Trail of Damage

Hawera Star, Volume LIV, 22 February 1935, Page 7

Trail of Damage

NEW PLYMOUTH FLOODS SHOPKEEPERS’ HEAVY LOSSES TORRENTS RACE THROUGH STREETS. ESCAPES PROM DROWNING. By Telegraph—Special to “Star.” NEW PLYMOUTH, To-day. In the twenty-four hours ended 7.30 this morning, when the rain eased off, 7.29 inches of rain were recorded at New Plymouth, where a downpour was experienced all night and left in its wake a trail of damage in the shoj>ping and low-lying residential areas. Railway, road anil train services arc all disorganised, and the New PlymouthWellington express was unable to leave this morning owing to the line two miles from the station being unsafe. The express started from Hawera, a connection being made by bus via Opunakc. Slips and wrecked bridges aro reported from various places.

A steady fall of rain l throughout yesterday afternoon at New Plymouth developed at 11 p.m. into a torrential downpour that continued unabated till 1 p.m.

After a short respite the downpour intensified, and at 2 a.m. the streets and shops were flooded when the Huatoki river and Mangamuku stream, which both flow under the town, flooded to an unprecedented extent. Basements quickly filled and stock was soon floating in the streets. The estimated stock loss to retailers is thousands of pounds, while damage was also done to buildings.

Four feet of water swept through the Devon and Brougham street intersections when doors and windows of buildings on the south side of Devon street hurst with the weight of banked-up water.

In one depression the water was upwards of HO feet deep before it found an outlet. The sound of the flooded river roaring and crashing beneath the buildings was alarming. Devon Street presented a remarkable spectacle immediately after the sudden rise, with a yellow tide rushing seaward. In the night investigators waded waist deep in places. Portion of a library of valuable legal text books was saved by the timely arrival ot' a solicitor. When doors facing the east wore opened solid walls of water six feet high burst into the street.

GIRLS RESCUED. The Royal Hotel was flooded out and four girls were rescued suffering from shock. The girls’ cries were heard by rescuers, who found them in a terrified condition in a bedroom at the rear of the hotel. The water was more than thigh deep, and they were afraid they had been trapped by the raging water. They were carried upstairs to a place of safety. Most of their personal effects were ruined by water, hut a certain amount was saved.

TRAPPED IN CAR. Dr. E. F. Fookes and a taxi driver, Harvey Johnson, had an alarming experience shortly after midnight, when returning to New Plymouth from a call to the coimtry. The car was about to cross the Waiongona stream bridge, eight miles from New Plymouth, when

the filling approach collapsed and the car was flung bodily into the stream, which was racing high in flood. The large car fell sideways and was almost completely submerged, trapping the occupants. The driver managed to open a side door which was facing inwards and scramble out. He then assisted Dr Fookes, whose escape from drowning was fortunate. Both suffered from shock but were able to reach a farm house and call a second car from town. Dr. Fookes was still dazed this morning, and the driver is suffering from scratches.

Though the rain ceased at 7.30 this morning and the flood water level in New Plymouth streets fell, it was only a temporary relief, as the tide started to rise, banking up the river, and a fresh menace had to be faced by shopkeepers. Goods in some cases were hastily removed by motor lorry, and a rowing boat was also requisitioned. A large crowd -watched the water creeping up Currie Lane and threatening further buildings. At the Cambrian Engineering Company’s foundry the machinery was under water early this morning, and the flood invaded the Taranaki Brewery Company’s buildings, barrels floating about in the deep water.

THRILLING RESCUES. Some thrilling “rescue” work was executed bv members ot the Lyall Bay Surf Club m the middle of Devon Street. With fine discrimination, only the fairest of the fair sex were carried to the higher levels, and later the team dived into the churning maelstrom to retrieve cardboard boxes that bobbed merrily down the stream. The Inglewood borough lias been fortunate in comparison with other parts of the country. There has, nevertheless, been tremendous damage in the county area. This morning; the Waiongona east stream, which flows past the Moa factory ,was a raging torrent, 20 feet above normal level. Properties along the banks were irreparably damaged. For about ten feet above the normal level, the banks have been completely scoured away. At Mr. AV. Hanwright’s property, the lawns, shrubs and even trees up to 40 feet in height have disappeared. Franklyn’s footbridge has been swept away and residents lower down the stream were seriously alarmed, although the water level did not reach the houses. The rise had been so great and the roar so terrifying that it would have been easy to anticipate the whole bank being swdpt away. At Mr. AV. Hainwright’s property, the AA T aiongona stream bends sharply, and here huge pieces of bank have l>een gouged away. The Moa factory

has escaped damage, but there has

been considerable erosion behind the. factory cottages. The cream lorry service has been totally disorganised. The first lorry to return was brought in by F. Price, two hours later than schedule. None of the other seven lorries operating on the county roads had returned by noon.

At the farm of Robert Brown, hopeless chaos feigns. The bridge over the Waiongona stream still stands, but is feet under water, and a tremendous amount of timber is being brought down over the paddocks, where fences are being swept away. The occupants of eight houses on the banks of the Mangatuku Stream had to leave hastily at 4 a.m. this morning when they were awakened by Water invading their homes. The borough inspector earlier warned one family, who took their belongings to safety, but neglected to pass on the warning to their neighbours. The screaming of women was the first alarm the occupants had. There was no time to take possessions, but they fled to higher ground. The water rose in the houses to three feet, leaving behind a thick deposit of mud. i e only articles which escaped were those that were hurriedly placed on tables and wardrobes before the residents departed. A clay slip in Devon Street West blocked the road for twenty yardi an I affected telephone wires.

WOMEN’S LUCKY ESCAPE.

At the Belt Road over the Mangotuku Stream bridge three middle aged women, Mesdames M. E. Rouse, C. Hislop and F. A. Johnston, and Miss House and a small child were awakened by the flood surging about their very beds. Mrs Rouse was awakened by what she described as a “plopping sound,’’ which she at the time believed was caused by some one having left a tap running. She stejiped out of bed to turn it off into water up to her knees. This was about 2.30 a.m. She then wakened the other occupants of the house.

Tho worst slip yet experienced in Devon Street, where the road runs through high cuttings, occurred in the early hours of the morning, when a stretch of clay bank twenty yards wide collapsed and spread across the road as far as the opposite footpath. Telephone lines were torn down. A slip occurred at the Western Park gates at 12.30 a.m., blocking the footpath for a distance of about 50 yards and spreading out to the. tram lines. Tlio whole bank, was undermined. People living in the vicinity were wakened by the thud and thought it an earthquake jolt.

ROAD UNDER WATER. The Uruti Road ’s' under water in several placesj" the level being two feet above the road surface between Uruti and Mount Messenger. Three lorries, a car and a bus carrying Auckland life savers to the Dominion championships were held up a mile north of Uruti. In spite of numerous small slips Mount Messenger is negotiable. Minor slips have also fallen in the Awakino Yalley, but they arc not so large as to interfere with traffic, except for the Waiongona Bridge. Therefore the New Plymouth-Auckland highway is passable.