FLOOD DAMAGE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 22985, 12 March 1938, Page 12

FLOOD DAMAGE

POVERTY BAY FLATS THICK COATING OF SILT . FARMERS MAY LEAVE LAND SEEKING HOMES ELSEWHERE [by TELEGRAPH —PRESS ASSOCIATION] GJSBORNE, Friday Farmers on the Poverty Bay flats whose properties were left under, a thick coating of silt as the result of heavy flooding last month are, it is understood, seriously considering abandoning their holdings and seeking land or emI»loymen t elsewhere. The men concerned are farmers of leasehold land and, consequently, have no particular stake in their properties. The areas were washed by flood waters and left covered with silt and driftwood, and now present a desolate scene. Rather than face the labour and j expense of clearing and regrassing those areas which arc not their own, they feel it will be more economical for them to seek homes elsewhere. A similar course is being considered by some-who suffered on the east coast. One farmer who recently took up a property of his own, and who lost even his furniture in the floods, is reported to have walked off the farm, contending that he could never retrieve what he lost by remaining there. It was cheaper to abandon the property and make a lresh start elsewhere.