RAIN HAVOC

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 23019, 22 April 1938, Page 8

RAIN HAVOC

TORRENT IN VALLEY 1 SILT ON FARM LAND 1 ■ CREEK BECOMES RIVER \• _ i ROAD ACCESS BLOCKED . - : -y' <4. V • - [bt telegraph —OWN correspondent] t PALMERSTON NORTH. Thursday m Phenomenal rainfall, the damaga ' from which has now been fully revealed, was experienced in the Te Awa ' yn district, in the Pohangina County, during Friday night and Saturday morning. Over one million cubic feet of soil was washed dawn the Te Awa Stream and deposited on one hundred acres of land belonging to a settler whose property adjoins flat country at tbe bottom of a valley. A concrete culvert and spillway constructed 20 years J* ago were damaged to the extent of over £3OO. ,r s" v ' - A small stream, commonly called the K "To Awa babbling brook," became a i•' raging river 30ft. wide and 20ft. deep. A bridge on the Te Awa road subsided three feet at one end and will not be passable until a new structure is erected at an estimated cost of £3OO to £4OO. - 7, Road Swept Into River Cotter's Road suffered for a distanc# of three chains, being swept into the river 150 ft. below. The road .will be closed until the week-end. In the mean- 5»7 while the Pohangina County Council's workmen are making a deviation by »< cutting the bank away to make a temporary road. '1 Farmers in this locality are without exit for their milk and cream and this b entails their carriage by hand orn- a ID portion of the damaged roads, lorries >hwaiting on the other side. The Apiti- i* Pohangina mail service, via Te Awa Road, is disorganised, qpr-fSfie bridge which was affected by the downpour it on the main route. yf A very large quantity of timber wa* ,» carried down to the flat below, the ,yt scene resembling the timber lands of the King Country. A class of timber came down the river that had never before been seen in this locality. Home in Danger IT

Mr. Williams, a Te Awa settler, said that there had never been a similar ex-. perience there. If another flood resuited it would probably mean that his home and an adjoining building would T be swept down into the newly-made. gap, which is approximately 200 ft. wide : .~ and 150 ft. deep. _ Damage to the extent of £3OO wa« done on Mr. Mcßobbie's farm in the loss of seed and topdressing material. That portion of the Pohangina township adjoining Finnis' Road, is covered ' with sand and silt inches deep. The samn road from the township is at « present a sand bed for a distance of - approximately 19 chains.

RUINED HOMES ADMIRALTY BAY STORM J DAMAGE NOT EXAGGERATED : — .. . GOVERNMENT AID NEEDED ' u [BY TELECRAPH —PRESS ASSOCIATION] r .. " NELSON,. Thnttdiy 5 It is stated by Mr. H. Atriiore, M.P., 'I who accompanied the Public Works ; Department's engineer ou an inspection of the ruined homes on the narrow strip of country running across Admiralty Bay into Pelorus Sound, that _ previous reports have not exaggerated the extent of the damage. If anything, the loss has been underestimated, and it was obvious that Government assistance would b< needed if the homes affected were to be replaced so that the settlers could be restored to their former productive capacity. $ At the St. Kilda homestead of the late Mr. Robert Turner, it was estimated that from 15,000 to 20,000 ton# of boulders came rushing down on to the "small residential area. The sheep pens were covered to a depth of sft. and " the house and sheds were extensively ' damaged. The orchard was covered over and the new residence was badly distorted. 7 Mr. Atraore says that if the storm had occurred late at night instead of early in the evening, the occupant* r could not possibly have escaped. £