CLOUDBURST AT MATATA

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXI, 17 February 1938, Page 8

CLOUDBURST AT MATATA

TOWNSHIP SUFFERS SEVERELY DAM BURSTS AND STREETS FLOODED (By Telegraph —Press Association! AUCKLAND, 16th February. Boulders, trees and debris were swept down the hillside, small streams were swollen beyond all proportion, streets were inundated, road and rail traffic was seriously dislocated, and at least two houses were threatened by flood waters following a cloudburst at* Matata today.

Lying at the foot of a strip of hilly country on the Bay of Plenty toast, the township suffered severely, although actual structural damage * resulting from several hours of torrential rain is reported to be slight. In the middle of the afternoon the township was practically surrounded by deep lagoons and swift-flow-ing torrents of water. Creeks rose with amazing rapidity and the main street was very soon a turbulent river charged with boulders arid debris. The township was robbed of its water supply when the dam, which was situated in a gully in the hills, burst under the weight of an enormous volume of flood water.

Numerous slips on the main Hanealua Road bfocked the motor traffic between Te Duke and Matata and a fairly serious slip and subsidence on the railway line held up the railway service this afternoon following the torrential rain. Because of lack of communication, only meagre details of the extent of the damage are available, but it is anticipated that full repairs will not be effected for several days.