HOMES FLOODED

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20639, 20 August 1941, Page 8

HOMES FLOODED

RIVER OVERFLOWS CHRISTCHURCH AREAS BOATS PLY IN STREETS (Per Press Association.) CHRISTCHURCH, this day. Householders were marooned, large areas of low-lying land flooded and gardens waterlogged when the Heathcole River broke its banks on Monday night during a fierce southwesterly gale which lasted until the early hours of yesterday morning, after hours of heavy rain, accompanied by flurries of snow. Ollier parts of the city and suburbs were also flooded yesterday morning arid, 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 yesterday morning, however, the flood began to recede and, by late in the afternoon the “ situation was not so serious, although the Ileathcote River was still swollen, and water was lying deep on footpaths and lawns in areas well gway from the river. The flood waters had practically disappeared in the afternoon. Water Covers Floors 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. The residents were able to move most, pi their furniture, but the writer covered one of the carpets. Many other Houses had flood water almost up lo the floor level ahcl, at some points, it covered the, streets to a depth of 2ft. Householders , were practically marooned and, in the afternoon, boats were used in the, street near Radley Eridge, to bring people out. In part of Richardson,Terrace, only the. top. of a. letter box and, the .tops of.,the tops ot, the ,fence .posts were showing outside one. house. .... . .In Woolston, the shopping,,centre in Ferry, road. ; was under water, ,and several .streets oil' the- main rpgd were partly flooded. No damage.was.done by flood waters .which penetrated a few shops and lapped at the doorsteps of others, but customers hud to wade through more than a foot, of water.. There was also , flooding in the Waltham district and several, streets were covered toa;/depth of 2ft. > ;In Carlyle street, employees of a slide factory had the experience of being ferried to work in taxis and, trucks as there was water in front of the building. Employees in an engineering business next door had to cease work owing to flood water in the building. Motorists Towed Through In Waltham road there was considerable flooding, and motorists who tried to pass, through the Hood waters finished up by being towed out. The Beckenham shopping area in Colombo street was. under water for a time and, although a few shops were invaded, conditions soon returned lo normal. The worst of the flooding occurred in Ashgrove Terrace, where the Heathcote River broke its banks. The road was well covered, but the houses were on the higher ground and escaped flooding. ~ The 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 River, was swollen by a sudden rush of surface water and was running bank to bank for the greater part of the day. The storm at Sumner reached its peak in the early morning. The drainage system was unable to cope With the heavy rainfall, and the 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 grounds of the houses near the hotel, in Mayland street, were badly flooded, the receding waters leaving a thick coating of yellow clay. A slip came down from Scarborough road, and large stones crashed through the roof of a wayside tearooms, tearing away a large section of the iron over the kitchen. A quantity of stones and rubble pushed cne section of the building several feet out of alignment, tearing it away from the. main building. In Redcliffs many homes were flooded.