Worst Flood in Living Memory

Manawatu Times, Volume 61, Issue 44, 22 February 1936, Page 5

Worst Flood in Living Memory

Wall of Wafer Overwhelms Farmlands Crops Ruined ; Heavy Sfock Losses Per Press Association; Tiie heart of the area which suffered most severely from the floods on the Ashley river was from Coldstream down to Waikuku beach. Fortunately, the wall of water, did not take a direct course through Waikuku. Had it done so many homes would have been destroyed. The flood swept towards Woodend, smashing through the Main North road north of Woodcnd Church. Never in living memory lias there been such a disastrous flood in Waikuku. Thousands of sheaves of wheat have been tossed against fences and across roads. Sheep, pigs, cattle and fowls have been overwhelmed in the swirling torrent. Houses have been invaded, some to a depth of five feet, •and the inhabitants forced to seek shelter elsewhere. Lives have been endangered and there have been several narrow escapes from serious injury and even death. Standing crops have been ruined. The flood waters began to subside early this morning but the roads were still covered with water this evening and cars could not get through. It is. impossible to assess the total damage, but on one farm the loss was estimated at £IOOO. At the Waikuku Wool works the damage was £2OOO. At Rangiora the water entered some houses to a depth of two feet. Gardens were scoured out and potato crops washed out or ruined. Pigs were trapped in styes and diowned. Fences were smashed and the debris piled against hedges in places to a heignt of three feet. A laige uiea, including insides of houses, is covered with deposit of slimy mud.

Water One Foot From Top of Bridges. Per Press Association. ASHBURTON, Feb. 21. Serious damage to the main railway line and the main south road followed the overflow of the Ashburton river. The river rose steadily throughout yesterday and reached the peak at 7.30 to-day, when the water was only a foot or two below the top of the bridges, of which thero are three close together, one a new rail bridge, Laving been in use only two months. The approach to the south end suffered as the tremendous volume of water rushed between .-.t and the raised approach or. the traffic bridge. About 8.30 this motning the Tailway approach oegan to crumble, a chain of line being suspended over the raging torrent, Tho flood then fell against the main south road which was raised twelve to fifteen feet at that point. Only one culvert being provided to deal with emergencies of this kind, the edges of the road began to fall away. The appearances are that nothing will prevent a breach. The flood covers the golf links to a depth of several feet and there is a continuous sheet of water two feet deep from the bridge to Tinw'ald. Three miles south houses in the vicinity are surrounded by water. Trains will run to each side of the break, the passengers being transferred. The rainfall in the borough for twenty-four hours was inches, making 6§ inches for two days. Relief Workers’ Plight. NIGHT ON BANK UNABLE TO MOVE. CHRISTCHURCH, Feb. 21. Forty relief workers in the lower Ashley camp, marooned by the big flood last night, were driven from their huts by the flood that eventually covared the roofs. They took refuge on a stopbank. A farmer with a dray managed to reseug a few before darkness but the rest spent the night standing on top of a bank with water round their ankles. This morning it was impossible to get within miles of them.] An aeroplane is now out trying to J the men and a fleet of boats is being conveyed to Waikuku to go to the rescue. LATER. Advice has been received that the marooned men have all been rescued. None of the workers was injured,' and there was no damage to their property. However, the losses of tools' and equipment left on the job were | heavy. One box of tools was noticed I this morning in tho branches of a tree completely surrounded by water. In an interview, Mr Mclntyro said he was very relieved that the men had been successfully evacuated without in- 1 jury. He paid a tribute to those in the camp, saying that on his arrival this morning he found them in good spirits and ready to regard tho whole adventure as in the nature of a joke. At daylight he organised a rescue party which was forced to wade over a considerable stretch of tho approach to the Rangiora traffic bridge, whence they proceeded in a Public Works truck, taking with them a heavy rope. They proceeded along the Lower Ashley road but found it impassable. At a farm they found twelve of the workers who had made their escape from tho camp early yesterday afternoon. and who had spent the night in a hayloft. Prom there to the camp, a distance- of a mile, the party was forced to wade through water which at times was chest high.

The journey to the camp occupied some two hours. The party remained at the camp until 10 o’clock, when the workers were evacuated in relays with the aid of the rope and transported to Rangiora by the track. There is only one of the workers missing. He is A. Vallance, of Brighton, and it is known that he reached safety with the party which left the camp yesterday afternoon, .When the other

members of the party decided to spend the night in a hayloft Vallance set out for Ashley Bank and he is not yet reported. There were in all 45 men brought back by truck and car. Asked what had been the position in the camp during the night, Mr Mclntyre said the water rose until it was just lapping the underside of the huts. Five or six of the men who attempted to leave camp last evening were forced to spend the night on a bank. They had advanced a certain distance when a break prevented them from continuing along the bank. In the meantime their retreat had been cut off by another break. Grain Crops a Total Loss. RIVER BURSTS ITS BANKS. Per Press Association. CHRISTCHURCH, Feb. 21. The rains of the past three days culminated in disaster for Canterbury last night and early this morning. The worst of the floods is past, but thousands of acres of farm-lands have been and still are under water,' and grain crops in both North and Mid-Canter-bury will be almost a total loss. ' The peak of the floods came first in North Canterbury late yesterday afternoon. Every river, except the Waimakariri., burst its banks. How many bridges have beon destroyed is not ' known, but the road traffic cannot proceed further north than Rangiora, beyond which almost every centre is isolated from every other. The Ashley river burst its banks at j three places. Around Fernsido thousands of acres were inundated and hundreds of head of stock were drowned. With water billowing over its top rail, the Lower Ashley bridge on the main highway below Rangiora disappeared in the flood. On the south side nine feet of water covorod the road, and a section of the concrete paving was washed away. At 6 a.iu. the north branch of the Waimakariri was carrying more water than at any time since 1923. Only the diversion of tho Eyre river into the Waimakariri saved the Kaiapoi district from a repetition of the tragedy of thirteen years ago. In Mid-Canterbury the worst came early this morning, when the furious I torrent of the Ashburton river so damj aged both the railway and traffic brid- | ges that they became unsafe for traffic. I The southern approaches to both were whirled away and a chain of railway line is hanging in the air. Services Dislocated. With bridges washed away and others weakened by scouring to such an extent that they are unsafe for j traffic there is serious dislocation to--day of rail and road transport services i in Canterbury. I The only railway line clear this morning was the Midland line, but no passenger services were run. Gangs working throughout the night repaired j a big wash-out at Staircase Gully, and by 6 o'clock it was possible to get goods trains through to Arthur’s Pass. No trains were run this morning north of Rangiora, but railway officials state that they hope to be able to have the damage repaired in time for afternoon trains to run further north. The flood waters were also very high in tho Selwyn river this morning, and the south express had to travel very slowly over the bridge, causing a delay in the time of arrival at Ashburton. Attempts to run the usual motor ser-. viees from Christchurch to Blenheim this morning were not successful owing to bridges being washed away. House Struck By Lightning. CONSIDERABLE DAMAGE TO INTERIOR. Per Press Association. WANGANUI, Last Night. During the electrical storm yesterday afternoon a house in College Street was struck by lightning and a largo hole made in the roof where fifteen tiles . were shattered. The interior of one room was considerably damaged and the top of a chimney

was also shattered. Fortunately, no one was home at the time. When the occupants returned they found the room immediately below the shattered roof littered with broken glass and smashed picture frames, while a heavy shotgun was thrown 12 feet away from its original position. A clock was removed from an upper shelf, the whole effect being similar to a sharp earthquake-