CANTERBURY DOWNPOUR

Greymouth Evening Star, 19 March 1941, Page 2

CANTERBURY DOWNPOUR

MIDLAND LINE BLOCKED GREY EXPRESS RETURNS Heavy rain in Canterbury brought down slips on the Midland Railways line, and the Lewis Pass, Otira and Kaikoura road routes, yesterday afternoon, effectively blocking all traffic between the West Coast and Christchurch. The railway line was blocked by two large slips, and a damaged viaduct near Staircase, and the Otira-Christchurch road at Porter’s Pass. In addition, all railway telephone communication between Greymouth and Christchurch was lost last evening through the lines being brought down by the slips. The Post and Telegraph Department’s communication lines between Christchurch and Greymouth, via Otira, were not affected.

It was estimated last evening that on account of the continuance of heavy rain in Canterbury, and the difficult nature of the country, it would take two days to make the railway line passable for traffic. However, the gangs of workmen, who were sent out from Christchurch yesterday afternoon, made unexpectedly rapid progress with the clearing work, and it is expected that the line will be clear late this afternoon. A special express left Greymouth at 12.30 p.m., to-day, for Christchurch, and it is expected that it will arrive at Christchurch between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. Arrangements have ..been made to ensure that North Island passengers will connect with the inter-island steamer express. A steam-train will take over the rail-car service from Greymouth to Otira this evening, and from there the large rail-car, which will be brought from Christchurch, will complete the journey. The GreymouthChristchurch and ChristchurchGreymouth goods trains will run as usual this evening, and Railways Department officers stated this aftei - noon, that all services would probably be back to normal to-morrow. The first slip on the railway line came down about 3 p.m. yesterday, and all trains thereafter were held up or cancelled. The ChristchurchGreymouth express, with 76 passengers, was stopped just after leaving Cass, and with no prospect of its reaching Christchurch, it returned to Greymouth, arriving about 11.30 p.m. At Cass, the passengers were provided with light refreshments by nearby residents, and meals were also provided on the return journey at the Otira refreshment rooms. Buses conveyed passengers from the express to Hokitika and Blackball. A second slip came down, near the scene of the first, about 6.30 p.m., damaged a viaduct, and carried away railway telephone lines. The viaduct was not seriously damaged. The rail-car service and the goods train to Christchurch, had to be cancelled last evening, and trucks of stock which were to be sent by the goods train, to Christchurch, for the Addington market to-day, were railed back to their owners. A large consignment of apples from Nelson was held un at Arthur’s Pass. West Coast telephone and telegraph communication with Christchurch was not affected, but all lines on the East Coast between Christchurch and Blenheim were carried away near Kaikoura. Greymouth had. two toll outlets to Christchurch to-day, and two to Wellington, and they handled all Greymouth, Christchurch, and south of Christ-church-North. Island toll traffic. Christchurch had one multiple telegraph circuit to Wellington, via Greymouth. The Lewis Pass road was blocked by a slip on the Canterbury side and a wash-out caused by the Ashley River overflowing its banks.. The Railways Road Service bus which left Reefton yesterday morning for Hanmer had to return to Reefton. The road to Christchurch, via Otira Gorge, was also blocked by a slip at Porter’s Pass and flooded creeks, and the road to Christchurch via Blenheim and Kaikoura was also impassable as a result of an extensive slip near Kaikoura. None of these road routes had been cleared for traffic by the time the “Star” went to press this afternoon.

SETTLERS MAROONED. SHEEP CARRIED TO SEA. CHRISTCHURCH, March 18. Marooned on a haystack in the middle of raging flood waters from the Ashley River, a young farmer, Arthur Wyllie, watched the water rise at the rate of three feet an hour, while he waited for a boat to rescue him this afternoon. He was on the north bank of the river, and, on the south bank, at the same time, an elderly woman, Miss M. Leggett, took refuge in the upper storey of her home, the lower floor of which was more than waist deep in water. Wyllie was rescued about 5.30 p.m. and Miss Leggett about half an hour later. Both had been isolated by the flood for two and a-half hours. The flood in the Ashley began to reach dangerous proportions in the early afternoon. Wyllie then set out, with his two dogs, to shift 300 ewes and lambs from the lower paddocks of the farm of his father, James Wyllie. The flood waters rose so fast, however, that he reached the paddocks only in time to see the sheep being washed away. “I saw them bobbing about in the water like a mob of ducks,” said Wyllie. “They were all being carried off to sea.” It was impossible to-make any attempt to save the sheep, for the waters were rising all the time. _ Then Wyllie realised his own position was dangerous. He could not make his way back to his home, because that involved crossing the main stream of the flood waters. Fortunately, Wyllie’s plight was noticed from a bridge about 500 yards away. A boat was brought from Kaiapoi, and Wyllie was rescued.

When the rescue party reached Miss Leggett’s house, the water was more than waist deep in the rooms on the ground floor. Miss Leggett could not be brought out that way, and had to be taken through an upper floor window and lowered to the boat from the verandah. The North Line near Culverden was under water for a long stretch to-day, and goods trains were unable to get through,'

The South Island Main Trunk Line is not seriously affected. Some huge boulders came down in the Hawkswood Cutting, but these were soon Shifted, and the train got through without difficulty.

SOUTH CANTERBURY FALL. TIMARU, March 18. ( After a prolonged dry spell, which )gave promise of being serious for farmers, who were handicapped in the Autumn sowing of crops, the weather broke in South Canterbury on Saturday. Since then there has been continuous rain. In some parts of the district, over five inches has been recorded. The rivers are running high. As the rain is still falling, general flooding is imminent. The Pareora River broke its southern bank this afternoon, flooding a considerable area, whence sheep had to be rescued on horseback, as the water was four feet deep in parts. The Waratah Station, in the Albury district, has become isolated by. road, and a small bridge has been washed away in the Geraldine area.

In Timaru and along the coast the fall has not been so heavy, though up till to-night 240 points has been recorded.

A Union Airways liner, which landed at Timaru yesterday on Its trip to Dunedin, owing to heavy rain, stayed the night, the passengers going on by road. Though the airport was heavy, the liner was able to take off and return north this morning. The road services are running late to-night, but there are no reports of wash-outs or serious hold-ups.

MID-CANTERBURY LOSSES.

ASHBURTON, March 19

As a result of the rain that set m on Saturday night being particularly heavy yesterday, the small townships of Stavely and Springburn, under the foothills, are isolated. At Springburn, the total fall has been 855 points. At Stavely, the fall-was 947 points, of which 577 points fell yesterday, a record for one day since 1916.

At Mayfield, lower down, the water from the Hinds River entered one or two houses in the south-east portion of the borough. At Ashburton, some houses are isolated, gardens washed out, and pigs drowned. The loss of stock in the county is slight. Rain was continuing at mid-day. S.I. MAIN TRUNK DAMAGE. CHRISTCHURCH, March 19. After breaking its stop-banks, yesterday afternoon, and inundating farm lands, the Ashley River was falling this morning, though fears were expressed that, if the rain continued, there would be renewed flooding. The focus of the storm shifted further north, where it appeared likely that the Culverden township would be flooded, with the rivers north and south swollen by torrential rain in the back country. Little River, too, was watching the weather with anxiety, for though Lake Forsyth is low, water was pouring off the hills this morning, and the creek running through the township was badly flooded. Communications north of Waiau were broken, and rail and road services to the West Coast were stopped by slips. Extensive damage to bridges on the South Island main trunk railway line in ihe neighbourhood of Kaikoura was reported to-day, as the result of floods. Part of the Kaikoura township was flooded, and the town’s water-supply was destroyed. The approaches to the Hapuka River bridge have been washed away, and with them one of the spans of the new steel railway bridge. The Clarence River bridge approaches have been washed away, and portion of the fabric damaged. At the Kahautara River, the central span of 30ft on the new bridge has disappeare’d. A big slip occurred in the Hawkeswood cutting.