HAWKE'S BAY FLOODS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18657, 13 March 1924, Page 8

HAWKE'S BAY FLOODS.

SERIOUS loss OS- stock.; SETTLERS FLEE FOR LIVES. (:(-., ■■(';"(.;;; ' INUNDATION OF, HOMES.. , RESCUE PARTIES IN BOATS. r«r tkuwbaph.—own correspond* J • HASTINGS. Wednesday. The loss of two live*-* two-year-old child at Napier and Mr. Thomas Hall at • Waipunga —seems to complete the human toll taken by the floods, in this district yesterday, though rumours of fatalities in various# parts still await thorough investigation. The loss of sheep cattle, however, is already reckoned in thousands of head. ;■ , - il - , It may be said with confidence that the -worst is now over, for the flood waters everywhere have receded, almost with the rapidity with which they rose, and that y was so phenomenally fast as to suggest ■ a cloudburst in the back, country. The • settlers lower down had little or no warning, and in many cases had to flee for their lives, leaving their sheep, cattle and horses to the mercy of the flood. * The Tutaekuri River burst its banks at many places. In one case a settler's house was lifted off its foundations and carried several chains. : Two motorists yesterday afternoon were halted at Orissage, in the Fernhill district, "by the rising waters of the Tutaekuri. They visited a residence the grounds" of. which were being invaded by - the flood. They were met by a middleaged woman who was quite undisturbed by her threatening ' surroundings. bh© firmly - declined any assistance, at the same time expressing her sense of - the kindness that prompted the offer. « Phenomenal Else of Elver*. 'On recusing the bridge at/ernhUl ' tie motorists were amazed to find. that 1 "• the-" river, which had only partially covered Its bed 25 minutes previously. ; was now.a raging : torrent, running bank -to bank, and bringing down big tree -trunks and debris. | At about .4.25 .the Ngariiroro River ; gauge, which shortly before bad registered 3ft. abouft, normal, •'recorded: 9ft. r m'- . ;;;/( ' , • - The motorists assisted in the rescue and removal ,= to " safety of a, family in the vicinity, Whose -home. r had been . - overwhelmed. /On the road.beyond the danger v. zone they J met a number of others making ' for a i safe refuge for the night. Nearly 60 people were removed from endangered homes* in ;. the Taradale last ■( night. ' Between Taradale and Napier there ■: was a huge, sheet of water and communication - between the two places was cut off. 1 ,-,t So > sudden was' the rise- in - the'Ngaru- - Tore that settlers, although warned from Whanawhtoa, when the flood- waters - -began to come down, did not have time to " remove , their stock to safety* AtPAk©- ;;/ •wbai the river rose 6ft. in half an hour. 5 Early in - the morning' the '®*d , at ; Whanawhana was- -'otdy slightly covered with water. A -few hours 'later it : was a torrent ; increasing in height and< every minute. 3 *f. : : f : -; v . - Plucky Rescue irom a Tree. After having been ten hours in a ; poplar tree, with the flood waters surging round underneath him, -Mr. Donald Strauchan, •an employee', Mr. W. Kinross White's station;.at'.Taradale, was ; rescued by Mr. Kinross White,; who swam out on a horse.' .i".. . . 7-''° ' . 'It was one of the pluckiest" acts that - -X. have fever seen," said one 'of the con- . stables , -.the- scene. A i police party under Sergeant -McLean;} i»ovided with . ; boats, accomplished . invaluable i rescue work. , •The .artillery corps in camp. at Eskdale , v *had>an existing:' experience,- f having- to -, .3; swims or wade , through waist-deep waiter , .*■ in .the - and route march Vacross the . ' i hUlaa to 'Petane. - They came through unr - seated and cheerful,' but 1 the i camp - equipment -had to befleft-to the flood. Railway ponpunication between Hast- j tj ings- and .'Napier"is now,restored, and to- j S v;. : day's, mailitrain^.from v Wellington started : flyings made tip; oil what rolling :stock -was' available, v • . The stock losses-- already ascertained are 5-heavy.i Mr. A. Richmond reports the loss - -of fseverftl -thousand sheep;. W.- Macfarlane has lost the whole of his/ . fat - sheep, ---alned -.at £1700, as. welli as • some , bullficksi . Mr. DI'E. TJavis; "r whaMsaffered the lossof the/wholeof ; •" his dairy ,berd;i between. 60 and 70 cows. , Mr. A. Van Aseh is it heavy, loser of \:< sheep; . -Mr.i T. Harris, 1 ' PapakUra, % lost about 700 sheep. „ Mr. Tattersall, Papa- - kura, , SB-stained a loss of about • 800 'sheep. Mr. Shrimpton'sland was covered, and j "all the' daily; country at Waihouiti was under - w'ater, and it is .'feared ; considerable ' Idisses' havlevreaultedi' Mr. JoaenH Lloyd. " of 3 liSsf I>etween 300 and sheep. ~ and other settlers in that neighbourhood -suffered'heavily. • | ' "• - 'V . ' - • . •' SCENES Of DEVASTATION. | : HARDSHIPS .OF SETTLERS. ■- " ' r ; . r *~* "'V V " •' - 4 -■'; V • t OLIVERS, BACK TO NORMAL. | .; ■.*»■ ■ • 2-., v ;J . , . _ . v> ; ;. • .;• . .. . - • _ '* ' - J- V v'' '. V,'- '■' i . '■'' ? . a%: t? f u" XELBGEAPH.—OWN ; COKRESPONDENT.J 1 : '' : ; " : NAPIER. Wednesday. The cyclonic storm -experienced.:^ in ! • Central' and Northern Hawke's /.Bay. yes-' c . tflirday, vo resulting in.. the .'.- destructive. : t •; floods, - came just as - the districts Concerned • ; ' wera recovering from a dry spell, which. " bad • lasted -J' for . about five -- . / months. Drizzling ■ rain 'set- in shortly before mid"O'ghfc On Monday, culminating yesterday i-joming in a heavy thunderstorm, ac- , ; companied : toward the afterhoon By a per- ' fect-deluge-Of rain. ■-: .... ' ■ The fall was- also -heavy in the .back country, as ,was indicated by the rapid "i rise of - the rivers, .which (were running bank high : before : dark: - In several cases *on the Heretaunga Plains - the rivers broke their banks and inundated the fa l ® in all.directions.. As a result ! hardship and privations have been the lot of hundreds' of settlers. - The police were communicated with, as their assis- . tance was required for rescue work in .. . various parts of the district. Sergeant McLean, accompanied by several constables, immediately went out- to Taradale, taking with them five life-boats, (i The party left Napier about 5 p.m. and . reached Taradale < with - great difficulty. , Serious Position at Meeanee. ' ' Rescue-'parties- were organised and very v w valuable' work done, chiefly in ' the Tara- ' dale, Greehmeadows, 'and Meeanee districts. . The ' Tutaekuri River rose very '"rapidly during the afternoon^- and about " - 3.30 p.m. was ' only a, few inches below ' the stringers 6f the ; bridge, while owing to the : : great quantity of drift-wOod the . ' Bedcliffe bridge was threatened for a considerable' period. At' 2.30 ' p.m. the water ' forced its way through the Donnelly bank ; K "at Waiohiki, and-very soon the surround- ,. / ing l -districts were V inundated. ' The 'area between Otatara and (Meeanee was a sea :"('.' of water, which had risen to the tops of tn^ifences.- The banks in the vicinity of . ■ Johns Road- , failed' to. stand the strain, ( and the surging waters swept the house belonging to v Mr. O'Shannessy " off its foundations' and carried it several chains awjy. The river also broke through at Moteo _ ' 'and / Chesterhope. -The : Ngaruroro, River at IJ. a.m.. was running bank to bank, . as was. also. the stream at Otamauri. On this latter * the ' swirling torrrent created •■ Waves 1 several feet in height. • • ; The position at Meeanee late last,night v was very serious. ('The river had ..broken • iks' and. was rushing >dowu .covering the low high ground, but' ■npletely covering tho was : snndvAwatoto. Tha. stock but ck riop. The had been banked 011 with

drift-wood, and -was in a precarious pos-ition-It war expccted to - disappear at j any moment. • • , . i Information received from Taradale last night stated .that many of : the school child- : ren : had ; been * unable to;return: home . and iWere being cared for at the school. ; 1 . Flooded Family Refuse to Move. Advice Was also received that a, settler , named Hamlin', with his wife and eight j children, were in difficulties at Waima, some four miles away. A rescue party set i out to the house and succeeded in reaching it after great difficulty, but the I family refused to move. The house was! surrounded by water and there was con- j siderable , danger, but the rescue party returned to Taradale alone. One resident describing the suddenness of the visitation in the" Taradale. area, said it was amply a land tidal wave. The water rose in six ' minutes. People had not time to do anything. Rescue parties have done great work, and people; from the . flooded areas are being taken in wherever there is room available. They had to leave without clothes, and were in 'a pitiable state. _ Stock losses on the Heretaunga Plains, between Napier and Hastings, are very heavy, those of sheep alone totalling over 5000, including two individual cases of 2000 and 1000 respectively.

Fanning Community's Losses. Dairy farmers have also been very hard hit, several fine , herds almost completely wiped out. The winter outlook is also extremely gloomy, for very many farmers had ploughed' and _ sown large areas. These are now - buried in silt, in some cases feet deep. Other lands which. were about to be sown -are also covered, as well as a very extensive stretch of pasture lands. , The rivers to-day dropped rapidly, and with the receding of the flood waters a 'scene of widespread devastation ,is revealed. Dead sheep, cattle, pig 3; . an poultry are to bo seen in all directions, as well as wrecked sheds and dwellings. Settlers in the Esk Valley also had unenviable experiences during the floods. In Napier itself the streets were flooded, business premises and private bouses being invaded. People m a.l directions were strenuously endeavouring to protect and save their stocks and belongings. The damage in many cases, however, is very considerable. Several firms in both the city and port areas who have large cellars- heavily stocked sustained losses - running into four - figures. By midnight the storm waters had subsided, but they left behind them many thousands of (tons iof silt, which now; covers the street in all directions. • Child's Body Recovered.

The body of Mrs. Miller's two-year-old child, who was killed yesterday by the collapse of the house in Shakespeare Road through a slip, was recovered at about !■9 a.m. to-day. During the night another large slip came down, and smashed [ the rear portion of an adjoining house, i but no one ( was hurt, as it had been vacated early last evening. Many old residents, who ( had experience of the 1897 flood, consider that, had i the conditions yesterday ( been the same as on the memorable and tragic day 27 | years 'ago t vi when eight men of a rescue j party lost their lives, (the disaster would [ have been much greiater than on that occasion. ( The wjjteir rose much more < suddenly yesterday, indicating , that • the rainfall, though covering a shorter period, [ was much heavier. In 1897 the flood waters ; rose :- slowly, taking some twelve ' hours or more to reach their extreme f height, when practically ,the ( whole of Napier, with the exception of the higher portions of Hastings Street, was under :■water. '.(.. " v. \ ~ ' Immediately • following - the breach at Waitangi the 'waters rapidly subsided, and within an hour or two the whole of the Napier area , wag practically . clear again yesterday. ( The old Waitangi ( outlet and the improved river mouths acted I as a. safety-valve, hence the general danI ger . was-, considerably minimised. '• ~ ~~ ~