COUNTRY SWEPT

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22628, 16 January 1937, Page 10

COUNTRY SWEPT

BUILDINGS DAMAGED COROMANDEL FLOODING DAMAGE AT DARCAVILLE The Coromandel Peninsula and the area to the north from below Dargaville to as far as Kaitaia felt the full force of the gale which swept the province on Thursday night and reports of flooding and damage to buildings, orchards and telegraph and telephone wires were made yesterday from many country districts.

Campers on the coast near Ihames had their tents blown down about them, a house was almost completely wrecked, and the verandah of another was blown off. At Coromandel the roof of a shop was blown off and severed the main telegraph lines Eleven telegraph poles were blown down south of Dargaville and temporary flooding occurred on several of the main roads to the north. Ordeal in a Dwelling Several fences and wireless poles in Thames were blown down and a family which bad been camping in a garage near the town woke up and found the door had been blown away and that water was flooding their possessions. Streams ran bank high and until the rain ceased at about 9 o'clock yesterday tnorn'ng there was serious danger of Hooding. A house in Broad Street owned and occupied by Mr. \\ . Wells bad its front verandah torn of! and the roofing iron blown away. Later the flooring was torn up and scattered in all directions. The occupants spent a miserable night expecting the rest of the house to go. In Pollen Street the verandah of a house collapsed and elsewhere a shed was demolished. Wall Collapses

Tiie main street of Coromandel was a sheet of water during the height of the storm and the brick wall of a motor accessory shop was blown in and the roof swept off. Some of the sheets of iron fell on the telegraph and telephone wires and severed them, communication with Auckland being interrupted for several hours. Two windows of the Doncaster Hotel were shattered and an adjoining shop had paro of its roof blown awav.

About seven miles out of Coromandel on the Auckland highway the Mamaro Flats were flooded and a number of cars were held up until the tide went out and a lorry could assist them through. At Dargaville the Wairoa River ran so high that the waters invaded the main street, although they did not enter any of the shops. Several wooden screens at the rear of buildings on the river bank were smashed and the reserve was flooded, but no serious damage is reported. A launch was damaged at Tinopai, when it was smashed against the rocks and a few other small craft were swamped. Main Highway Blocked

Although the storm was not so heavy at Whangarei, over oin. of rain fell in the 24 hours from Thursday night, and the gale continued yesterday. Considerable flooding occurred at Hukerenui, where there was over 4ft. of water on the main road, and a large slip blocked the Whangarei-Russell highway near Wa imamaku. It is doubtful if this road will be open to traffic to-day. The Hikurangi swamp drainage area was badly flooded, thousands of acres of farm land being covered with water, although no stock losses are reported. Some losses of freshly cut hay occurred at Whakapara.

The service car to Russell could not get through yesterday and the gale has effectually put a stop to deep-sea fishing for the time being. At Ahipara, near Kaitaia, seven tents belonging to campers were blown down. Cream Supply Held Up For the third time in three weeks the bulk of the cream supply at Kaitaia was held up within half a mile of the factory by a short iow-lying section of the road being flooded. The cream collection at Helena Bay, 25 miles from Hikurangi, was also interrupted, a slip blocking the road. Heavy losses to maturing fruit crops occurred in many parts of the Dargaville district and some orchards at Paparoa atari' report damage.

Poles Blown Down The main damage to the telegraph and telephone lines in the north occurred on the Dargayille-Whangarei main highway, when 11 poles were blown down just past the racecourse and a falling tree also broke the lines at Tangowahine. Communication with Auckland was re-established yesterday morning. An interruption to the electric lighting system of Dargaville occurred through a fault developing south of Maungaturoto, and another fault was found between Henderson and Mareretu. The first one also"affected the recently installed system at Paparoa, where there was no light throughout the night.

The rain eased off in most districts yesterday, but high winds were still general.