SEVERE FLOODS.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 3 November 1924, Page 4

SEVERE FLOODS.

IN BOTH ISLANDS. HEAVY DAMAGE REPORTED. TRAIN’S NARROW ESCAPE. (BY TELEGRAPH —PRESS ASSOCIATION. FOXTON, Nov. 3. Flood waters of the Manawatu cut off road communication from Foxtoa to Shannon and Levin. A span of the - Shannon bridge was washed away. The loss to flaxmillers is fairly considerable. Several breaks in the stop banks let the water over Moutoa roads. The loss of stock is trifling. About a mile and a half of the railway line on the Fox-ton-Palmerston line is under. whteL and the service, is temporarily pended. 1 . BLENHEIM, Nov. 2. There was extraordinary rainfall all over Marlborough from Thursday afternoon until yesterday, afternoon, - the gauge registering as much as 16.96 inches in Picton and 10.5 inches at Flaxbourne. The fall in and around Blenheim-was between 3 and 4 inches. All the rivers and streams w ere . in heavy flood, and there was an anxious time in Blenheim on account of the swollen state' of the Taylor River, but the protective works stood well and no damage was done in the town, though, the flooding of a ditch in the vicinity of the bank erection inundated several sections. The .flooding of the Fairball Stream and Doctor’s Creek caused a of farms in ‘that locality to be inundated, ar.d some small areas of crops were damaged. The overflow of the Para swamp and the Tuamarina Creek, about eight miles from Blenheim on the roaid to Picton, caused a- number of settlers on the low land .round Tuamarina to be deeply flooded, their houses being invaded by water. Some of them were, rescued in boats. Some areas of crops in this locality were also affected. There were a.number of landslides at Picton, but no damage of a serious nature was done. There were also numerous landslides round Port Underwood, but without' serious effect. ' The train which left Blenheim last evening for Ward narrowly escaped an awful disaster; One of the piers of * the bridge over Seventeen. Creek, about fpur miles south of Blenheim, had been undermined by the swift current in the stream, and after the train crossed the bridge the structure buckled, the train being thrown off the line: The engine plunged down a bank nine feet!high, and now lies at right angles to the track. A passenger carriage was derailed and a second carriage partly derailed.. There were only four passengers on th e< train, all being in the carriage which was only partly derailed, and all escaped unscathed, as did the crew of the train. It was fortunate that the train had actually negotiated the bridge and reached the solid permanent way before it was derailed, or it would, have plunged into the creek fifteen feet below. Though there have been some losses - of crops round Fairhall and Tuamarina, and though it ‘is reported that some individual losses of newly-shorn sheep on account of cold will be : heavy, the rain generally is welcomed' and will have a beneficial effect on the district. ■ - ——' • SLIPS ON THE RIMUTAKAS. MASTERTON, Nov. 2. 9 Heavy rainfall and extensive flooding of i’ivers have been experienced in the Wairarapa since. Thursday. Rail arid road communication with Wellington ' aye both blocked by slips. ■ The floods accounted for considerable losses of sheep, which have just recently been shorn. Newly-sown crops were also affected. The rivers are now subsiding find there are prospectsof the weather (clearing. Six inches of rain since Thursday has been, general. The Waingawa River, from which Masterton’s water supply, is drawn, altered its course, and the pipeline is m danger of complete isolation. It is understood that the damage is considerable in South Wairarapa. . Heavy slips occurred on the summit of the Rimutakas and at Cross Greek. The line is clear on the Wellington side of the summit. , hut through traffic ceaked on Friday night, and no trains have been through yet. It is. unlikely that the line will be clear for ‘traffic * to-morrow. It cannot yet be ascertained if it will be possible to tranship passengers . across the slips. The rain was exceedingly heavy, causing several washouts and slips. The officials think there must have been a cloud-burst. Railway gangs are at work and these will be supplemented to-morrow. At five o’clock to-night it was reported that the rain had ceased and no. further slips were probable. There have been slips for over 100 yards on the Rimutaka Hill between Kaitoke and The .Summit, .and the road, is impassable to motor traffic. It is* likely to remain closed for three days while clearing operations are under way. PALMERSTON NORTH ENDANGERED. PALMERSTON N , Nov. 2. ' Owing to heavy rain in southern Hawke’s Bay and locally the Manawatu River rose fifteen feet above normal, the water reaching within a foot of the banks, and in one place south . of Palmerston actually overflowing oh Saturday night, eroding five acres of ploughed land. Erosion constitutes a new problem on account of the river having scoured a new channel opposite the lowest part of the town. It is expected the greater part of. the river will flow through this, and may eventually become a' danger to this district, which includes the golf links, unless the River Board’s programme, which is now in progress is carried through soon. ’ The river was subsiding this aftern2?n ’ will certainly affect the Shannon and Makerua flax-' mi ling area, causing a cessation of milling operations. DAMAGE IN CANTERBURY. _ CHRISTCHURCH, Nov. 2. The Kowai River overflowed its banks on Saturday nicrht and water ran through the Leithfield township. era! farms were inundated The township of Sefton also suffered ayid considerable damage was done by the potato crops suffering severely A considerable area of land near Kaiapoi was flooded.