TORRENTIAL DOWNPOUR

New Zealand Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18299, 16 January 1923, Page 6

TORRENTIAL DOWNPOUR

. :■',.■■ -'.■■;■ ————**——._w -S^Uf" '.' '•:■'■""■"'""■■■",.■•';•■■ : ..-\' . :<: ::'^,^ lftt|iSl|l MUCH DAMAGE IN MAN A ATy' ! * ' 1 ROADS AND SHOPS FLOODED. ■ "■" ■"■' ——' ' •';.': : I ROOFS FAIL TO TURK WATER. ' : *'. '":.'"' 1 • [BY TELEGB.<J?H. —OWN CORBESKIXDEXr," :; PALMEKSTON NORTH. Monday f !£.': % ' il,' 5 Heavy rain fell last night and calming' '"_ $C J ated'at noon to-day in one of the heaviest - ; "' l, and most disastrous downpours ever ex- ' ; perienced in . Palmerston North. The- *' " „ i deluge, was accompanied by heavy pMj V of thunder and vivid flashes of lightning i and continued for nearly a quarter of an ■ ■ . hour. A period of fine weather then en--6 sued, but the rain clouds again banked i up arid heavy showers continued' dtwW "' ." t most of the afternoon. '■ , ''The heavy downpour at; noon was too " '■' H mSch for' the capacity of the water-tables. -■ In a few minutes gutters were choked ' * ' wilh water, which overflowed on {]j e - "'' j footpath, J.n many cases completely in. - ■- •undating them and malting walking san yyi'sfy impossibility. The rain continued- with- "■ 3 out cessation, and soon the rising 'flood penetrated the doorways of shops' and - \ '' ', '■_ garages, flooding tho floors, and shop and .*" ' office staffs were employed in moving '.'!' portable articles to places of safety. ■ ) * This marked only th« commencement r of the trouble. Before long rocfs proved * unable to keep out the rain, which choked ' - : the spouting and overflowed, 'soaking ' through the ceilings with disastrous i*. %,' i suits. Few premises escaped in Rany.-/.-. "\ : 1 tikei Street. Staffs were busy with STtabj 1 and brooms, mopping up the /water, whici flowed in streams from the roofs. .'■•.. '^';'. . r, - , •'. ■ • ■■ --■ *i&v; ■■ t '•';." A Miniature Lake. Messrs. Bett and Bayiey's garage re- f ' presented. a miniature lake, while the . . floors of adjacent offices in some cases "-,?' {/ , were completely under water. The : *!'hi'£:!; ; . drapery store of Messrs. . Collinson and '; Cunninghame suffered considerable dam- -yW i'J'j]!;; ' age, the. water finding its way through ; •*,_ * the roof and causing considerable havoc "j t in the' showroom. The carpet on theHoor ' : ';O:Mt was saturated and 'i many models were "» " spoilt by the water. The damage was ' "*-. •• stated to be considerable. Other pre- ; '' , mises suffere'd in like manner although _>,- i in lesser degree.. The damage is esti- " \ "' mated to amount to many hundreds of pounds. / ?^=i: * The northern side of the square suf- -" fered most severely, the water channels *".■"■. . being quite' unable .to cope with the rain. '--; ~ Halfway, across . the street and right up -^ ,to the doorsteps* of shops, there was a )k sea; of muddy water. through which pedes-. ~, M ; trians were . obliged to wade. In nearly ■ , all the business premises the roofs leaked. badly, with the result that the . interiors 1 were flooded, Mic stock being badly damaged. -Millinery, stationery, and grocery 1 shops will be heavy losers. '. - > During the luncheon hour salvaging ' i work was rapidly 'Carried on in an endeavour to prevent the extension of the ' trouble. Several business peopje resorted to the expedient of placing sacks on their I. doorsteps to keep out ■ file flood waters, ".* i which were several inches deep oil" the ' ■ footpath. s Floor Tom Up, A stationer in one part of. the square tore up a section of the shop floor and , allowed the water to run beneath it, ■ 7 , -rather than toward the bock-stands, which K .."! ( were already: in a paribus plight. .^Sg?:A tour of some of the larger stores re : V: vealed scenes of -. unwonted confusion, ,/l goods being piled in disorder en all '"-•?;? ', points above the flooded floors. In the - - ' case of at least on?. Broadway establish- , j merit the damage ? ijj estimated at several ■'-'.'.) - hundreds of; pound?. [■ Manv people stated that never before • . ;•; ' have they known.= such a downpour. Even, '• newly-built: and, ,to all appearances, quite "\ ; weatherproof buildings proved quite un- V • equal to withstand the .torrential down- ; : . pour. The cycle tracks were' quicklv '"-; ; flooded, and at a depression in . Church ;-#S Street, between Duke and Alexandra s »c Streets, the: footpath was covered nearly i- :} lit. deep in water. In parts of trie ' ' i.■' square the water extended right over the --S' roadway '■■'; . ' '. ' : During 15 minutes at mid-day 31 points ¥•'.' of rain -fell. From the; of-'the month | • until 9 a.m. to-day the total fall has been .':•< ; 3.30 in. '""-"" : ".. v-'- : * ir '::'--■- -..' '-." ' .--'/j: : •i MARKBOEOTJGiH EAIKSTOBM. ' ' ' ' _ '^ r HIVERBANK UNDERMINED. '■ '•-{ [SI TELEGEAPH.— ASSOCIATION.] BLENHEIM, Monday. Heavy rain was experienced ;in ■ ]Blea- J - : '-Wi"' heim and throughout the district last .*- : . night, the storm being '"of*'an cxtraordin- - "' ; ' ■< ary character. In Picton considerable '. ! damage was reported in and'aronrd the "'"',' ■ town. ;"'''.' "/ "*7 "-•".-!;--;■. \ " ■ * , _.Tbe sudden flooding % of the '' V IW. •River: undermined too bank wear the "- " railway workshops, and a. portion of the • " '" : ' smithy was :.: engulfed. The stream was >i running bank high this morning. * A small slip on the railway line at'■,,or' r : Elevation was quicldy cleared, and th» ■ *'> washout neac- Mount ' Pleasant did nol ''M interfere with:; traffic. Road- traffic be-" :' J tween Blenheim and* Picton is blocked, n$ '■' P a, "t -of the road being under water. V :J ■■'■'.-■--i ; ':■-.. -:":■:'.■.■,,,...;:..: '■ .-■■ ,ri : '<■■■■.■■■■'■■■: ■:•'.. ;w : ,:S|| DAMAGE TO STANDING CROPS. £• , STORM IN NORTH CANTERBURY. .'.'J§ '. fSX ,"TaZEGEAPH.—-PRESS ASSOCIATION.] % '; f CHEISTCHUJRCH. Monday. . ' J' j Heavy rain in North Canterbury may -"".; do great damage to standing dpe' crops, ' \ aud will delay threshing about Race- - : %\ course " Hill, ■' Waddington, and Sheffield. - a-if] The ;: rainfall was very heavy and the _? v creeks are in flood. ■ ' ~ v:i ■'-'t:—— ', S—!— ■'■■■'..f'.^'i!