FLOOD DAMAGE

Gisborne Times, Volume LXXIII, Issue 11955, 27 May 1933, Page 4

FLOOD DAMAGE

district again, threatened.

AV AIM ATE VERY HIGH

mangapapa sumacs

WIDE AREA UNDER WATER

After nine weeks Jrr city: Bay b experiencing ]usfc unpleasant omphaws . night there Wai ,„ a .' Of very heavy Hooding. 11 V , cd the same level as ntinu tUo alsastr- to* February of last ; - , . .Leniua y T]V unfavorable, reports were equally • - r/ and about 1 a.m. to-day th j « river was 15ft above norma l - In U borough, Mangapapa the portion to suffer much and _ foot of water covered an area » “ uring about threequarters o each way. , . , Heavy, steady ram. set 111 c yesterday, and continued wlt hout termission throughout the day and last night. A total of 1.57m5. Had fallen by 9 a.m. yesterday, since the rain start'd on Tuesday, probably another bins, fell ye.~tei and last night. At Patutahi, from 0 a.m. to 10 o’clock last night tb rail was o.oOius. Very heavy falls were. experienced south as far os Wairoa, also right up the C'oas , while there were somewhat- lighter falls in the Hatawal-Motu area.

POSITION OF OUTLET ROADS. Service ears experienced practicnlly no trouble on any of The routes during the afternoon, and all arrived up to time. From Opotiki carS vame through via both the Motu and the Waiocka.

The driver of a ear. travelling by fho latter route (which reached Gisborne about- 9 p.m.). reported that the train wa s not nearly a s bad as in Gisborne, and that there were no signs of subsidences along that route at that time.

According to a driver of a service car which readied town at 10 p.m., via the Waioeka. that -route was In very fair order. In the gorge some branches of trees were on the roadThere were also a few small slips on the Otoko Hill. The water then was just coming over the road at the Ormond dip. Heavy ram was not experienced until Matawai wa« reached. Between Wairoa and Gisborne very heavy rain was experienced and. when the afternoon cars arrived the drivers expressed grave fears as- to what might occur with a continuance of the downpour. At that . time, however, no slips had come dewn on the road.

Coast cars also made the trips yesterday right up to schedule times The creeks, nevertheless, were substantially swollen yesterday afternoon especially north of Tolaga Bay. The heaviest rain experienced On the Coast yesterday appeared to be north of Tolaga Bay. Though all the roads were open yesterday afternoon, intending travellers are advised to make inquiries to-day before departing, for overnight rain may well have proved sufficient to cause hold-ups.

WAIMATA RIVER UP TWENTY FEET. ' Tire Waimata River rose very fast yesterday afternoon, and by about 9 p.m., in the upper' reaches, the level was 20ft above normal and conditions were similar to those experienced' in February of last year. The rain wag very heavy in the back country, and the river rose, between 7 and 9 p.m., . by some S to 10ft. Flooding in the "Waimata, however, is not attended by tlie same serious consequences a s is the case on the flats.

STOCK REMOVED TO SAFETY. Working throughout the night, and in the early hour s to-day, Bushmere residents and others in fioodthreatened areas were engaged in removing stock to places of safety, an arduous task in the driving cold rain. Warnings of the flood danger were received from Wliatatutu last evening and the precautionary measures were promptly embarked upon. About 1.30 a.m. to-day, tho river had risen by about loft, ahcf' was still making height at a fairly fast rate. It is considered by residents there, that there is no danger until daylight, at least, hut that should be the critical period, for the full force of the flood waters will then bo coming down and there will also be tho tendency of the incomino-' ,idd to bank up the water. High tide is nt 7.53 a.in, to-dav.

At Kaiteratahi bridge, the water wa s just over th e .gravel at about 9 o’clock last evening, and two hours later seemed to have made practical Iv iiy headway.

, Makauri reports this morning were to the effect that tlio Taruhoru was well over th'e banks, and- a long stretch of water extended above Tucker’s. Between dusk and 8 p.m., the river was observed to rise gft. Tho river by the Bridge Hotel was reported to bo causing uneasiness lato last night, though,. of course, the crisis there will 'come this morning, in common with all tho. affected ureas. ' ■. A

Tawhiti Station, Whatatutu, reported early last evening that the flood waters were practically up to tlie level reached in. February of last year which makes the outlook very bad. indeed for settlers on the flats.

At 4 p.m. yesterday, it was impossible to ford tlio river at Wharekopao and from then on tlio level rose very rapidly.

MANGAPAPA’S PLIGHT. As far as rtlie borough is concerned, Mangapapa-is'-easily the worst sufferer-apd a . wido-area about Valloji road was still vnt|er one foot,of

water early to-day.. The smajj streams -in. that locality were swol. leai to exceptional heights, largely through - rubble, bushes etc. forming into dams in thojower reaches. Tty water rapidly spread across the lowlyimr area between Ormond road and tfao "hills, forming a foot-deep l a ty over an area, measuring probably thrScquirters of • «* »»» •>). Measurements taken outside Messrs Sim and McAra’s store, about, 10.25 last night, Showed a depth of 1 3 inches on the footpath. Little change occurred during the evening, the depth of the water remaining at about ifi>- from 8 o’clock onwards, indicating • that the streunis and drains were effectually coping with the downpour. Hnlpss debris caused further blockages, therefore, it appeared there was no further immediate danger. There is a slight slip about 200 yards on the -town side of Messrs" Sim' and McAra’s store and this, it was reported last evening, contained a full 18 inches of watyr. Fortunately th© affected area is very sparsely settled and most of th© dwellings liad' sufficiently high foundations to be above the water level, but’it was -reported that an inch 'or two of water penetrated into several homes. Two small bridges, one near Messrs Hawkins’ store and the other at Mr Marshall’s, were reported this morning- to have been washed away, but confirmation is lacking.

WIRELESS WARNING

V warning to residents of the locality was 'sent out over the wireless "evening and also announced at, ;£e picture theatres, this being to the effect that they should return home as quickly as possible in order Uj be 011 hand should the level of the water attain a dangerous height. Through a misapprehension, an appeal for- lorries to remove furniture was also broadcast-, but an attempt to take sucli a' step, under the prevailing conditions, was quite out of the question and the position was not grave enough for such a course. Constables Gatehouse and Birea proceeded to the scene alter the broadcast appeal-and later were relieved by Detective 'McLeod and Constable King-

OTHER EFFECTS IN TOWN

Great, masses of driftwood could be observed from the town bridges lari evening and both rivers were swollen to tremendous heights, greater by a considerable margin than was the case m February of last year. the grassv flats on the river banks were completely submerged on either side arid" the water -level was- gradual.y creeping up the slopes to the streets. Riverside residents must have suffered considerably last evening- ana flooded gardens will be .the order whei c-ver properties run low. to the rUer-. Canoes and boats will be among the missing to-day in many cases. Lari night, in the course of Sve minutes, a canoe and a boat swept under thGladstone road bridge and out to --‘a