The Nelson Evening Mail. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 1877. THE FLOODS.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XII, Issue 34, 8 February 1877, Page 2

The Nelson Evening Mail. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 1877. THE FLOODS.

The sth' and 6th of February of the present year will long be remembered by many of the residents in the country districts as the most disastrous time they have experienced since they made their homes in Nelson. Serious as were the injuries to property infl'cted by the great flood of February 1868, they fade into comparative insignificance when compared' wiih those which were caused by the rising of the waters last T'.esda/. Motueka appears to have been the heaviest sufferer, but as yet we know little of the" actual damages done, as there J s been no communication with the Pangatotara and Ngatimoti districts, where, it . is feared, the encroachment of the river must have been alarming, and the consequent destn ct ; on of landed property and live stock very great. Heartrending accounts are coming in froui various parts, as will be seen by the letters from our correspondents printed below. Oue small farmer, we are told, has lost the whole of his little flock of between 2i)o and 300 sheep, which probably means complete ruin to him, and another, after being compelled to remove his house to prevent its being swept away, witnessed the complete destruction of his orchard and garden, on which he appears to have spent a large amount of money, time, and labor. None but those who have experienced such losses can conceive how utterly disheartening they must be to the sufferers. The Lady Barkly, which arrived yesterday eyening, reports heavy floods in Golden Bay, but to the knowledge of those on board no serious damage bad been occasioned. We very much fear that when accounts come in from all the out districts they will tell a tale of losses so serious as to mount up in the aggregate to many thousands of pounds. The following are the letters alluded to above: — Upper Motueka Valley. The flood in this district yesterday was the highest known. All the low ground was under water, and tbe loss of sheep must have been very great, one iuq.n alone having lost nearly the whole of bis little floak gf between 200 and 300. On Monday Mr Francis Role, had his horse drowned in JJorris* Gully as he was coming down in his dray, and he bad great difficulty in saving himself. The whole of his load was washed away and lost, with the exception of a plough. The road now in Norris' Gully and up Spooner's Range is quite impracticable for cart traffic, and is likely to be so for some time, as there are l holes six or eight feet deep in the middle of \ it. The moil carrier had great difficulty in getting here on horseback to-day. Perhaps after a few more accidents haye £aken place* and one or two people have been drowned in the Gully, the road will be made along the Range, where it would be quite free from water, Wakefield. Tne recent rains haFe caused the Wai-iti river to rise higher than it has done f_r years past, and serious damage has been done to property on both banks. The zigzag course which this river takes has been the cause of the loss of much land on both sides J

as the river washes hard into the hank on one side, and then sweeps into the opposite bank In this manner several acres have been taken away, especially in the upper part of the district. . For three days the stream was dotted with trees, fencing, &c, floating rapidly down. At Upper Wakefield the overflow flooded several houses. A house belonging to Mr Gibbs of Lower Wakefield had to be removed to prevent its being taken away by the flood, 'and shortly afterwards the site on which it stood had disappeared, together with about one half of his valuable orchard of well-selected fruit trees, including some of the choicest apple trees in full beariug. More land has been washed away this time than by any other previons flood, but fortunately all the bridges have stood well. MOT-'EKA. Our correspondent telegraphed to us at 2*30 this afternoon:— "lt has been raining heavily again, and farmers' prospects look very bad. We have not yet been able to receive communication from up the country. Numbers of houses have gone down the river, including Haycock's, Cassidy's, Spicer's, ' Sutherland's, Burrow's and the Pangatotara Chapel. Several houses have been shifted and others canted over. A man was seen yesterday going down the river on a log. Pangatotara and the Brooklyn Valley are a mass of ruins. The roads are washed away in most parts of the district. The dingies belonging to the Planet and the Standard did good service in rescuing families from being drowned. The Saltwater bridge near the port has been washed away, but I cannot yet say what amount of damage is done." Since the above was in type we learn from a gentleman who arrived from Motueka this afternoon that the district presents a pitiable sight, Pi" road being torn up by the water in mauy pu.es, where it is now a mass of loose stones. There were several feet of water in High-street, which ' had to be navigated inf boats and canoes. Mr F. Greenwood's and Mrs Fearon's farms were completely under water,- as was an island belonging to Mr Parker, from which a large number of sbeep were washed away. At Brooklyn (Riwaka) and Ngatimoti the destruction of property is said to bave been very great. At the latter place Mr White appears to be one of the principal sufferers, nearly the whole of his fine farm having been submerged. Au inquest was held on the body which was washed down by the river on Tuesday, when it was iientified as that of a man named Redman, who had for some time psst been working at odd times in the Motueka and Moutere districts. No evidence was adduced as to the cause of death.