PAPAROA SUFFERS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18678, 7 April 1924, Page 10

PAPAROA SUFFERS.

LOWER EEVELS FLOODED. WATER MOW IN BUILDINGS. RIVER RUNNING HIGH. . [BY lELEGB Ara. OWN CORRESPONDENT.] , PAJPAROA, Saturday. Heavy rains and a, thunderstorm were experienced to-day. The Paparoa River is in heavy flood., and rose to nearly the level of the great flood of 1920. The lower portions of the township and lowlying lands are inundated. The new road in course of formation to the railway station at Paparoa Valley, is pubmerged. The premises of Mr! Wilkins (local telephone exchange), Sutherland's boarding house, and the bakery are flooded. Mrs. C. Fenwick's house is surrounded.

WHANGAEEI'S POSITION

THE SLIP AT TAIPUHA„ SOME ROADS IMPASSABLE. MANGAKAHIA VALLEY FLOODED. [BI TELEGRAPH. COIUIESrONDKNT,] WHANGAREI. Saturday. Railway communication has been reestablished between Whangarei and Taipuha, where there is an extensive slip. This morning a Public Works Department train was aljle to travel from the slip to Whangarei. At Waipu extensive damage has been occasioned. Between Dargaville and Whangarei communication has been interrupted, but it is anticipated that the route will be opened again within a week. , As a result of the flood, which occurred on Thursday, the road between . Whangarei and Kaikohe has been rendered impassable. The whole of the Mangakahia Valley is flooded. # The stretch of road at Otarau, three miles on the Wliangarei side of Parakao, m particularly bad. The Opoteke Road from Pakotai to Cheddar Hills was considerably blocked by slips. There are also small slips on the Houto and Morgan's Road, which leads off the main route between Dargaville and Whangarei. . In the far north little damage has been occasioned, most of it being in the Otamatea county. It is still raining steadily.

CLOUDBURST REPORTED

DAMAGE AT COROMANDEL. MANY, BRIDGES LOST. BEACH STREWN WITH WOOD. [BX TELEGRAPH. —OWN CORRESPONDENT. ] ' WHI'IT AN A, Saturday. The damage caused by the storm on Thursday night was greater, than was mown at first. It would appear that a cloudburst struck the Coromandel .Range on the Mercury Bay side and sent large bodies of water down tie various streams. In the Mahakirau there were, washouts and several bridges were swept away. It will take weeks before the road is again fit for , traffic. In the Kaimarama the concrete bridge and approach were carried away and on© end of the bridge was twisted. Turnips and young grass were destroyed and several of , the settlers lost a number of sheep. Fences were levelled and paddocks strewn with logs and rubbish. Farm houses generally escaped damage, bat at Mrs. W. McLeod's homestead there were two feet of water in the house. The phenomenal rise .in the stream washed, a quantity of tinker on to the Buffalo Beach. 1 For a couplet of miles the foreshore is thickly" strewn with wood and presents a busy scene as residents are hard at work gathering firewood and splitting fencing posts. The flood seems to have been felt severely in the Tairua watershed, also at Hikuai. Mr. D. Brunton had half a mile of tramway swept away and a couple of timber trucks were lose. Tracks made at considerable expense for log-hauling were also destroyed.. Mr. Brunton's low must amount to some hundreds of pounds.

OTAMATEA COUNTY.

EXTENT OF DAMAGE. TOUR OF INSPECTION. [BY TELEGRAPH.—O WW CORRESPONDENT.] PaPAROA. Saturday. Intelligence received at the Otamatea County Council office shows that widespread damage has resulted from Thursday's floods. On the Paparoa station road several chains of new metalling were washed away. A heavy slip occurred on the Paparoa-Matakdhe road. On the station road at ' Kaiwaka a small bridge was washed Away; also the approaches to the bridge on the main road. The ford bridge at Birtles, Hnarau, and a bridge on Dunn's Road, Raupo, have also been carried away. Metalled roads, especially in the higher lands, are badly . scoured. Considerable damage has been done in other parts of the county. Six bridges have been swept away in all. The chief damage, however is on the side roads. Traffic is not blocked on the main road. A 1^ crs - ® al * v engineer, and Albertson, Public Works . engineer are now traversing the, districts affected to ascertain the full amount of the damage. Heavy assistance from the Government is necessary.

SERVICES RESTORED.

WAIHI'S GAS AND WATER. TRAINS RESUME RUNNING. . y [BY telegraph.—OWN CORRESPONDENTS.] WAIHI. Saturday. Temporary repairs have been made at the points at which the recent floods caused wash-outs on the railway lino between Waihi and Paeroa. The train service, though slightly delayed owing to slow running over these parts, has been fully restored. . Both the water and gas supplies to the town are again functioning, but full pressure has not yet been reached in either service. In the case of the water supply the service will not be restored for some weeks as a number of the pipes connecting with the main dam were washed away by the floods.

THE HAURAKI PLAINS.

NO FLOODING REPORTED. • V • • * 4 -.'. •. - ' • Reports from the Hauraki Plains state that no flooding of any consequence has taken place. Some of the low-lying places are partly under water, and the rivers are somewhat higher than usual, but generally the ' drains have '.been aWe ! to -carry off most of the surplus ssater^