Destructive Gale.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XVII, Issue 5204, 10 February 1892, Page 3

Destructive Gale.

greatdamageto property. The weather still continues close and , TH n * nd rain has fallen m showers -' rs are resuming somewhat of •^ IC " ii size. The Kakanui sank tbe \ r "piclly, and the scene of its devas*Cl? 'j s forlorn and desolate in the ex- ° The piles of the railway bridge, trelU t Allows and hillocks over which » du g »i», the " j j ft . WO od, and the carcases of fgIICCS? Sto r?h race has not, contrary to expect*- - , sustained any serious damage. A tlotl ' 111 slips, which can be easily re{e* Tire the only damage reported. P : X' Railway Department announce t to-day a tr.un will be run to i that „;iv leaving Oamaru at 8 a.m. Rorton 5 ' ' frotn Borton's at 10 a.m. i nd the e I ,ierS -1 the Duntroon ■4 hive heen carried away, it will be Bn Vm'p before railway communication some Tl ni) witli Kurow. 11l the meanL - " pCn a niin''einent.s will, doubtless, be 3 conveyance of passengers and uiails by ro^j i i p une( ji n arrived here at A f 1 ? .. i., st n ifrht. The Palmerston 11 ° left as' usual"as did also the south tram left tinie toblo wiU be as usual to-day, with the excep- • ~r fln> Kurow tram. tW Wi/h reference to the death of Walter svrinson the Dunedin Star says He „,ip-ivorin" to rescue some horses fr ;|' ...f LS washed away, Several people r, .' = ed the occurrence, but there being £ tot »t hand, they could give no assLS«t O'Grady received a telegram to-d.iv from one of the police to the effect ,„ t 'the man who was supposed to have been drowned at Island Stream is named THrrv Plummer; but that he saw him and that he was alive and well \muu''st the incidents -which arose out the recent heavy rains, one of the most ,ti„" was one m which the dramatis ™ mW r included two very little boys. The little fellows had arrived m Oamaru from Timaru oil Monday night, en route for Dunedin, and not being able to get •inv further, they had to find a hospitable shelter somewhere for the night. It Conspired, ho.vever, that they had run short of cash, and had not the wherewitnal to dit for board and lodgings. Some riilwav servants at the station became ,wire "of the position of the little chaps ',nd collected amongst themselves 7s 6d, by the aid of which all difficulty was overcome Well done, railway officials. A passenger who managed, -with great difficulty, to set through from Kurow; to Borton's yestenlay brings a few particulars of the floods in the Kurow district. He informs us that four spans of the Hakaterainea bridge are down in the centre and the bridge now presents the appearance af a switch-back railway, as m addition to the spans winch are swept away a span on either side is sloping down'into the river. As already stated, both of the Hakaterainea bridges are down, and in addition to this the hareKuri, Awakino, Otiake, and Otekaike bridges are down. The cause of the stone-blocks of the Maerewhenua bridge being swept away was the quantity of sludge that came down. At Straclian s two pairs of rails are washed away foi a considerable distance, and at Waikaura there is a similar break. The road from Kurow to Duntroon is well-nigh impassable. The Maerewhenua has never been known to be higher, and at dark last night the river had again begun to rise, sheaves, trees, and stock.being swept seawards by the torrent. The river is described as being like a tidal bore. At Kuroiv many of the paddocks containing grain are under water. Mr Grant's farm at Otiake is completely I under water. | itfr Cairns' coalpit at Kurow is flooded out. There is no communication north of Whare-Kuri, and it is unknown liow the settlers in the upper districts fared. Dip Creek and Diggers' Creek .are both impassable. Several narrow escapes from drowning arc chronicled. Mr Dasler, while attempting to save some of his property, was cut off by the Otiake, which came in over the embankment, and he had to be rescued by a rope. Mrs Stewart also had to be rescued from her house. A man named Taylor, camped near the Awakino, was washed out of his tent into three or four feet of water without any warning, and narrowly escaped with his life. A man is supposed to have been lost on the ranges. He was out shepherding and was due at Mr Chapman's a week ago but has not yet put in an appearance. The police at Duntroon have been communicated with, and steps are being taken to ascertain if he has reached Kyeburn or any other outlying settlement-. A portiou of a buggy was washed ashore on the beach. The weather has nowapparently become icttled. DUNTROON. (FKOSI oni OWN CORRESPONDENT.) Jjotr that the water has partially Irained away from the flats about the nouth of the Maerewhenua, a most Htiable scene of devastation is presented. Hie railway bridge has been torn away From the left bank for about half its length, and lies a mass of wreckage, ibout a couple of chains below the footbridgo, a large portion of which was also carried down by the rush of water. The stones of the pier have been swept- away some live or six chains, showing with riat a tremendous force the water Dust have come down the river bed. i very large extent of ground is »vered with silt and shingle, several wldooks being completely ruined, fences are levelled in all directions, itone dykes and embankments swept llT '\ v > and gardens, which in one or two nstances have been formed at an outlay !t long and patient labor, utterly de'troyed. The people living in the lower *- T el turned out, leaving everything in heir houses, some seeking shelter in the township during the night, while others raited until Monday morning, when heir removal became a most unpleasant risky matter, as the flood was ■hen at its greatest height, and several eep and rapid streams were running letween them and the higher grounds. Luckily, however, and thanks to the plucky conduct of the men who went to ■ r assistance all were got out without °ss of life. Cattle and horses were rought up from the lower paddocks without any serious loss, but a number of ® e P* amongst which were some valuL rams, have been swept away from f r Baton's property; the amount loss in this district is not yet nown however. A great stream swept » v er the site of Mr J. G. Nicolls' > e ence, le W:l ter coursing through the °^ e to .the height of about three feet, o leaving it and the surrounding s unds m a miserable state, the inmates •ng shut up meantime in the upper orey without means of escape from their r t .critical position. Some of the Rn=f , S' le r U P the river must have lined considerable loss, as sheaves of 3 j °»ts were coming down rather h. during the day. I believe this is in ( .? rea^ t flood that has been known hef - rewhenua river, and the Wri - ,^ a itaki also being in flood in?) I , er , wi th the vast amount of shingle iv„- S J-!i^ e has collected in the ! if acc °unt for the serious amount Ji„ t done. The stream just above ,Kj V -,= e reached a point just nine feet its ordinary level.

(BY TELEGRAPH.) WELLINGTON. February 10. The rainfall in Wellington between 9.30 a.m. on Saturday and 9.30 on Sunday morning was no less than 2"424 inches. The strength of the wind is shown by the fact that the horizontal movement of the air during twenty-four hours, as registered by the instrument at the Observatory was 286 miles. In the vicinity of Masterton 4 inches of rain fell during thirty-six hours. It is stated that thousands of pounds' worth of damage will be done to the crops in the Wairarapa district by the recent heavy rains. DUNEDIN February 9. The weather has cleared. There has been no rain since this morning. The state of the Taieri Plain is most deplorable. From within two miles of Mosgiel right up to Greytown the Plain is almost covered with water. At Outram last night the peoole remained up all night, fearing the bank would give way or the water flood over it. The river reached to within a few inches of the top, and in some places the embankment had to be made slightly higher. The river then commenced to fall slowly, and is now down fully four feet. From Owliiro to Greytown about four miles of the main railway is under water, and it will probably be three days before it is passable. The Countess of Jersey managed to getthrough by road from Milton to Mosgiel, where she took the train. The coach also got through with the mails. The estimate of the damage cannot be made for some weeks yet. The damage in the Shag Valley is also very great, and several farmers near Waikouaiti, and especially Cherry Farm, lose considerably. The body of Walter Swanson was found within a few yards of where he disappeared. CHRISTCHURCH. February 9. The weather has been fine to-day, but appears still unsettled. North Canterbury has escaped the heavy rains which caused the floods north and south. The rivers rose slightly, but no damage is reported. The injury to the crops is less than in less fortunate localities, though much of the grain will sprout if moist warm weather continues. On the Peninsula some harm has been done to cocksfoot. INVERCARGILL. February 9. The weather was fair all day, but a southerly drizzle set in to-night. There are no floods in this districts.