BADLY FLOODED

Northern Advocate, 27 June 1935, Page 9

BADLY FLOODED

TOWN ISOLATED. WINTER FSIED RUINED. MORE RAIN TODAY. [Special to “Northern Advocate.”! WHAKATANE, This Day. The continuance of rain caused the stop-banking at Rangitaiki to break near McCracken’s property at Edgecumbe. Water came up to the floor of the Rangitaiki factory, but did not cause much delay to factory operations.

A large body of workers and settlers, under the instructions of Mr Innis and with the help of a dredge, scooped an outlet through thd sandbar which formed at the mouth of the Rangataiki River. This operation improved the level of the river considerably, but the lower levels of the East Rangataiki River are badly flooded. The town of Whakatane was completely isolated by road for 12 hours on Tuesday, ‘the lorry being unable to connect with the train at Whakatane West or Awakeri, and the mail did not get away until 1 p.m., when a boat was requisitioned to convey it over flooded lands to Awakeri station. • On Tuesday afternoon a car from Rotorua made the connection with Whakatane by a devious route. Early warnings from Kopuriki enabled settlers to remove stock, and no losses are reported, but winter feed will be ruined over a large area. Heavy loss is also certain from the destruction of fences, roads and bridges. A launch owned by Mr H. Dent broke from its moorings and was swept out to sea. A large motor truck belonging to Shannon Brothers, loaded with sheep, while travelling from Gisborne to Whakatane, skidded and capsized over a 20-foot bank on the Wainui yesterday. The driver and his companions were thrown clear as the vehicle overturned, and the sheep also escaped injury. Breakdown lorries and the A.A. patrol are having a busy time rescuing stranded cars on flooded roads. The weather took up on Tuesday night, but heavy rain set in again yesterday. HEAVY RAINFALL.' ROTORUA LAKES RISE. iPer Press Association. — uovyrlght. ] ROTORUA, This Day. Two points short of four inches of rain have fallen in the Rotorua district the past three days, and this, following upon previous heavy falls earlier in the month, has raised the level of all lakes higher than they had been for some years. Despite the fact that Government experts have declared that there is no connection between the high lake level and the extent of thermal activity, it has been noticeable that geysers have been much more active during the past three weeks. Pohutu has been playing almost continuously for a fortnight, giving on the average eight shots on every day of this week. Sodden conditions have caused numerous slips on various district roads, but so far these have not been responsible for any serious hold-up in traffic. The Hamurana Road was blocked yesterday, while the road between Murupara and Te Whaiti for a period was blocked in two places. The RotoruaTauranga road is also affected, while a fall of earth and rock occurred on a road in the vicinity of the Rotoiti settlement. , SLIP ON MAIN TRUNK. NEAR TARINGAMOTU. (Special to "I'Sormern Advocate.”] TE KUITI, This Day. Heavy rain brought down a slip on the Main Trunk railway at Taringamotu shortly after the WellingtonAuckland express had passed yesterday at seven o’clock. The train from Taumarunui to Frankton was cancelled, and the passengers were brought by bus from Okahukura, the junction of the Main Trunk-Stratford line, whence the morning train from Te Kuiti returned with passengers arriving at Te Kuiti at 11 a.m.

It is difficult to say when the line will be clear for through traffic, as earth is still on the move.,