Anxious Night for Family

Manawatu Times, Volume 63, Issue 106, 7 May 1938, Page 5

Anxious Night for Family

FLOOD INVADES HOME Per Press Association. AUCKLAND, Last Night. Standing in swirling flood waters which reached above their knees, a Pipiroa resident and his wife spent part of Wednesday night in a room holding down a wooden bed on which were their four small children, the youngest a baby six months old. They were Mr. and Mrs. G. R. McQuoid, two of many xxauraki Plains settlers whose homes have been invaded by the worst floods in the history of the district. The McQuoid family liad retired fairly early on Wednesday night, but were aroused at about 10 o’clock by a neighbour, Mr. R. Welsh, who advised them to watch the flood waters, which were already covering the ground outside. Almost immediately the water began pouring in under the doors and through other crevices, and in spite of all efforts to stop it the level started to rise at an alarming rate. Soon furniture was washing about in the turbulent siltladen water. The baby was rescued from its low cot a foot above the floor, and all the children were placed upon a wooden bed. Portable objects were put on tables. Three feet of water was inside the house by 11 o’clock. Escape was impossible and to attempt it would have been foolhardy. They could not reach the road for the bridge over the deep drain had been washed away. Darkness and the depth of water forbade any efforts to gain refuge in other directions. The bed on which the children were lying began to float about and the mattress threatened t to wash off. Standing in water well over their knees Mr. and Mrs. McQuoid remained until the early hours of Thursday morning holding the bed and mattress down. Later the water receded a little and they got on the bed themselves. There they remained until daylight. Rescue came with the arrival of Mr. Welsh in a dinghy. They were taken to Pipiroa llall, where they were later joined by other residents in a like predicament. All are still encamped on the stage, for their homes remain uninhabitable. With many others Mr. and Mrs. McQuoid will be heavy losers. They had recently shifted from Coromandel and had bought a considerable amount of new furniture for their new home. The floor coverings are now ingrained with silt, the furniture is damaged by water and the clothing is spoilt. Their experience might have been even worse, however, but fortunately the electric light was not affected.