AUCKLAND DELUGE

Grey River Argus, 16 February 1935, Page 5

AUCKLAND DELUGE

FLOOD DAMAGES Two Miies Per Hour (Per Press Association.) AUCKLAND, February 15. Torrential rain of exceptional severity fell in Auckland and the suburbs this afternoon, causing considerable damage in shops and warehouses in the lower parts of the city and in the lowlying areas in the suburbs. Heavy rain in the early hours of the morning was followed by warm, humid conditions, but shortly after 1 o’clock, the weather again became thick, and following a minor cloudburst, a storm broke in full force and continued unabated for two hours. The rain was accompanied by a mild electrical storrif.

By four o’clock, the wind, which had been light from the north-east, swung round to the south-west, with a quick improvement in the . conditions, allowing thousands of shoppers, who had been marooned under shop verandahs for most of the afternoon, to make for their homes. The total fall from midnight to 4 p.m. was 4.40 inches, of which, probably, three and a half inches fell during the afternoon. At the height of the storm tlie rain was falling at the rates of two inches an hour, and with the city drainage system failing to cope with the waters, the streets were awash, and flood waters entered many basements in the business area.