STORMY WEEK-END

Greymouth Evening Star, 11 September 1944, Page 4

STORMY WEEK-END

COMMUNICATIONS HAMPERED

Greymouth experienced the wettest week-end lor some time, 3.11 inches ol rain being recorded in the 48 hours ended this morning—1.84 between 9 o'clock yesterday morning and the same hour to-day and 1.27 for the preceding 24 hours. As a result the Grey River was considerably swollen, to-day, with an eight-knot fresh which may be beneficial in clearing the bar, while Sawyer’s Creek and other watercourses were flooded.

Highways and railways escaped comparatively lightly, and in the Grey County no highway damage occurred. However, the Otira highway is blocked by a slip at Rocky Creek and may be open to-morrow. On the Westport highway a slip which came down at Tiroroa had been cleared by this afternoon, but a further slip at Inangahua Junction blocked the route. It was still raining at Inangahua Junction this morning. Railway traffic on the Midland line was disorganised overnight and this morning by the Rocky Creek slip, which covered the railway, where the east end of the bridge at Rocky Creek was also washed out. A work train was despatched from Otira after the slip was reported yesterday afternoon, and another went from Greymouth this morning. The rail-car from Christchurch, this morning, travelled as far as the slip, where passengers and mails were transferred to another rail-car sent from Greymouth. The 6.45 a.m. mixed train from Otira to Greymouth was cancelled. The route was open again this afternoon.

The- Post and Telegraph Department experienced line trouble, due to electrical interference during the week-end. Between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. on Saturday it lost two telephone circuits to Westport on the Gorge route owing to slips between Westport and Inangahua Juntcion. The “carrier” system was transferred to the Coast route and there was only a slight delay to traffic. At 10 a.m. on Sunday a particularly heavy lightning flash blew fuses at places on the main GreymouthChristchurch route. The interruption was brief and the circuits were aagin normal at 1.20 p.m. yesterday, but at /.30 p.m. heavy lightning was again m evidence and some further minor interruptions ocurred. All lines were normal mis morning