IN OTAGO

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXII, 17 January 1939, Page 6

IN OTAGO

WIND OF GALE FORCE GARDENS COMPLETELY RUINED MAIN ROAD AND RAILWAY FLOODED DUNEDIN, 16th January. A storm presaged by unprecedentedly low barometric pressure on Sunday broke with full force this morning, a wind of gale force raging throughout the day not only in the coastal districts of Otago, but . Iso in inlam areas. In the city the storm caused surprisingly little structural damage considering the exceptional forces of many of the gusts, but trees, gardens, fences and electric power and telephone wires in exposed oarts of Dunedin were damaged In some parts of the city and suburbs many residents had the misfortune of seeing their gardens completely ruined oy the gale, which took heavy toll of all plants, shrubs, and small trees in unprotected situations. The Post and Telegraph Department’s wiremen were busy during the day replacing telephone lines that had been broken by falling branches, but the principal damage to telegraph lines :r the vicinity of the city was caused in Highcliff. where a large macrocarpa tree was blown out by the roots

and fell across the road, bringing with it not only the telegraph lines, but also land lines to two radio transmitting stations on Otago Peninsula. After a brief interruption Station 4YA continued its service by broadcasting from the auxiliary station 4YO and rebroadsasting on the higher power of the main station. SEA DAMAGES ROAD Otago harbour, seething under the lashing of the gale, appeared literally to smoke, the surface of the water being frequently obscured by clouds of driving spray which had been whipped from the wave tops by squalls. Motorists using the low road to Portobello had an unpleasant time, for those sections of the road which faced the full force ot the gale were covered with a curtain of spray, and at high tide the force of breaking seas was sufficient to lift quantities of stones and debris from the harbour bed and scatter them across the road surface. At several places the seawall protecting the outer margins of the road was broken by seas, and at one point, between Portobello and Broad Bay, a considerable portion of the road surface was washed away, leaving just sufficient room for one car to pass at a time. It was feared tonight that if the gale was still blowing at high water damage to the road at this point would be such as to make it impassible to-morrow. The wind caused a sandstorm which quickly covered Port Chalmers bowling green with a thick layer of sand, and protective fences erected on the reclamation area to bind the sand were covered to their tops Heavy gusts of wind carried clouds of fine sand well up the main street to nearby houses. Though no damage was done to shipping, it was found necessary to put extra mooring lines on vessels at the wharves, and the loading of wool on the Port Auckland was considerably hampered by the conditions. Small craft moored in the harbour received ; a heavy buffeting by wind and wave. MAIN ROAD BLOCKED The main south road was blocked by floods at Waiwera. Waipahi, Arthurton and Pukerau, and as heavy rain was still falling late to-night there was little possibility that the road would be clear for traffic to-morrow Central Otago districts, where orchardists have their holdings, fortunately escaped the full force of the storm, and inquiries in Cromwell, Alexandra and Roxburgh revealed that though a fairly strong wind had been experienced curing the day. it had not been of sufficient strength to do any damage to fruit trees. RAILWAY LINE FLOODED As the result of continuous heavy rain in the vicinity of Clinton and Waipahi the railway line was blocked by floods between those places, and the through express which left Dunedin at 4.40 p.m. for Invercargill was unable to proceed past Clinton. The train was held at that station for some hours while the line was inspected, but it was eventually decided that it would be impossible either to take the express over the flooded section of the track or to transfer the passeingers to another train out the south side of the blocked portion of the line The express was consequently brought back to Dunedin, arriving shortly after midnight. POWER CUT OF" The only power breaks in the city were through line collapses to private houses, but power was cut off at seaside districts on the north line, holiday residents being without light or cooking power this morning. At Waipori power station the rainfall f or the 24 hours till 9 o’clock this morning was 2.48 inches. The Mahinerangi dam was nearly 2 feet over the crest. Telegraph lines to the north were all clear this morning, but at Waiwera South the line pole is in the centre of the flood waters with the wires entangled, and only one indirect telegraph -oute to Invercargill is available. TRAIN SERVICES CRIPPLED EIGHT CHAINS OF RAILS WASHED OUT PASSENGERS SPEND NIGHT IN CARRIAGE DUNEDIN, This Day. The most serious effect of the southern deluge is the crippling of train services. eight chains of rails being completely washed out near Waipahi. This was the section which held up the afternoon Christchurch-Invercargill express train, which arrived back at Dunedin at one a.m., and for those unable to secure lodging the Department afforded accommodation in a heated carriage 23 passengers thus passing the night Among these were a number journeying south to catch the Maunganui, but as the liner has been specially delayed till 1 o’clock to-night, they will go south this afternoon by which time the line is expected to be traversable. No traveller from South Clinton can connect with the steamer express from Lyttelton to-night. Flooding also occurred on Tapanui, Clinton, and Catlins branches