CLOUDBURST HAVOC

Evening Star, Issue 22938, 21 April 1938, Page 11

CLOUDBURST HAVOC

WORSE THAN FIRST REPORTED : GOVERNMENT HELP NEEDED [Pee United Pkess Association.] NELSON, April 21. Mr Atmore, M.P., who accompanied a Public Works engineer in making an inspection of the ruined homes ou the narrow strip of country running Across Admiralty Bay into Pclorus Sound, says that the previous reports, far from exaggerating the extent of the damage, were, if anything, underestimated, and it is obvious that Government assistance will be needed if the homes affected are to be replaced so that the settlers may be restored to their former productive capacity. At St. Kilcla, the homestead of the late Robert King Turner, it is estimated that from 15,000 to 20,000 tons of boulders came rushing down on to the small residential area, and the sheep pens, for instance, were covered to a depth of sft. The house and sheds were badly smashed, the orchard covered over, and the new residence badly distorted. Mr Atmore says that if the cloudburst had fallen late at night, instead of in the early (nailing, the inmates could not possibly have escaped w.ith .their lives. ■