THE FLOODS.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1136, 8 December 1893, Page 22

THE FLOODS.

LATER PARTICULARS. THE WATERS SUBSIDING. EXTENT OF THE DAMAGE. By Telegraph. —Press Associa lion. • Napier, December 6. Fortunately the rain which threatened last night held off and the flood waters have subsided rapidly. To-day most of the roads were dry, though the water still lies on low grounds. The damage is much greater than in any previous flood, especially in the losses of stock.

In former years the floods have been expected, and the water has risen gradually, giving the settlers time to get most of their stock on higher ground. This time there was not the slightest anticipation of the flood at midnight, but half an hour afterwards the whole of Clive and Papakura district was from sft to 12ft under water, with a current running like a mill-race. This was due to the breaking of the embankments on both the Ngaruroro and Tukituki rivers, whose waters joined and centred in Clive.

Pi’actically all the stock in Clive ( and Papakura perished.

At Taradale and Meanee the water was not so deep, and though a good many sheep were drowned, the cattle and horses were saved. Over the whole district, however, the crops are utterly ruined. About Clive even the gi-ass is unavailable, being covered by a heavy deposit of silt. The Mayor of Napier woi-ked indefatigably from 3 o’clock yesterday morning in organising and superintending relief, and to-day loads of provisions, blankets and clothing were sent out. The railway authorities are giving every assistance. The Mayor has called a meeting to organise a committee to give more substantial relief, and already nearly .£4OO has been collected.

The Premier sent a kindly message of sympathy to the Mayor offering the assistance of the Permanent Artillery and Torpedo Corps. Mr Swan, in reply, stated that there were plenty of men available here, but that he would be glad if the Government would authorise the engagement of some of them to get rid of the dead stock.

The scene at the Napier Railway Station last night—when some of the women and children who had been rescued from the flooded homes at Clive were brought to town by special train—was most pathetic. The sufferers were driven to local hotels, where their pressing necessities were relieved.

Some of the people had miraculous escapes with their lives. One woman, who, with six children, sat on the top of the roof of her house all night, states that between 12 and 1 o’clock on Monday night she heard a mighty roar, when the Tukituki river burst its banks, sweeping evei'ytliing before it. So sudden was the rush that there was no time to even save the stock, and no possible means of escape except to climb the roof. The younger children went up first, and then drew up their mother. A dreary. night followed, as the rain fell heavily, and nothing was around but water for miles. The family, only scantily clad, sat on the roof till 7.30 the following morning, xvhen they were rescued by a boat’s crew. Another woman, a widow, was alone in her cottage, and suddenly found her bed floating about the room, the water rising higher and higher. It is reported that she climbed on a dresser shelf, and, suspending a pocket-handkerchief from a ring in the roof, clung to it all night. Previously she had clutched an empty box, which she held in readiness, and if the worst came to the worst, could jump in and float about till rescued, having placed a jug in it as a bailer. In this suspended position she was found at 7 o’clock yesterday morning and conveyed to a place of safety. It is marvellous how all managed to escape, and that there was not loss of life amongst the families at Clive, as the boats’ crews in some instances had to prize the weatherboards of cottages open and let the people out at the gable end. From Papakura through to Meanee and Clive the crops are ruined. Those settlers who saved stock now have the trouble stai-ing them in the face of having no fodder for the winter months, as the hay is all destroyed. The settlers at Waipawa Bush spent a fearful night, the waters flooded them out,

and people had to be conveyed.. .IxHthe township. j. Waipukurau township suffered also, the low-lying parts being under water 3ft deep in the maid street:

Many bridges thfoxighoUt the district have been washed aWay; while veHicjxiai* traffic is impeded in all parts through laiia slips. . . -

; It is impossible to estimate the dariiage ’ until the waters subside, but the loss everywhere is ruinous. > By Telegraph.—Special Correspondent. Napier, December 5. The police parties returned last evening from Clive and Meanee. They brought word that the desolation was indescribable. On the way the rescuing party saw a dreadful loss of live stock—sheep clinging to fences, horses swimming hopelessly about, lacerated by wire fences, and cattle drowning. Very little time had they for observation, however, for the boats yyere continually fouling the fences, but about noon * they arrived at Clive. There they found the inhabitants looking anxiously for aid. Smith’s Farndon Hotel was crowded with 120 persons. The road near this hostelry was moderately clear, and it Was possible to get across the Ngaruroro bridge: From this the way to the township Was through water: The houses were submerged, and the people were in many cases clinging to the roofs. One party of eight came to the Napier Hotel, and from one of them, the housekeeper for Mr Brown (miller), I gathered the following account: —On Sunday the weather looked bad, and on Monday night worse, and waking in the middle of the night I was not astonished to hear' the rush of water. By this time the township was alarmed, and the water rose so rapidly that I called Mr Brown. He, finding the water still rising, knocked a hole in the roof, and we all crept out and hung on for dear life till we were rescued. I was barefooted and had only an ulgter over my nightdress. We were taken to the high ground, and thence got to the station. All round I saw people in the same plight as ourselves, but no fatal accidents 'occurred so far as I know. Many people, however, had no clothing, or barely enough to cover them. The rise of - the water was sudden, and the panic in the night was very great. Everything is lost, for it was impossible to save anything. The suddenness of the flood was only less remarkable than its extent. Although the persistent rains of the past few weeks had kept the water-courses swollen, no disastrous consequences were dreaded. But about midnight on Monday the Tukituki and Ngaruroro rivers began to burst their banks near Clive, and about half an hour afterwards a tremendous volume of water, bearing pieces of wood, animals, and all manner of things which it caught up in transit, burst in upon the township, and aroused the inhabitants from their sleep. Thence the work of desolation went rapidly on, and the inhabitants saw the waters rising around them, and no relief coming. Then the Tutaekuri too burst it bounds, and the surrounding country was further / submerged. How the poor people, awake and terror-sti’icken, passed the hours that elapsed from their wakening to their rescue is a matter for individual relating. The extent of the damage cannot yet be computed, but it is undoubtedly awful. The householders and small holders have suffered terribly. Their goods and chattels and their very clothing have been lost, and their live stock swept away. What were once happy homes are now desolate buildings, with waste gardens. The number of people thus rendered homeless and destitute, and-whose condition calls for immediate aid, cannot be less than 200, and it probably exceeds that figure. The needs of these people make mute but powerful appeal to public sympathy, and such help as they need will, we know, be given ungrudgingly.

The rescuers who went about the flooded country in boats, who made a detour as before stated, and in doing so passed through Meanee and Papakura, saw evidences of widespread desolation. Hundreds of horses and cattle floated by the boats, and were borne upon the turbid bosom of the waters. Many of the horses were horribly lacerated with the barbed wire of the fences over which they passed. Sheep in every direction were swept away, and the extent of destruction of stotjk is immense. The crops are utterly ruined, many potato patches among the number. Dairy farmers find their occupation gone. At Chesterliope, near Hastings, and on the properties of Messrs Kelly, Midgeley and McGreevey, no fewer than 20,000 sheep have been lost.

The fii'st movements in the direction of relieving the sufferers have been worthy of the reputation of our citizens, and of the Mayor who has so devotedly attended to the relief of suffering since the first alarm. A subscription list has been opened, and the nucleus of a fund formed already. Captain Bower received promise of a number of handsome subscriptions within an hour this morning—Mr H. S. Tiffen, =£100; Mr J. H. Smith, 100 guineas; Working Men’s Club, =£so; Neil and Close, <£2s ; and subscriptions are still flowing freely in. In response to the advertisement of the Mayor, boxes, bags and packages of clothing have poured in since 8 o’clock this morning. At the same time, ten families have been fully supplied with clothing, so that the call of His Worship has clearly met with an immediate, generous and practical response. I have recently seen Mr C. D. Kennedy, engineer to the County Council, and he tells me that the roads are much damaged, and that considerable outlay will he required. The Premier’s sympathetic messages and offers of aid are greatly appreciated here. There is no doubt that the dairy, gardening and small farm industries in the district have sustained a paralytic stroke, and that an appeal will have to be made to the entire Colony on behalf of the sufferers.