THE WEATHER.

Lyttelton Times, Volume LXV, Issue 7863, 19 May 1886, Page 3

THE WEATHER.

The accounts that continue to reach us Bhow that the loss, inconvenience, and (distress, occasioned by the late floods, were Wry real and general. The water has, (however, subsided in all directions. f Our Lyttelton correspondent writes :—lt is stated on most reliable authority that Several coffins have become exposed in the [Nonconformist cemetery at Lyttelton through the late severe rains. This will go ■far to show that the present site is unfit for that of a cemetery, and should never •have been used as such. The Opawa fish-breeding, establishment will entail heavy losses on the proprietor, not only from the large number of breeding trout that have gone to stock the river, but the loss of recently imported valuable varieties, consisting of Loch Leven trout, salmon trout, and American catfish. The river has also been enriched by countless thousands (of all sizes and 'hges) of American brook trout, English brown trout, perch, tench, gold and silver carp and salmon; of these latter several hundred have been, recovered, whilst no loss has been sustained of the Scotch Burn trout, or of the many thousands of eggs of the American brook trout previously collected. The present flood was the highest ever known in the locality, rendering almost useless the precautions which had proved ; sufficient against ordinary contingencies. It is quite possible, however, that a fair proportion of the fish may still be left, as they have generally shown themselves very averse to leaving their own wellfed quarters. His Worship the Mayor has received a. donation of £5 from Mr Smart towards the fund for the relief of the sufferers by the recent floods, and promises of further subscriptions are coming in. Unfortunately there is every indication of the distress feeing larger than some of the speakers at Monday’s meeting seemed to anticipate, as already numerous applications have been made, and dealt with as promptly and judiciously as possible. Our Ashburton correspondent . wires : —“ All sign of rain has gone. The sun is shining from an almost unclouded blue sky, and scarcely a great-coat is to be seen in the street.” Yesterday morning the Ashley river was still in heavy fresh, but the main stream was running under the cart-bridge. There were, however, one or two streams opposite the south end of the bridge feroad and' deep enough to deter some people from attending the Eangiora market, although many ventured across. A team with a load of timber, belonging to Messrs Boyd and Keir, stuck in one of the streams yesterday, and was got out with difficulty. The breakwater and approach made at the south end of the bridge withstood the force of the water excellently, sustaining but very slight damage. Two strong streams have set for the south end of the railway bridge, one having carried away an embankment recently erected by the railway authorities to divert the water from the bridge approach. The embankment referred to was constructed of shingle, but being placed at right angles to the course of the water, it was patent to everyone acquainted with the river that the firstfresh would demolish it. [from our own correspondent.] KAIAPOI. Visitors to our little town to-day would hardly think, from the appearance of our streets,that we could have had any heavy rain lately. Thanks to the good natural drainage provided by our river, and a sandy sub-soil, after a few hours’ sunshine we again blossom like the rose. PREBBLETON. The heavy rain of last week caused but little damage to property in this district. The water in the township was higher than has been known since its formation. The houses on the opposite side of the road to the hotel were all flooded more or less, Mr Cooke being the heaviest sufferer, the water being a foot higher in his bouse. The family were forced to reside upstairs until the flood abated. The water commenced to recede on Saturday afternoon, May 15, and went down rapidly, but on Sunday the water had not all cleared off the footpaths. The Salvation Army came up as usual to hold their meetings in the hall, but found it all surrounded fey water, and in consequence returned to Sydenham without doing so. The swamp land was all covered with water, and some dairy farms had to leave fheir cows unmilked, not being able to get near them. The potato crop, in many cases, will have received great damage unless it clears off very quickly. The rain which fell a fortnight ago had the effect of rotting a great quantity of potatoes, and this last rain, it is feared, will be the means of destroying tons that are lying in low places. LITTLE RIVER. The rain, which commenced at Little. River on Thursday evening, and continued without intermission on Friday, Saturday and Sunday last, caused a very great amount of damage throughout the whole district. The floods were at their highest on Friday evening, the wind blowing half a gale from the south-west, accompanied by torrents of rain, and the river rose three feet higher than it was ever before known to do. Commencing at Red John’s Gully, a large culvert was washed away; a little lower down, and quite close to Mr Triggs’ house, a heavy land-slip occurred, and if another slip should happen it will very likely bring the house down with it. The three large bridges on the main tramway of the Terawera Sawmills Company were again washed away, as well as two bridges on the bush tramway. These had been washed away in a flood a short time ago, and had only a few days ago been rebuilt. The river being unusually high spread over the flat and into the houses of Messrs H. White, T. Radford, and J. Watkins, who, with their families, were obliged to leave and seek shelter with their friends. Mr S. Harris had over a foot high of water running through bakehouse. The ram and tanks for the supply of water to Mr Coop’s were carried away, the tanks travelling some distance, one of them landing on the Main road. The footbridge leading to St Andrew’s Chun, % the large bridge leading fr the Wester. ’ Valley and cemetery, and top of 1 » culvert ou the Main road, near r ■' Hall, were washed away. The main .-.u • on the Akaroa road was also destroyed, , lie piles having altogether gone, and the

girders, planting, and, hand railing were carried away, and landed seine distance away in one lot on-the Maori reserve. Most of the culverts and bridges oh the Western 'Valley road are gone, as well as the formation and shingling of pieces of road just completed. The bridges on the Okute Talley road, as well as the private bridge belonging to Mr Buchanan, have been cleared away, the only bridges left standing being a small bridge over the river on the Maori reserve, and the large bridge leading from the main road to Okute Valley, known as Buchanan’s bridge. It is marvellous how this bridge has stood, for upwards of four chains above it the river is literally blocked with fallen logs, tree tops, post rails, and all manner of debris. That it has stood speaks well for its builders, Messrs Bailey and Ware. The creek running by the police station became blocked with timber and shingle, altered its course, and cut out a new channel for itself, the water running through the stable, lock-up and house, on its way, carrying away the fences, back and front, and washing away the garden and its contents. Several other gardens in the district were also ruined. Constable Eyan, with his wife and family, were obliged to leave the house, and* did so under some danger and great difficulty, with the assistance of friends, and found welcome shelter with Mrs Eeynolds. Lower down the main road the water was some 3ft high in Mr Ferguson’s saddler’s shop, and it also broke down thtr 1 * paling fence round Mr Alexander’s, and', carried away some chains of the fence! - enclosing the railway station grounds.! The water rose very high in the house! occupied by Mr Breslin, the blacksmith! ■ and his wife' and family were in dangers? ■. but were rescued from the house by mean* i of a raft, hastily made, and worked by I® I T. O. change, the stationmaster. Ml f E. S. Latter, Clerk to the Conn® f, Council, and other willing hands | Mr Nelson, who, as a safeguard again® » floods, had built his house on high pilel, | had some three feet of water in it. ThS i water was over the railway station platS \ form, and into the offices and . waitin® ; rooms. Mr E.’Osborne, butcher, had somal 150 sheep, as well as a number of pigs,* drowned. G. Eobinson pluckily rescued a i horse belonging to Mr Breslin, and pigs | of Mr Osborne’s, from being carried away I by the floods, besides being at hand to | lend assistance wherever required* There I was no boat, or even a Maori canoe, that I it was possible to get at to render assist j ance. The railway embankment, commenc- I ing just below Mr M'Nae’s Hotel and I extending nearly to Birdling’s Fiat, has I been much damaged, the ballast in some | places being partially, and in others wholly, f washed away, the worst places being [ in Caton and Harman’s Bays, where the | wash of the water on the Lake Forsyth side I of the line has not only done much damage { to the stone-facing, but also to the forma- | tion. Mr Austin, Government Engineer, | is up here, and immediate steps will, no S doubt, be taken to repair the damage. It i1 1 is expected that all will be put right in’ about a fortnight. In the meantime, trains ’ will leave Christchurch for Birdling’s Plat, and vice versi , on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, according to the old time table; mails closing here for Christchurch at noon. Mr S. Lee has made arrangement for the conveyance of the mails from Duvauchelle to Birdling’s Flat, until the line re-opens to Little Eiver. On Saturday last Mr E. Main brought over the mails on horseback, after much difficulty, he having in places, in consequence of the road being impassable, to make his way through the bush. On Monday Mr E. S. Latter put on gangs of men under the supervision of G. Eobinson, to clear away slips and make temporary repairs to culverts, so as to make the road passable for horsemen, and good progress had been made by the evening. There is a good ford for horsemen just below where the main bridge was. The main road, from the railway station to Christchurch is in good order; no damage whatever. has been done to it. On Sunday morning a large body of men came up from Christchurch to let out Lake Forsyth, but their services were scarcely required, as the Lake was on the point of breaking out itself, and it only took the men about fifteen minutes to accomplish their object, and the lake is now at its lowest level. It is to be hoped that the County Council, who lately took charge of the main road, will at once put in hand the re-building of the main bridge across the river, so that the large traffic between the' sawmills and the railway station can be resumed before the line re-opens. WAIAH. Heavy rain has fallen here almost incessantly since Thursday forenoon, accompanied by a very cold and piercing southwesterly wind. The Waiau and Mason rivers have been in flood all the time, but are now falling fast. No damage has yet been reported. This (Monday) morning the sky cleared somewhat, andwehada welcome glimpse of the sun, but rain is again threatening, and the weather looks anything but . settled. A large quantity of snow has fallen in the back country, and it is questionable if the Committee appointed by the Amuri Sheep Farmers’ Association to enquire into the feasibility of putting up a rabbit proof fence) will be able to get about their work at the time decided upon.