THE HAWKE’S BAY FLOODS.

Lyttelton Times, Volume LXXX, Issue 10214, 7 December 1893, Page 5

THE HAWKE’S BAY FLOODS.

PATHETIC SCENES. MIRACULOUS ESCAPES. fPsB Panes- Association,! napier, d«c„ & The scene at the Napier railway station last night, when some of the women and! children who had been rescued from their flooded homes at Clive, were brought io town by a special train, was-most pathetic.. They-were driven to the-local hotels, where, their pressing necessities were relieved. Some of the people had MIBAOUI.OUB ESCAPES OB' THBIE IiITOS; One woman, who with six children eat Off, the top of- the roof of her house all night* relates that between twelve and one off Monday night she heard a mighty roar;, when the Tukituki burst its bants, sweep* iug everything before it. So sudden «M. the rush that there waa no time* even iff save the stock, and no possible means of! escape except to climb on the roof; the; younger children going up first aud then drawing up their mother. A dreary night, followed, as rain fell heavily, and nothing; was in sight but water for miles; The family, only scantily clad; sat on the root' till half-past seven on the following niom* ing, when they were rescued by a boat’s' crew. a woman’s privations. Another woman, a widow, alone in her cottage, suddenly found, the bed'floating about the room, and the water rising higher and higher. She climbed.', on the dreisor shelf, suspending a pocket ' handkerchief from a ring in the roof tff which she citing all the night. , Previously she had clutched 1 au empty box, which she held in readiness, and' if the-, worst came to the worst she could have, jumped in to float about till having placed a jug in os a bailer. In this suspended position eho was found at seven, o'clock yesterday morning and conveyed'to a place of safety. 1c is marvellous how all, managed to escape, and that there waa.not; any loss of life amongst the families at: Clive, as the boats' crews in some instances, bad to prize the weather-boards ol the cottages open, and let the people oat at the gable ends. The loss of sheep is enormous*. The flood waters at Clive have gone, down considerably since last night,, but even in the present condition the wbolfc. place, with ruined homes, dead' stock; everywhere, and the carcases of sheep coming down the Ngaruroro river in. aojieas, presents A BADDKNINd BP2OIAOM, Supplies of food were despatched! from. Napier this morning. Some settlers, ace coming to the Clive Hotel' in boats fear , supplies from Fapakura, through, to Meanee and Olive. The crops are., ruined. Those settlers who saved theix stock now bare the trouble staring them in the face of having no fodder for. the.'■ winter months, as the hay has all been destroyed. Tho body of the Rev; 8. Douglas has not yet been found. The settlers at Waipawa hush spent A I'BAHi'UIi NIGHT, the waters floo. iug them out, and people had to be conveyed to the township. The Waipukurcu township suffered slsftf the low-lying parts are under water* three, - feet in depth in the main street.' Many, bridges tfaroughont the district have been, washed away, while vehicular traffic is impeded in all parts through the landslips. It is impossible to estimate the damage • until the waters subside, hut the loss every*, where is ruinous.

FURTHER DETAILS. * TERRIBLE DESTRUCTION; ' Fortunately the rain which threatened last night held off, and the flood wa&c subsided rapidly, all tho rivers having good mouths. To-day moat of the roads ’ were dry, though the watar still ‘ lies in ■ low grounds. The damage is much greater than in any previous flood, especially in losses of stock. In former yew* floods have been expected, and the water has risen gradually, giving settlers tim e to get most of their stock on higher ground. This time there was not the slightest' anticipation of flood at midnight, buj half an hour afterwards the whole of the Clive and Papakura district was from five to twelve feet under water,, with a entreat, running like a mill race. This was dne to the breaking of the embankments on both Ngaruroro and Tukituki rivers, whose waters joined and centred in Clive. Prao» ticsUy all the stock at Olive And Fapakura perished. At Taradaie and Meanee th* water was sot so deep, and though a good many sheep were drowned,.; cattle and , horses were saved. Over the wholes dia-> trict, however, the crops are utterly raised. About Clive even grass is unavailable, being covered by a heavy deposit of silt. The Mayor of Napier worked indefatigablyfrom three o’clock yesterday morn* ing in organising and superintending relief, and to-day loads of blankets and clothing were sent out,. Ike railway antborities giving a very assistance The Mayor has called a meeting to orgoniise a Committee to give more substantial, relief, and already £4OO hav been collected. The Premier cent, a ’ kindly/ message of sympathy to > the Mayor, offering the assistance of the Permanent Artillery and Torpedo Corps. Mr Swan replied saying there were plenty of men available here, but he would be glad If tjba Government would authorise the engagement of some of them to get rid of dead stock. • A SPECIAL ACCOUNT. NARRATIVE "oFT SUFFERER. . (vaOM OUK OWN COEEEBPONDENT.I The police parties returned laat'eveaing from Clive and Meanee. They, brought word that the desolation was indescribable: Ou the way the rescuing party saw a dreadful loss of live stock, sheep clinging to fences, horees swimming hopelessly about, lacerated by wire fences;, and cattle drowning.' Very little rime had- they fo| observation, however, for tho boats were' continually fouling the'fences, but about noon they arrived at Clive. There theyfound the inhabitants looking anxiously for aid. Smith’s Farndon Hotel was crowded with one. hundred and twenty persona.. The road near this hostelry was moderately clear, and it was possible to get across the' Ngaruroro bridge. From this the way to the township was through water. The houses were submerged and the people were in many oases clinging to the roofs. A NABEATIVE. One party of eight came to the Naples Hotel, and from one of them I gathered tho following account:—-“I am housed keeper to Mr Brown, miller. On Monday S thought the weather looked bad. On Monday night when I went to bed it looked worse, and waking up in the middle of the night I was not astonished to hear the rush of water. By tide time the township was alarmed and the water rose bo rapidly , that' I called Mr ; Brown. He, finding ' the , water still rising, knocked a hole in the roof, and we all crept out and clung i!o> ' dear life till rescued. I was barefooted: and had only an ulster over my nights , dress. We were taken to .high ground and thence got to the All round I saw people in the same plight at ourselves, but no fatal accidents occurred, so far as I know. Many people, however,, had no clothing, or barely enough to cover them. The rise of the water was sadden, and the panic in the night was very great: Everything is lost; it was impossible to save anything." OHIO IN OV TES FLOOD. ' ' The suddenness of the flood was only less remarkable than its extent. Although the persistent rains of the past few weekl , bad kept the watercourses swollen, no disastrous consequences were dreaded s but about midnight on Monday the Tukituki and Ngaruroro began to burst their banks near Clive, and about half-an-hour afterwards a tra* mendous volume of water, bearing pieoet of wood, animals, and all manner of thingO which it caught up in Transit, burst in upon the township and aroused the inhabitant! from their sleep. Thence the .w«rk^fieß9latioa-wea6^id}y:oo,.»aA|ii^

inhabitant* n« the waters rising around them and no relief coming. The Tutaskuri, too, bant its bounds, and the surrounding country was further. submerged. How the . poor people, aw &ke and. terror-stricken, passed the hours that elapsed from their wiakenihg to their rescue is a matter for individual realising. THE DAMAGE. Tho,extent of the damage cannot yet be computed, but .it is undoubtedly awful. The householders and small holders have suffered f tsrribly. Their goods and chattels,., their very clothing hare been Josfe. their live stock swept away, and what were once happy homes ace now desolate 'buildings with waste gardens. The number of people thus rendered homaleac and deetltute, and whose condition calls for immediate, aid, cannot bo .less than two. hundred, and. probably exceeds that Igma., The need of these people makes aante bat powerful appeal to public eyrapatby, and such help as they need will no heungrudgingly. This way bo eafsly lsft to...the- people, but the desolation is deeper and vaster than this. The rasoneni. who went' about the flooded obcatry in boats,, and in doing so passed •brought Jleanee.and Papakura, saw evidsnns of widespread desolation. Hundreds of borms and cattle floated by the boats, and were borne. upon the turbid bosom of the waters. Sheep in every direction were swept away, and the extent of the destruction of stock is appalling to contemplate. The crops are utterly ruined, many potato; patches among the number, 'Dairy farmers And their occupation ‘gone.' At Oheaserfaope, near Hasting*/and on the properties of Messrs Kelly. Midgelsy and M’Greevy, no fewer than3o,oooeheep have been lost. .■ BELIES'. The flnt movements in the direction of xeUeving the sufferers have been worthy of tho reputation of one citizen* and Of the Mayior, whb so devotedly attended to the roliot of suffering ainco .the first alarm. A * nbsoriptlon list has been opened and the BDoleue of a fund has been formed already. Captain Bower received promise of m number of handsome aubacrip- . tion* within ’ an hour this morning:—Mr BL . KTiffen dIOO, Mr J. Smith lOOga, Working Men’s Club ,£3O, Messrs Neal and Oloeo JtS5, and subscriptions are' still .flowing : jn, freely. In - response to the ■dv*jrjuioui*nt of the Mayor,. boxes, bags aaffpaekagMof clothing have poured in nine* eight o'clock this morning. At the MM Ipmo tea families have been fully •nppHedwitb clothing, so that the. call of Lis Worship has clearly met with an immediate, generous and practical response. I have seen Mr C. D. Kennedy, engineer to the County Council, and he tells me that tho roads are'much damaged, and that outlay will be required. The Premier's sympathetic messages and offers of aid are greatly appreciated here. There }* no doubt that the, dairy, gardening end small farm industries in this district have sustained a heavy blow, •ad that ah appeal will have to be made to the entire Colony on behalf of the sufferers. ’ - WELLINGTON, Dio.6. The Premierhas wired a message of ■rapethj 'ho the Mayor of Clive and the etherplaose flooded in Hawke's' Bay, and be* 'offered to send up .a detachment of torpedo msn to assist settlers in restoring order in tfaair homes, if necessary. Mr M'Ksrrow, Chief Bail way Comaimgoner, left ...overland for Hawke's Bay this afternoon on business connected with the damage done to the railway line in that district by the flood. *A public meeting of citizens of Wellington hah been convened by the Mayor for. ip-mbrrow afternoon,,, to determine what steps shall be taken to assist the •oSnsrs by the Hawke's Bay floods. SUBSCRIPTIONS FOE THE ■ • SUPFBttEES. Subscriptions in aid of the sufferers by th« Hawks's Bay floods forwarded to the offoe of ibis'journal will be acknowledged mid aeat to the relief 'organisation at H«pi*r. . ..