STORM IN CANTERBURY

Evening Star, Issue 23968, 20 August 1941, Page 5

STORM IN CANTERBURY

SEVERAL DISTRICTS FLOODED HOUSEHOLDERS MAROONED (P.A.) CHRISTCHURCH, Aug. 19. Householders were marooned, large areas of low-lying land were flooded, and gardens were waterlogged when the Heathcote River broke its banks last night during a tierce south-westerly gale which lasted until the early hours of this morning after hours of heavy rain, accompanied by flurries of snow. Other parts of the city and suburbs were also flooded this morning, and in places the streets were several feet deep in water, and lawns had been turned into miniature lakes. The worst of the flooding occurred in the Radley, Woolston, Opawa, and Beckenham districts, and in some areas the water entered houses on the lower levels or submerged gardens, while streets were impassable to traffic. When the rain stopped this morning, however, the flood began to recede, and by the late afternoon the situation was not so serious, although the Heathcote River was still swollen and water was lying deep on footpaths and lawns. Two streets that experienced the worst of the flooding were Clarendon Terrace and Richardson Terrace. In one home in Clarendon Terrace the water rose so rapidly that there were six inches covering the floors, but the residents were able to move most of their furniture. Many other houses had flood water almost up to the floor level, and at some points it covered the streets to a depth of 2ft, Householders were practically marooned, and in the afternoon boats were used in a street near Radley Bridge to bring people out. In one part of Richardson Terrace only the top of a letter box and the tops of the fence posts were showing outside one house. In Woolston the shopping centre in Ferry road was under water and several streets off the main road were partly flooded. No damage was done by the flood waters which penetrated a few shops and lapped at the doorsteps of others, but customers had to wade through more than a foot of water. TWO FEET OF WATER IN STREETS. There was also flooding in the Waltham district, and several streets were covered to a depth of 2ft. In Carlyle street the employees of a shoe factory had the experience of being ferried to work in taxis and trucks, as there was water in front of the building. The employees in an engineering business next door had to cease work owing to flood water in the building. In Waltham road there was considerable flooding, and motorists who tried to pass through the flood waters finished up by being towed out. The Beckenham shopping area in Colombo street was under water for a time.

The worst of the flooding occurred in Ashgrove Terrace, where the Heathcote River broke its hanks. The road was well covered, but the houses, which are on higher ground, escaped the flooding. Flood waters turned Barrington Park into a shallow lake, and there was at least 2ft of water in Barrington street, which caused a number of motorists to get into difficulties. The Avon, like the Heathcote, was swollen hy the sudden rush of surface water, and was miming hank to hank for the greater part of the day. At Sumner the storm reached its peak in the early morning. The drainage system was unable to cope with the heavy rainfall, and streets were heavily flooded. Some residents were forced to leave their homes during the night, some houses having '3ft of water inside. The Marine Hotel had several inches of water in the main building, and the grpunds of houses near the hotel in Maryland street were badly flooded, the recoiling waters leaving a thick coating of yellow clay.