HEAVY RAIN

Hawera Star, Volume LIV, 25 July 1935, Page 5

HEAVY RAIN

FLOODED STREET CHANNELS

TANGAHOE HILL SLIDE Traffic Held Up For Short Period on Main South Road SPOIL WASHED FROM GULLY HIGHWAYS UNDER WATER A slide of spoil on the Tangahoe Bill which held op traffic for a. short period this morning was t.he major effect of heavy rain which fell throughout Taranaki yesterday and last night. Although no serious damage has been reported, low-lying levels were well covered with water, the amount around and about Hawera district being unprecedented in the memory of old residents. a South Taranaki rivers and streams were at high levels, but the widely scoured 'beds gave free flow to the flood waters.

The blockage on the Tangahoe Hill, on the South Road took place on the Mokoia side of the bridge, about five miles from Hawera. Spoi 1 which had resulted from work on the deviation road has recently been deposited in a valley, which opens through a rift on to the road about halfway up the hill, at the first corner. The material filled the head of the valley, about a quarter of an acre in area and averaging about 20ft in depth. AVith the rain the spoil slid from the head of the valley through the narrow rift and spread over the road to a depth in some parts of about six feet. The slide extended for a distance of about 20 yards. AVork on clearing the slide commenced at about S o’clock this morning and within an hour and a half traffic was able to proceed slowly past the point. The spoil consisted chiefly of sand, and the road surface after the slip was not greasy. „ By noon traffic was able to proceed as normally. It is estimated that between 7-5 and 100 cubic yards of spoil covered the roadway.

AVATER COA r ERS ROADAVAY

Tlie corner of the AVaihi and Glover roads throughout this morning had all the appearances of the junction of two rivers. AA T ater covered the road near the “booster”' plant on Glovoi Road and swirled around the corner into AVaihi Road, in the direction of King Edward Park. The sides of both AVaihi Road, from the racecourse, and Glover Road, from the Turuturu Rload corner, were veritable streams, the’grade causing them to converge on the area near the “booster.” At present a box channel carries away the flood water at the corner. This was insufficient, but it .is hoped to duplicate the channel when the waters subside. On the Turuturu Road, an area between the railway crossing and Fan- > tham Street corner was a lake, the water covering the road to a depth of about nine inches. The railway crossing is some -50 yards from the corner. All low-lying areas in this locality and also on the AVaihi Road are covered with water to an extent believed to be unprecedented. Farm properties are dotted with miniature lakes, while a paddock in front of a house or. Glover Road this morning would have made an idea] swimming pool. Enquiries at the Dawson Falls hostel this morning revealed that the rain had been torrential, a fall of 6-J inches having been recorded iu the last 21 hours? A light fall of snow was experienced at the hostel early this morninw, hut later rain had not allowed this At 11 o’clock it was still raining heavily. No damage was reported.

The effect in Hawera was chiefly confined to flooded storm water channels. The rain was particularly heavy between 5 and '6 o’clock last night, many late shoppers and workers returning homewards being caught in the deluge. The fall at Hawera in the last 24 hours was 1.71 inches. Postponements of outdoor sporting fixtures to have been held yesterday included those of football and hockey tournaments at Hawera, a school football match at Normanby and women’s hocv key matches. ■Severe rainstorms swept over New Plymouth and surrounding districts

, early yesterday afternoon, causing a y' rapid rise in the Tivers and minor floodN ixig where gutters and sumps were unable to cope with the rush of waterDamage was done to gardens, and minor slips occurred on steep earth embankments. . A dense fog was experienced m the Mangatoki, Mahoe and Ivaponga districts last night, this, together with a driving rain, making conditions ior motorists particularly trying. Water was much in evidence on the sides ol the roads. The entrance to the Ketemarac Jioad on the Normanby Road was made impassable last night by storm water which lay to a depth over the road o about two feet. The water made its escape this morning.

| MAIN HIGHWAY BLOCKED flood conditions in north MAIL SERVICES DISLOCATED ißy Telegraph—Press Association.) AUCKLAND, July 24. Flood conditions north of Auckland in several important instances did not improve to the extent hoped for today and motorists particularly received a disappointing setback when the Dome •' Valley road on the main highway be-'~-f tween Wark worth and "Wellsford had to he closed owing to a serious slip.. While water on the railway lines in T '>rth Auckland receded fairly rapidly, the large slip at Hoteo prevented the immediate resumption of traffic and several minor slips and subsidences necessitated reduced speeds over other portions of the line. Serious erosion following heavy rain

resulted in conditions becoming dangerous on the Dome Valley road this morning and it was decided to close the thoroughfare to all traffic pending repairs A large washout has occurred on one section of the road and it is anticipated it will he at least two days before the road can be reopened providing suitable weather obtains. A 'serious inconvenience caused by the floods is the dislocation of mail services. Monday’s mails arrived at Kaikohe on Tuesday evening and it was expected that Tuesday’s mails would arrive some time to-night. Mails were taken by train to-day to Helensville and then by steamer to Oargaville, from where they were taken by lorries for distribution.