ANOTHER INUNDATION

King Country Chronicle, Volume XX, Issue 2118, 23 May 1925, Page 5

ANOTHER INUNDATION

MAIN TRUNK TRAINS STOPPED.

THE NEW PLYMOUTH ROAD IMPASSIBLE.

FLOODS IN TE KUITI.

Serious damage to roads and

slips and washouts on the Main

Trunk line, which necessitated

the stoppage of all express trains Isat night, followed the

downpour of rain which com-

menced on Thursday midnight, and appears to have been general throughout the King Country and the centre of the North Island.

The most serious flood which has been experienced) in Te Kuiti for five years resulted from the heavy rain of Thursday night and Friday morning. The trouble started at about 11 o’clock when the water began te spread over King and Carroll Streets. By 1 p.m. it had reached the railway at the King Street level crossing. The vacant sections next to the crossing quickly became flooded, and the sheet of water extended down, the street for several hundred yards. The water then itook the lowest outlet and [mured past Mr Gunson’s shop in a thick yellow torrent. Another stream ra.n past the horse trough near tlio firebcll tower, and Messrs Mason and' Dobson’s corner and the footpath in iront of Messrs Broadfoot and Maekersey’s ofliees was covered.

It threatened to ePter theso and Messrs Dooley and Co.’s premises, where a dyke of planks and sacks was erected to keep it out. The watertable in King Street proved inadequate to the occasion, and (the railway engine shed was flooded, most of the station yard 1 , and some of the main line. Most of the flats on the west side of' the town were under water and many residents there were unable to ge(t in or out of their houses without wading through three or four feet of water. A good deal of excitement was created, but most people extracted a good deal of amusement from the occasion. Some of the shopkeepers, whose doorways were on tine high-water mark had an anxious time, but no real damage was done. When it became apparent emergency measures must be taken, a gang of Borough workmen appeared, and a trench was dug across Taupiri Street at the King Street intersection to allow ithe fall to the river to be taken advantage of. Another trench .was cut to the drainage sump in Taupiri Street. A flow was produced by this mieans, but the fall is so slight that the level of the waiter further up the street fell very slowly.

Although the rainfall was heavy it was never expected (that the Hood waters would take charge so quickly. At 11 a.m. the Hat between Queen and King Streets began to show signs of being inundated, and at 1 p.m. there was nothing showing but the crowns of the two roads, there being a sea of yellow waiter between the two roads, and 1 the water was within an inpli of the Hoor <*f the houses on the flat. In some, instances the water was lapping the floor of the verandahs. The housewives had au anxious time as they watched the water gradually rise, but were helpless and eoufd only watch developments, wondering when the flow woluld stop. In Tawliana Street some of the four-feet fences were only showing a few inches at the top. At the corner of Carroll Street and Queen Street the water was running over the road in a solid stream. When residents on the Halt between King and Queen Streets attempted to reach tbeir homes they had to wade through, three feet of water, and firewood and itimher were floating in various parts. Asi in the case of former floods the water seemed to reach a certain level on the flats and then spread uiver slightly higher land.

About 3 p.m. the rain began to slacken, hut it was not until laitc in the evening that the water began to recede in King and Rora Streets, but very slowly, and it was well on to midnight before any percepitible change was noted. Hohvever, this morning the water had left the busines areas, and the flats in the residential areas were only showing largo pools and slime and silt deposit. Around Duke Street and Carroll Street the waiter reached a depth of two feet, but this was only for an h<vur, and very little water was to he seen around' this area half an hour after ithe rain ceased. Beyond heavy layers of silt where the flood waters had been, no serious damage has occurred.

DAMAGE THROUGHOUT COUNTY

More slips and other damage to roads are reported from different parts of the county. On the new Kie Kie road, which has just been finished by the Public Works Department, slips have occurred’ over a distance of 40 chains. On the Kmnara, Road a considerable stretch has subsided for several' feet. The main highway to Mapiu,- the Kura Kura Road, is blocked by slips. There is a. big slip on the Ngapaenga Road near Mr R„ Were’s..

Is is impossible to estimate at present when these roads will be cleared.

On the fAhuroa Road,, near Mr Julian’s, a slip has broken the telephone lines and the settlers are cut off, but the road is passable. ARIA DISTRICT. Slips are reported to have occurred on the roads around Aria, but owing to lack of communication few details are available. The water reached the same level at Aria as at 'the time of last week’s floods.

THE MARAKOPA DISTRICT.

Reports froPi the Marakopa district sltate that the floods were even worse than those of last week, and settlers were busy night and day getting their stock on to the high country. Slips are reported on the Waipowa and Marakopa. Valley Roads, and part of the. Te Align, road is under water to a depth of seven feet. The service and mail bus to Te Waitere had a very narrolw escape near To Align, when a big slip large enough to have buried the whole vehicle came down behind it a few minutes after it had passed. Several of the poles on rthe coast telephone Line were washed out between Moeatfoa. and Marakopa, bull they were re-erected this morning. The linesman who was sent ouib from Pio Pio had a strenuous drive and for a time was stranded on the road owing to slips. It is reported that more of the road has slipped into the Kiretehere River near Moeatoa. There have also been (large slides on the Mjjinkakokopu Road.

Kiretehere reports state that the river there has not been in subh high flood as last week.

TE KUMI AND ESPLANADE.

The north end of Rent Street and the Te Kami Road were worse flooded than last week. There was between four and live feet of water om the road in front of the railway houses, and it was also high at the back of many. One house occupied by Mr and Mrs Marr was invaded by the flood, whjif'h flowed through from the li-Wnlt to the back. At mid'-day to-day the level had fallen by about two feet, but there was still a great deal of read and the surrounding ground under water. On the bend of the road pai(b the settlement it was up to the girths 'of the hvtrses which were being ridden through. All the Inont portion of the sclicn grounds is flooded, and the swim bridge is isolated in the centre of

fair-sized lake. The other bridge lithe Domain to the Esplanade was > dor water this morning and piled with debris. The adjoining port of the Esplanade was a|so under w/ater and residents in the vicinity had to make a detour via the Mangarino Road in order tc< reach their work. TRAIN SERVICES. An express left Auckland about 10 a.m. this morning, arriving here about 2.30 p.m. Tim 'north bound express which left Wellington yesterday left Ohakune at 12.13 p.m. tU-day, transhipping passengers at Piriaka. This train is expected to arrive in Te Kuiti about 7 o’clock to-night. It consists of 12 cars carrying "270 passengers who were on the “limited” and 1 ‘ivrd inary” expresses which left Wellington yesterday. HANGATIKI F LOODED. The direct service c-ar to the Wnitomo Caves was unable ito get past Hangatiki to-day, the water on the road being much deeper (than last week. The surrounding country was also again flooded.

NEW PLYMOUTH ROAD BLOCKED

Yesterday morning the New Plymouthr oad was dear for through traffic, and the service cars readied Awakino in d,ue course. They left on the return trip about mid-day and became stuck about seven miles out, in the Valley Road, near Duneanson’s. They were hemmed in by slips in bd front and rear and were forced to spend the night on the road. Three miles fntm Awakino, near the county crusher the road' has slipped away and a very dangerous place has been created. The Awakino River rose very fast and was in high flood; when darkness fell.

Reports from Pio Pio last night stated that at the nine-mile from Te Kuiti the water is again four feet deep. There was a. big slip at the seven-mile, and the road had fallen away ait. the four-mile.

THE RAINFALL

To 9 a.m. yesterday .77 inches of rain had been recorded', and to 9 a.m. to-day 2.24 inches. As there was practically no rain after 5 o’clock last night, it is obvious that the whole 2.24 inches was concentrated over eight hours. Ln><fc week there were 2.16 inches to 9 a.m. on Wednesday, 13th; 1.23 on Thursday, the 14th; and 1.32 on Friday, 15th—a total of 4. 51 for the three days. Although on December 25 and 26 last year there were 2.05 and 1.99 inches of rain respectively, the floods which occurred then were nothing like so extensive as those of yesterday. The rapidity with which the water rose yesterday was probably due to the fact that -,the soil had been thoroughly saturated last week, and 'all yesterday’s rain either ran off or collected on the surface. This would account for the extraordinarily rapid rise of the Mangaokewa River.

RAILWAY DISLOCATION.

TRANSHIPPING AT PIRIAKA.

(By Telegraph.—Press Association.) (Received 1.10 p.m.) TaumaPunui, this day.

The railway service is held upi by slips and washouts on the line. A big slip at the southern end of the Poro-iJ-tarao tunnel blocked any connection between Te Kuiti and Taumarunui. It is expected that this slip will be cleared' by noon to-day. Slips on the Main Trunk at Taringamotu and a washout between Waimiha and Ongarue held' (the service up for 22 hour's. The line south of Taumarunui is also blocked;, and is not expected to ho open until late on Sunday. There is a big subsidence on the lino at Piriaka. Passengers on trains from the north will be brought into Taumarunui by motor bus and! passengers for the south motored to Piriaka and ho picked up by the south-bound train there. This afternoon passengers for the south will leave Taumarunui and tranship over the washout at Piriaka. to the south train, the same to be done with passengers for Die north.

There will he no- train running oil the Okahukura-Oliura line until the middle of 'next week owing to slips, and washouts.