FINAL FURY

Northern Advocate, 25 July 1935, Page 8

FINAL FURY

RAINSTORM’S DYING STAGE LIGHTNING AND HAIL A PHENOMENAL RAINFALL; RAILWAY COMMUNICATION RESTORED. V : With still a week to go, July has - broken its rainfall record in Whanga- '' rei. To date the gauge reading totals ’ 13.28 inches, against the previous ■ ’ highest July figures of 10.56, established in 1916. l - Of the 13.28 ins., 9.79 fell between Sunday morning and Wednesday 1 evening. The storm wore itself out last night with a final burst, in which the downpour for a short time was • heavier than at any stage during the previous three days’ rain. ' Yesterday was fine until about 4 p.m., when ominously black clouds came over from the west. Several sharp claps of thunder gave warping of the culminating onslaught. Then the rain started, and for half an hour | it literally teemed. j I; Despite the comparatively high » temperature some hail fell in Whanga- j rei, and in the country districts sur- 1 |r rounding the, town to the north, the • frozen pellets reached a length of over an inch. The storm was accompanied f by a brilliant electrical display, a vivid burst of bluish green fire illuminating the whole sky. It was too ' heavy to last, and before, six o’clock ■ the rain had ceased entirely. The rainfall during that period was .81 of an inch. Travelling Improves. Gradually the northern floods are receding. It will be tomorrow at i least, however, before the roads get 1 back to normal, and it is doubtful whether the most favoured route to Auckland, via the Dome Valley, will be open for a week. Indirect communication by rail was established with Auckland last night arid today for the first time this week, the expresses got through. Yesterday afternoon the Railway >■ Department announced that it was prepared -to take passengers by the afternoon trains which left Auckland and. Whangarei respectively. On the up journey a transference was necessary at the point of the hold-up south of Wellsford. Two Transhipments. On the trip from Whangarei tc Auckland, however, due to a subsidence south of Portland, three trains were needed. One left Whangarei for r Portland with school children and * people for that township. Passengers, parcels and mails for Auckland were taken by road to Oakleigh, where they were entrained. A further transfer Was necessary south of Wellsford also.

■A work train was on the job repairing the subsidence near Portland until midnight, by which time the line war put in order to carry the train from the South without need for a changeover. That train reached Whangarei at 2.8 a.m. In lieu of the afternoon express yesterday, the down express was sent hack to Opua, and after mails, etc., had been transferred from Oakleigh to Whangarei, the train made u fast run to Opua,- arriving there at 8.43 p.m, On The Roads. The Northern Patrol- of the A.A. advises that traffic should be able to get through to Auckland by using the recommended route. This is to deviate at Wellsford and travel through Port Albert to Tauhoa. Cars are not advised to take the short cut from Wellsford to Tauhoa, as this road has fallen away rather badly in one place- From Tauhoa down the West Coast to Helensville the. surface is somewhat rough and cut up, but as soon as the flood water recedes from the Kaipara Flats road traffic will then be advised to travel via Port Albert, Tauhoa, Kaipara Flats and thence by the usual route via Warkworth to Auckland. It is hoped that the floods! will subside at an early date, thus permitting use of this shorter route. Many slips are down in the Mauhga-tur-oto Gorge and traffic is advised to travel slowly. 10 Feet Of Water. At Taylor’s Flat ten feet of water block the direct route between Dargaand Whangarei, making use of thiPf Houtu alternative route necessary. Fraser’s Flat on the Mangakahia road is under water, but if no further rain falls this should be passable this afternoon. The Whangarei-Whakapara-Kawa-kay/a route is passable as far as Kawakawa, but on the Moerewa side of Kawakawa township the road is covered to a depth of two feet. It is expected that the “all clear” sign will be hoisted on this route tomorrow. Qwing to further slips, the Russell Road is not recommended at present. A small subsidence on the Caves’ deviation road, Paparoa, is not affecting traffic. MINERS CEASE WORK WATER FLOODS WORKINGS. | POSITION AT HIKURANGI. | i ' • i 70 MEN AFFECTED. The Phoenix mine, the chief source ■of coal output in Hikurangi today, is 'badly flooded as a result of the heavy yain which has fallen in the past three days. This mine is an old colliery which was reopened after the closing of the Hikurangi and Waro mines, , Between 70 and 80 men are employed, but on Monday all with the ex-

ception of the engineers, pump hands -and one or two shaft men, had to

cease work owing to the workings being flooded. Should the weather hold fine, it is expected that normal working order will be restored in* about a fortnight. The mine is a drive, and the water continues to percolate through the roof for some days. Further rain will mean a longer period 'of inactivity. With the exception of one or two privately ownecl mines, no coal is being worked in. Hikurangi.

LATEST REPORT.

MANGAKAHIA OPEN,

The A.A. Northern Patrol reported this afternoon that the water was falling slowly at Kawakawa, but was still two feet deep. Traffic is not advised to negotiate the road until tomorrow morning at the earliest.

The Mangakahia road was opened for traffic this afternoon.

KAITAIA FLOOD

SERVICE CAR HELD UP PASSENGERS BOATED ACROSS [Special vo '‘Northern Advocate"l KAITAIA, This Day. While the weather was fine in Whangarei yesterday, it was raining- in the Far North, thus reversing the conditions which obtained earlier in the week. The heavy rain was responsible for a repetition of flood conditions round Kaitaia, and last evening, at Kawakawa comer, near Kaitaia, there were eight feet of water. Taaffe’s service car, which had previously been held up by a slip in the Mangamuka Gorge, arrived about midnight at the flooded area. Passengers and mails were transferred by boat to the Kaitaia side of the hold-up. The road was still under water this morning, but traffic was able to get through. The Fairburn road was not flooded. The storm was not general over the county and! Herekino and Ahipara escaped the deluge. ‘Motor operators who were attending the No. 1 Transport Licensing Authority’s meeting at Kaitaia yesterday, were unable, in some cases, to return home until early this morning. Today the weather broke fine, but, although the sun was shining, heavy black clouds forboded further rain. —W— ■■■—