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THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. FRIDAY, JULY 3, 1925. DAMAGE BY FLOOD.

Once moro danger to human life, general discomfort, and economic losses have to be laid to the account of Hoods in the Auckland Province. In both the Bay of Tlenty and the Waikato, rivers have burst their banks and the waters have inundated farming lands. Only a little while ago North Auckland suffered a similar experience. The recurrence of these floods is becoming a very serious matter to the country. The liability and the loss are not confined to any one district or province. Different places seem to tftke their turn. The trouble has increased in frequency and intensity within very recent times. Looking back over the past two or three years there can be discovered a very grave list of occasions when flood damage was recorded. There have been several this year which are too recent to require recalling. In December last, the Wairarapa was flooded, so that the town of Masterton was partly under water, and much damage was done. In April of last year the waters came down on North Auckland with disastrous results to roads, bridges, fences and livestock. In May, 1923, Marlborough suffered very severely, particularly the town of Blenheim. At the same time North Canterbury experienced floods, and the rest of the province did not emerge scathless from the period of inundation. In January, 1923, Banks Peninsula was visited by a flood, aggravated by a tremendous landslide. Life was lost on this occasion. This list is by no means a complete one. It chronicles the outstanding instances of flood. Looking further back, recollection reaches the great Waikato flood of January, 1907, when train services were interrupted and most activities brought to a standstill. It would not be profitable to trace all tho occasions in the last 20 years when exceptionally heavy rain has sent the waters rushing over what is normally dry and productive land. Enough has been recalled to show that if there have not been many of the intensity of 2 007, or of the floods of 1868 in the South Island, there has been a disquieting series recently bad enough to be disturbing when viewed together. There is a certain monotony about the stories of flood. Stock driven away from pasture, or drowned, fences ..damaged, often bridges washed away, roads made impassable until costly repair work has been done, grass land made unfit for grazing, at least temporarily, often crops destroyed—these are the consequences the floods bring. Including minor effects, time and money are needed to repair drains and clear away debris. If only a little damage is done here, and a little there, the cumulative effect ceases presently to be negligible. The small interruptions to the normal processes of production must not bo treated too lightly if they come often. The floods are coming often, and in many instances their interference with production has not been small, as witnessed by the occasions when distressed settlers have had to apply to the Government for assistance. Apart from their economic effects, the discomfort, sometimes hardship, and occasionally positive peril to which they have exposed country dwellers must not be overlooked. Assessed comprehensively, and yet 'quite judicially, the floods of recent years have been no light matter for New Zealand. True, recovery has generally been fairly rapid, which is good so far as it goes; but it would have been better had the process not been necessary. It may be suggested that however much consequences are deplored, nothing can bo done about it; floods are a visitation which cannot be averted, and must be endured. Up to a point this is true. No one can control the rainfall, which in the ultimate causes flood. But the sudden increase in the number of recent years suggests changing conditions causing a deterioration in nature's provision for the discharge of surplus water. It has been urged repeatedly in these columns and elsewhere that deforestation is very largely to blame for what the country suffers, and that in at least partial reafforestation lies the remedy. Authority which cannot be disputed supports the contention. But at best the replacement of forest which should not have been destroyed is a very slow cure for the evil. While waiting for the trees to grow, the country may suffer again and again, and the worst yet experienced may be surpassed. In the circumstances, the whole question of flood liability and tho possibility of prevention might with advantage be subjected to searching expert inquiry. Knowledge is so lacking that it is impossible to say how far stop-banking, clearing of channels, removal of silt and obstructions in watercourses, the deepening of channels or other devices would prove efficacious as a preventive of flooding in many places. An enormous amount of work might be needed to produce very little result: on tho other hand, very little, done judiciously, might bring great benefit. The point at issue is how little is known of either possibility. The steady recurrence of floods suggests that moro ought to be known. Admitting that the occupation and development of lowlying land originally swamp has largely increased the area subject to damage, it can still be contended that the occurrence and bad effects of floods have been disquietingly frequent of late. Thero is certainly a good case for investigation with an eye to saving tho country from what it has had to suffer in tho floods which have followed one another jvith most unfortunate regularity.

Permanent link to this item

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZH19250703.2.29

Bibliographic details

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXII, Issue 19060, 3 July 1925, Page 8

Word Count
919

THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. FRIDAY, JULY 3, 1925. DAMAGE BY FLOOD. New Zealand Herald, Volume LXII, Issue 19060, 3 July 1925, Page 8

THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. FRIDAY, JULY 3, 1925. DAMAGE BY FLOOD. New Zealand Herald, Volume LXII, Issue 19060, 3 July 1925, Page 8

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