HAVOC OF FIERCE GALE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXV, Issue 20027, 17 August 1928, Page 14

HAVOC OF FIERCE GALE.

EXPERIENCE OF WELLINGTON.

RAILWAY LINE UNDERMINED. SUSPENSION OF SERVICE. SLIPS AND FLOODED RIVER. [BY TELEGRAPH.—OWN CORRESPONDENT.] WELLINGTON, Thursday. Wellington suburbs and the Ilutt Valley district adjacent to Wellington have suffered serious damage as the .result of a severe gale and heavy rain in the past 48 hours. The rain has apparently passed its worst, but the wine! is still blowing hard. A . rolling sea has been driving straight in from the heads The railway lines between Petone and Wellington are out of commission through seas undermining the track, and in a dozen places the outer line, for lengths up io 100 ft., is hanging in the air, with many smaller suspended lengths. The inner line is similarly situated in places

Tho rain has caused a number of slips, tho most serious one being on the Hutt Road at the Tawa Flat tunnel. Shipping suffered severely and telephonic, electric power and lighting services were blown down. Low-lying areas have boon flooded, principally at the new settlement at Lower Hutt,, and at Petone and Miramar the washouts on the Hutt Valley line are far more serious than any that have occurred for many years. Some railwaymen say the washouts are the worst ever experienced in New Zealand. The total distance of railway line affected is about four miles. Passenger transport to Hutt Valley is carried on entirely by buses. Passengers for the north of Petone from Wellington go by bus from Wellington and take train from Petone.

A great mass- of rock has given way high above the mouth oij tho Tawa Flat tunnel, the spoil being distributed right across tho bitumen track of the Hutt Road. The Hutt River is in heavy flood. Several Petone streets and the Petone recreation ground were flooded, and at the new railway settlement at eastern Hutt acres of water covered the ground The ferry steamer Maori arrived from Lyttelton threo and a-half hours late, after one of its worst passages.

SLIPS ON HUTT ROAD. LARGE AREA COVERED. GANGS TO CLEAR ROUTE. [BY TELEGRAM. —PRESS ASSOCIATION.] WELLINGTON, Thursday. The big slip on the Hutt Road leaves sufficient room only for one-way traffic The loose rock where the new railway line to Tawa Flat leaves the Hutt Road has always given trouble, and it is hero that the slip, which is at least half the size of the slip that occurred uear Ngahauranga last winter, occurred. It is fortunate that the ground abovo the new tunnel did not give way, as tho workers might temporarily have been imprisoned. Small slips have occurred at other parts of the deviation. The Publif Works Department is collecting all the men and plant that can be spared, and all resources of the department are being placed at the disposal of tho Railway Dapartment. A steam shovel is being put on, and material from the slip will be used for the railway washouts A lorry ran into a slip in the Horohiwi Valley, where a big slip occurred recently, but the road was cleared by 10.45 a.m. The service cars, however, had by that time sent their passengers and luggage on by rail. Small slips are reported on the Rimutaka Hill, and also in the Taita Gorge.

TRAIL OF THE STORM. WIND UNROOFS HOUSE. RESTORING RAILWAY LINE. [BY TELEGRAPH. —PRESS ASSOCIATION. ] WELLINGTON. Thursday. Last night was an exceedingly wild one at Wellington. Fences and trees suffered everywhere, and a number of big pine trees wore blown down. A houso was unroofed at Island Bay, which was exposed to the full force of the wind. Tho roof was thrown cn two other houses, which were also damaged. Through tho electric lines being damaged, power was cut off in Lyall Bay this morning. Numbers of windows have been blown in at various places The City Council assisted tho Railway Department by releasing all possible conveyances to bridge the gaps caused by the severe washouts, but was obliged to carry on ' its own bus services in tlio suburbs and so could relieve the position but little. It had its own problems, slips on the Seatoun-Brooklyn and Wadestown Roads having to bo cleared. On the Wadestown route early passengers had to be conveyed by bus. Every available vehicle was put on the Hutt Road to cope with ~ the heavy homeward traffic this evening. - Emergency repair work to the line was undertaken promptly, but the estimate of a Public Works officer is that it will probably be two or three weeks before the railway tracks are restored. The trains will, however, no doubt be running on a single track well before them. A full fleet of railway buses coped remarkably well, considering the lack of special organisation, with the rush hour traffic this morning. The damage on the waterfront was less than expected, according to the harbourmaster. The wind lifted 200 square feet of lantern roof from the new storagesheds on the Pipitea Wharf. Parts of tho debris landed on the corrugated asbestos roofing, which was slightly damaged. Although breaking no records as to the force of the wind or the amount of rain which fell, tho storm will be remembered for its long duration and for the damago done to the Ilutt railway. The gale yesterday reached a maximum intensity bo-, tween 2.30 p.m. and 6.30 p.m., coinciding with high tide, which caused the commencement of the damage to the railway

There were frequent gusts of wind of a velocity exceeding 50 miles an hour in the early hours of this morning, and' the force of the gale. was even greater from 1.30 p.m. onwards. The maximum gust recorded then was one of 57 miles an hour. These records were taken at Kelburn, but in more exposed places the force would be greater. During the three days 4.73 in. of rain has fallen in Wellington, and nearly half of it fell during the 24 hours ended at 9 a.m. to-day.