FLOOD IN AUCKLAND

Manawatu Standard, Volume LV, Issue 68, 16 February 1935, Page 8

FLOOD IN AUCKLAND

A TORRENTIAL RAINFALL. FIRE ENGINE PUMPS WATER AWAY. Per Press Association. AUCKLAND, Feb. 15. Torrential rain of exceptional severity fell in Auckland and suburbs tins afternoon, causing considerable damage in shops and warehouses in the lower parts of the city and in low-lying areas in the suburbs. Heavy rain in the early horn's of the morning was followed by warm, humid conditions, but shortly after 1 o’clock the weather again became thick, and, following a minor cloudburst, the storm broke in full force and continued unabated for two hours. The rain was accompanied by a mild electrical storm. By 4 o’clock the wind, which had been light from the north-east, swung round to the south-west, _ with a quick improvement in conditions, allowing the thousands of shoppers who had been marooned under shop verandas for most of the afternoon, to make for their homes. The total fall from midnight to 4 p.m. was 4.40 in., of which probably three and a half inches fell during the afternoon. At the height of the storm rain was falling at the rate of two inches an hour, and with the city drainage system failing to cope with the water the streets were awash and flood-waters entered many basements in the business area. Dozens of young men had the unusual experience of swimming almost in the heart of the city. "Wearing only football shorts they plunged around up to their waists in water in Fort Street Lane in an effort to locate and clear some of the storm water gratings, and in intervals of their labours they 7 swam about and even took shallow dives before, a large crowd of amused spectators. Fort Street Lane and the warehouses abutting on it always suffer when a heavy rainfall coincides with a fairly high tide, but to-day’s experience is considered to have been the worst case of flooding for many years. By 4.30 p.m. water was over three feet deep at the lowest part of the lane. In many warehouses cellars were flooded to a depth of two feet and over. In one warehouse a solid concrete floor was cracked open bv subterranean water pressure, and the whole cellar was covered to a depth of two feet. The flood showed no signs of receding, and finally a machine from the Central Fire Brigade was dispatched to the scene. Two leads were connected with a powerful pump and, at the rate of 350 gallons a minute, the lane was pumped dry. In Fort Street a large area of wooden paving blocks was forced up by the pressure of water from an overloaded main.