A HEAVY DOWNPOUR OF RAIN.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 60, 19 March 1904, Page 2

A HEAVY DOWNPOUR OF RAIN.

CONSIDERABLE DAMAGE DONE. LOW-LYING LAND UNDER WATER. INJURY TO BRIDGES. RAILWAY TRAFFIC INTERRUPTED-.

Not for many years has there 100-ii such n. heavy flood as the one vlnVh occurred in Kelson last eveling, all the low-lying portion of :ho city being deluged.. A steady •ain. with a fierce northerly £ale; prevailed all day culmin'atihg i?l & heavy and continuous downpour ii^ I, ho "'evening, lasting for several hours. The river gradually rose to Mft Unusual height and flowed over in several places, especially near the mouth. A. representative, of the "Mail" made a hurried rush around for the purpose of . giving the general public, an idea of the actual damans, done. It. mtly be mentioned that following the practice of fine nights though an almost . unprecedented gale was blowing and rain ., falling, the street lamps were extinguished as usual, and th^s made foot traffic in some parts hazardous and unsafe, tbe night being pitch dark. ,vn>y »:nc lights were put out on '■"Vuch an occasion is a problem for the City Council to solve. There was absolutely nothing to be gained, and there was a risk of loss by it. Thankh, however, to the kindness of a. friend, our reporter was able to get about with the aid of a good lantern. Other newspaper men also had much difficulty in performing their duties owing to the darkness. Shortly after ten o'clock the water was rushing down the Maitai with impetuous speed. At the junction of the Brook and the Mai tai considerable damage was done. The rush of water from the Brook flowed into Mr Ltghtband's, and did much damage. Tho fencing \Vas torn down and thfc Water rushed across a .croquet lawn, whJch was | Completely spoilt,, and this morn--1 ing is covere'd with a large surface of mud and silt. A house, known us "Bur'nsido," on the opposite side .also suffered, part of the fencing , being washed away. Near >. its • Huddlestonc's the water "over lo «/od into Nile-street,, and played havoc with a portion of the road in Brook-street, and also a number of houses close by. As the river ' came nearer its mouth the water flawed over the banks, and the walks on either side of the river were covered with water about two feet deen. A portion of Mr Greenfield's galvanised iron fence was I washed down, and residents in the Walk had to wade through water to get to, thrsi'r homes. The water overflowed considerably at the Col-iVngwood-street bridge, and a num- | ber of houses round about there ' suffered by the inrush of water, ' especially one or two dwellings in j Grove-street. At the TrafalgarI street North bridge,, from Mr j Greenslade's right across to the ' footpath on the opposite side of • the bridge was one great mass •of water, Mr Walter Kerr's dwelling being simply surrounded, as an island, so to speak. Two houses i on the opposite side of Mr Batche- ■' lor's residence were also surro.undcd by the. flood. Round about Halifax-street the low-lying portions were covered with water. The Chinamen's garden gives one a lair idea ol" a ! swimming bath, and the same may , be said of the land right down to the Haven-road School. The streets ' were simply swamped in the lowI lying* portions of the city, espeeially in Waimea and lower Hardyi ; streets. { | The water rushed down.ttbout ! here like a email river, which was added to by the water spurting out of the sewer from the manhole at the junctiun of Waimea and Hardy streets, au old familiar spot for the outburst of water. j The water ran down in the direc- - | tioh of Neale & Haddow's, and at , ' a terrific rate, and found its way f . into the vacant sectioh of land adf ( joining Neale & Haddow's, and f • eventually finding it way into the - [ St. Vincent-street sewer. Hound l about the Railway Station and Vanguard-street little damage was [ done.