THE WEATHER.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XCV, Issue 10918, 28 March 1896, Page 5

THE WEATHER.

FLOODS ON THE WEST COAST. [Pee Peess Association.! WELLINGTON, Maech 27. The weather has now broken, and the rain has ceased. The fall during the week was 6 - 26 in. WESTPOET, Maech 27. There was a phenomenal rainfall on Monday night, seven inches being recorded in twenty-four hours. This brought down the heaviest flood seen in the .Buller river for nineteen years, and caused considerable damage throughout the district. Westport was completely isolated, communication Jjeing cut off by road, rail, sea and wire, and the low-lying parts o' the town were flooded There wan a terrific body ot wruer m the Puller; river, hat the bank protective works stood the test well. The ■ :ii.rre!it hewever, ;/euie its way thfougii an opening k*fr- ai< the foot of the east brcakwa.r-er. and cut a channel through the beach to the sea behind the . brt&kwater. There, was grave oa-Mger lor some time from this source, but the half-tide wall in front of the opening kept the main current in the river channel. Stone was put in, and as the flood fell the danger passed away. The tug Mana was moored in an unsafe pace, and had to run to sea at a short notice, meagrely provisioned. The other vessels -'a the’ Imrbour wore securely moored and held on. - The railway ..line between Westport aadMt/kihinvi was greatly damaged by submergbney. slips and washouts in many places. Hundreds cf tons of earth came down from the hillsides on to the railway, and it will be a week before repairs can be effected sufficiently to permit the complete resumption of traffic. Tracks and roads are injured all over the district. • At Charleston, the Butterworth dam gave way and carried all before it. The, punt at the Nine-mile Perry, Buller Eoad, was carried away and stranded opposite Westport. Trains • ran through to Mokihinui yesterday afternoon, but the Westport 'Coal Company will not be able to get coal over, its branch till Monday forenoon. The steamers Kennedy, Charles Edward and Mawbera got in yesterday morning,’ the flood having sufficiently abated. ' Outward slripping movements were resumed last, evening. Newman and Canning’s stable, at Oidka, Buller Eoad, was washed away, and one horse was drowned. The Buller Eoad is damaged by slips, and many settlers, lost stock. -Telegraphic communication was only restored at 4.30 yesterday. The river is now in its normal condition, and the' weather is fine.

The damage to the Buller Road by the recent floods is not so serious as was thought. However, there are many slips, and the road is cut away on'the river side in many places. Coal is now being brought in from Mokihinui, but the Westport Coal Company will not resume work till Monday. EEEFTON, March 27.

The floods were more serious than was at first supposed. Fully three miles of the telegraph line between the Junction and Lyell has gone, and the road is a series of slips. At one place fully five chains have gone, and foot travellers can only pass with difficulty. It will be several weeks before horses and vehicles will be able to' get through. The road is also much damaged for eight miles north of Lyell. Many bridges and culverts are gone, and a lot of stock has been lost, including a few horses and several hundred sheep. The flood, both in the Buller and the Inangahua, was the highest ever known, coming within six feet of the bridge over the former, which is fully forty feet above the normal level. Much damage will probably have been done on the road to Westport. Our Rangkira correspondent writes:— The rain ceased in the northern district early yesterday morning, and the day was warm but still cloudy. The rivers and creeks are falling rapidly, and surface water has mostly disappeared. The potato crops on the lowlands will probably suffer some damage by flooding, and the potato digging will prove heavy work unless we have north-west weather to remove the surplus moisture from the soil.