek has been washed away. A party of two young men and two young women attending a dance at Waihao Downs on Friday night had an unenviable experience. They crossed the Waimate Creek on their way to the dance. On returning in the early hours of next morning they took the same route, with the result that the car was submerged in the rushing waters of the swollen creek. They were able to land after they had all received a thorough soaking; but before they could get help r to extricate the car it was washed several chains down the creek, and is now a total wreck. The railway authorities now advise that the Otaio bridge is down, and it is impossible to send an express through to-day. An- attempt will be made tomorrow to run a train to Christchurch. Meanwhile through passengers are staying at the local hotels. Three men were marooned at the Kakanui Mouth last night, and this morning a,plucky rescue was effected by rowing boat. One of the men was removed to hospital suffering from exposure, but his condition is not serious. The river is still in full flood, and appears to be rising. Farmers are hurrying their stock to higher levels this afternoon, but their loss is already heavy. Rain ceased in Oamaru at 3.30 this afternoon, but reports arriving from the country indicate that there are still heavy downpours. An unusual sight is to be witnessed at the mouth of the Kakanui, thousands of rabbits being washed down to the sea. The valley is rabbit infested, and at times the flooded stream is literally black with their bodies. GENERAL INUNDATION ROAD AND RAIL HOLD-UPS oPbr United Press Association..] CHRISTCHURCH, February 21. Rain in Canterbury has been bountiful during the past three days, beginning with a light, misty drizzle and continuing with increasing intensity. As the rain was accompanied by varm temperatures it has done the greatest possible good. It has penetrated the parched ground thoroughly,, and already there is marked evidence of a fresh growth of grass, while ploughing will also be made possible. The total fall in Christchurch was 2.74 in. Northward the fall was about the same, but it decreased to about ljin towards West Methven. In the Rakaia basin there wa3 a fall of 3.9 in.

The phenomenal rainfall of K).4sin was experienced in Hapuka, seven miles north of Kaikoura, in the twenty-four hours ended at 9 o’clock to-day. At Kaikoura the fall was 2.70 in, and in the back country lying to the southeast many heavy falls were recorded. A serious slip came down on the road ten miles south of Kaikoura. The Public Works overseer organised a gang of eighty men, and it is hoped to clear the road to-morrow. Several minor washouts have occurred. One small bridge was washed away, and the Blue .bridge w unsafe for traffic.

NORTH TRAFFIC INTERRUPTED RAILWAY BRIDGE DAMAGED [Per United Press Association.! TIMARU, February 21. After two or three months of drougnt conditions heavy rain fell throughout South Canterbury during the latter part of the week, and in tho southern end of the province flood conditions now prevail. Not for the past forty years has the Pareora River carried the quantity of water it carried yesterday, and there is hardly a bridge spanning the river which has not been damaged or swept away. On Thursday the Pareora was practically dry, but inside twenty-four hours it was a raging torrent. The river broke through tho protective works in several places, flooding the adjacent land to a considerable depth and over a wide area. In one or two places sheep and cattle were washed away, and even wheat crops were completely ruined. The railway bridge on the main Hue at Pareora lost seven piles at the northern end, the bridge sagging over two spans for a depth of 2ft. The express from the south was held at Oamam, and southern passengers were unable to get through as the road was badly scoured on the south side of the Pareora road bridge, where a great number of cars were held up. A special train was run from Timaru to Christchurch to connect with the ferry, which was held back. It is from Cave southwards that ;,he greatest fall of rain has been experienced, the fall on the Nimrod Downs behind Cave being 17in for five days, over 7in of which fell in the space of twenty-four hours. The rivers north of Timaru are carrying a fair quantity of water, but are not near the danger mark. There are wash-outs at Hook and Makikihi, some miles south of Timaru, and it is not known how long it will be before road and rail communication with the south can be re-established. GENERAL DAMAGE TO ROADS AND BRIDGES [Per United Press Association.] WAIMATE, February 20. Following an extended drought, which brought .stock in various parts of the district to starvation point, almost unprecedented!/ heavy rain totalling from 2ia to sin fell in four days, a record being established in the town with 345 points for twenty-four hours. Bone dry last night, the Waimate Creek bed was a raging torent this morning, and several residents of tho vicinity were removed from their houses with the aid of a spring dray. Two cars encountered trouble at this creek during the night, and one was completely capsized. | Damage to roads and bridges was general in the northern end of the county. Many bridges on back-country roads are down and others are threatened. The Hook River is at the highest point it has reached for thirty years, and the Makikihi River threatens to flood the township. IN THE NORTH [Per United Press Association.] NAPIER, February 21. Further heavy rain, particularly in the back country, caused the rivers in Hawke's Bay again to rise over the week-end. In one locality a protective bank broke in three places and flooded the surrounding country to a depth in places of about sft. No losses of stock are reported, and the rivers to-night have fallen considerably. In the early hours of this morning the Tutaekuri River rose to a greater height than at any time during the previous wet speel, and at about 5 o'clock in the morning it broke through in four places pn the Papakura side, allowing the water to flow over tho adjoining farm lands. The settlers had plenty of opportunity to remove stack. A number of small farm homesteads were isolated. At 6 o'clock to-night both the Tutaekuri and Ngarororo Rivers had fallen several feet, and with a cessation of the rain they will continue to do so. TRAIN ARRANGEMENTS BREAK BETWEEN OTAGO AND PAREORA THROUGH RAIL TRAFFIC UNLIKELY TILL FRIDAY Mr A. Sawers, of the train running office at the Dunedin station, supplied the following information this morning:— The train that left Dunedin for Chriatchurch was to convey its passengers as far as Otaio. From that station to Pareora they were to travel by road and pick up another train on the north side of the Pareora bridge, proceeding by it to Christchurch. The train that left Christchurch at 8.35 this morning for Dunedin was to serve in the same manner in reversed sequence. There will necessarily be a delay in the arrival of each train at its terminus, probably of an hour and a-half or two hours. All other train services between Oamaru and Timaru are cancelled until further notice.

A repair train carrying a largo number of men left Dunedin early yesterday morning for Otaio, and a similar train left Christchurch foj Pareora* ‘ [The

Dunedin District Engineer (Mr P. H. Morey) inspected the damage, and advised the Dunedin office as to the exact condition of affairs. It is anticipated that on Wednesday tlu road journey between Otaio and Pareora will be considerably reduced, but through traffic by rail is not probablo till Friday. The stretch of line that was flooded a mile north of Hampden is now free of water, but the trains are taking it at reduced speed. The bridge across the Waimate Creek having broken, there is no traffic on the branoh between Waimate and Waihao Downs. This will not affect passengers, for only goods are taken on that line, chiefly stock. All other lines are working as usual, the south main lines, the Outram branch, and the Central Otago line not being in any trouble.' The damage at Otaio is serious, the northern approach to the bridge being washed away for a stretch of 80ft. AVater was Bin deep in the Palmerston railway yard on Saturday. IN DUNEDIN THE LINDSAY GREEK FLOOD Throughout yesterday morning the clouds seemed to be lifting and thinning, but_ plumps of rain fell, interspersed with drizzle, till about noon, when there was a definite promise of clearing. In the afternoon the rain did cease for a while, but it came on again during the night. This morning the sun occasionally broke through, without, however, dispersing the banks of vapour overhead. The most hopeful sign was that the breeze died away, thus giving rise to the expectations of a change to the south-west. But the conditions at noon were so uncertain that nobody dared to hazard a prophecy. Considerable anxiety existed in the northern section of the city on Saturday night for a time, the Leitih being considerably swollen, and water from Lindsay's Creek covering a section of the road. Yesterday afternoon, however, the Leith had fallen about 3ft and Lindsay's Creek about 6ft, bo that, with the cessation of the rain, there was no cause for apprehension. Residents of the Valley declare that if the rain had not ceased the position would have been very serious, water found its way into several houses near Lindsay's Creek, and shopkeepers took the precaution of lifting their goods from the floor level. No serious damage has occurred. KILMCG ROAD IMPASSABLE The president and secretary of the Otago Motor Club (Messrs J. L. Passmore and W. F. Sutton) inspected the roads north of Dunedin yesterctay. They found that the Kilmog has' suffered most severely. This road will be impassable for several days, on account of the heavy slips and wash-outs. It will be necessary for traffic to detour via Warrington, Seacliff, and- Karitane, joining the main road again just south of Waikouaiti. The floods at Maheno make it necessary for those travelling to Oamaru to turn off at Waianakarua and go through Kakanui. Careful driving is necesary at the summit of the road over Mount Cargill, where several wash-outs have occurred. Damage caused by big slips between Evansdalo and Waitatiis being repaired. The road is clear at Hampden. (In this respect, the Motor Club officials wish to express their indebtedness to Mr Stevenson, of that town, for his courtesy in keeping them advised of the position). The South and Central roads are also clear. The White Star buses, managed to get through from Timaru last evening, arriving in Dunedin about 11.30.