THE FLOODS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 6791, 20 November 1883, Page 2

THE FLOODS.

FURTHER PARTICULARS,

PALMERSTOJt, (FBOll dUB Ciwft oaBBBSPO'SDWri1.)

:., ~.....: ~..,. .; Saturday night. The rainfall experienced here off and on for the past week was a mere nothing compared to the fall we havo had for the past 12 hours, which has been the heaviest for some years. The water in the creek passing through the town ha 3 overflowed the banks, and flooded several houses on the flat to the depth of 2ft and 3ft, the inhabitants having to clour out, whilst several of the business placea in the town have greatly suffered. The cellars of Mr James Arkle, Messrs Burton and Sutherland, and the North-Western Hotel are flooded to the depth of 3ft and 4ft, and I am afraid the damage done will prove to be considerable. Monday. The result of the heavy rain was to cause several landslips on the railway-line, bo that the express tram could not proceed any further South than this. Thore were some 200 passengers by it, and the result was a great inconvenience to the passengers. The hotels could not accommodate half of them, and as there were numerous women with small children, the position was not a pleasant one. Several of the townspeople lent assistance, and the people were made as comfortable as possible under the circumstances. The railway carriages were temporarily turned into sleeping ■apartments. Several private families gavo all tho accommodation they could possibly spare. I regret to have to report two fatal accidents from drowning. Five of tho express passengers, when they found the train could not proceed, hired a buggy and pair from Mr W. Foster, of the Empire Stables, and with Mr Foster left here about 7 o'clock for town, a Mr E. Guinness driving. They succeeded, although strongly persuaded against attempting the journey, in getting safely over the Pleasant Eiver bridge; but when just on the other side the driver unfortunately left the crown of the road, which is very narrow at that point, and the lot were precipitated over the embankment, the water at the time being about 16ft deep. The whole of the occupants were either thrown or jumped into the water. All, however, succeeded in getting otit except one named Hobbs, who was drowned, and the owner of the turnoutj Mr Foster, who had sunk, but was ultimately got out, to all appearances lifeless. It was only after considerable exertion that he was brought round. He is still in a Very precarious state, and very faint hopes are held out of his recovery. The body of Hobbs wa6 got at 6 o'clock yesterday morning and fc.onv.eyed to the Empire Hotel, where, ah. inquest is how being held. Both horses were drowned; and, the buggy smashed. Great praise is certainly due to Masters William and James Sloan, sons of Mr G, Sloan, at whose place the accident happened. These young men hearing the shouts of those in distress, at once, and at great personal risk to themselves, rushed in to the assistance of those in the water, and were really the means of saving five lives. The rescued were at once taken to the residences of Mr Sloan and Mrs Paterson, when they were carefully attended to, some of them proceeding to town by the coach yesteid&y. The other accident happened to Mr Charles Eddie, manager for Mr Thos, Caljutt, Goodwood. He was proceeding with a single buggy from Goodwood Houbb to the railway-Btation to forward some important letters and to meet Mr Calcutt, who was expected from town by the train. Eddie was strongly advised not to attempt crossing, as the river was in buoli a swollen state ; but he persisted in going. He had crossed the Pleasant River bridge safely; but on this slda bf the bridge there is a dip in the road, and the ri«er when in flood runs very strdnfj at that place. Some persons on the hill in the v vicinity of this point saw the whole lot swept away. The buggy speedily capsised, arid all was over, not a .vestige of driver, horse, or buggy being seen afterwards. The police and others were searching all day yesterday and again today, and succeeded in recovering the body about 10 o'clock, nearly a quarter of a mile from the scene of the accident, covered (except a small portion of one of the legs) with sand. The horse -was found lying on the opposite side of the river, with the shafts of the buggy attached, but there was no appearance of the buggy. The loss, of cattle and sheep throughout the district has been something considerable, dead carcasses lying about in all directions. The present flood has proved the most disastrous which ever happened here, and will long be remembered. The total rainfall for 12 hours was 2.51 inches.

(from oub own beportbr.)

The oldest residents do not remember ever having witnessed such a flood as that which occurred on Saturday laßt in the Palmerston and Waikouaiti districts, It was remarkable for its suddenness. Some of the streams, such as the Pleasant River, rose with alarming rapidity. The rain, heavy though it was along the seaboard, must have fallen in far larger quantities on the hills in tho back country. It is hardly possible to form any estimate of the damage done, but judging from the dilapidated state of many of the fences, the damage to the crops on low lying land} and the number of sheep drowned, it must have been very considerable, In most places the floods subsided as rapidly as they had risen. At 8 o'clock the Pleasant River was overflowing its banks for miles, and the greater portion of the valley was one broad sheet of water, resembling a goodly-sized lake. It is much to be regretted that the inundation that so suddenly visited the district) and did such damage to property, has also' been attended with very serious loss of life. Another death has to-day (Monday) been added to the list of fatalities already chronicled. Foster, the owner of tha horses and buggy hired by the party of which the unfortunate Hobbs was one, died tbday. It will be remembered that he was recovered from the watara in a vfery exhausted condition. The party conveyed him to Mr Sloan's house, where he received every attention. Dr Brown was called in, and did what he could for his patient, though from the first little hopes were entertained of his recovery, and he expired at 20 mmutes past four this afternoon. The circumstances connected with his death are very sad. It ia stated that at the time of the accident be was slightly the worse of liquor. Generally he was known as a man of temperate habits, but it is stated that before starting on the journey he was induced to take some drink. Otherwise, it is argued by his friends, he would not have undertaken so perilous a journey on such a night. Foster leaves a wife and two children who, I understand, will ba very fairly provided for, as deceased had property of considerable value at Palmerston. He was induced to make his will a very short time before he died. The road, at the place where the accident occurred, is highly dangerous in time of flood, as on either side at such times the water is of considerable depth, and there is besides a turn that, in the event of the fences and other landmarks being covered, would not be easily followed. The prompt and brave action of the two young men, James and William Sloan, has been the theme of general adaiiration. More than one of the unlucky party owe their lives to the exertions of these young gentlemen. Their attention being attracted by the cries of those in the water, they, with all haste, put off to their rescue in a small dingey. One of the brothers propelled this frail craft, while the other swam behind till they reached the spot where the- buggy had disappeared. Hobbs was the first man they noticed, but he sank when they were yet a few feet away, and immediately their attention was directed to Foster, whom they imagined to be the .same man they had just seen disappearing. Young Sloan at once turned the boat in the direction of the drowning man, but just as they reached tho spot where he was floundering about he, too, sank. Young Sloan, however, succeeded in catching him by the hair of the head, dragged him ashore. The brothers then went in search of the other members of the party, one of whom must have had a very narrow escape, for he got into midstream and attempted to rest on a willow bush. The bush, however, was not strong enough to support his weight, and he had to shift his quarters. Fortunately, he could swim, and so he made his way to the nearest fence, and clung to a post till assistance arrived. During onq of their short cruises the Sloans had the misforturne to upset their little boat, and both had to swim ashore. Eventually they succeeded in rescuing all except Hobbs, and the party proceeded to the house, where they received the most kind and generous treatment at the hands of the other members of the Sloan family. Such acts of bravery and kindness as these are not chronicled every day, and are certainly deserving of more sutetantrial reward than mere mention in a newspaper report. While Foster's party were still in the water, another buggy, in which were seated three gentlemen, drove past the soene of the accident. of the Sloan's ahouted loudly after them to stop, but thinking him a man rather the worße for liquor they took no beed and drove on. Sloan, however, persevered in his efforts, and after running some distance after them, they were prevailed upon to halt. On learning the state of matters they returned, and, stabling their horses, waited a couple of hours or so till the waters had subsided somewhat. It is, perhaps, fortunate that they did wait, for the road a little farther along was if anything more dangerous than at the bridge. The body of Mr Charles Eddie, who was drowned near the Goodwood railway-station, has been recovered. The coroner does not deem it necessary to hold an inquest, a magisterial inquiry proving sufficient to show that death in this caae was purely accidental.

THE INQUEST.

An inquest on the body of Jas. Allan Hobbs was held in Duncan's Hotel yesterday afternoon, before Mr Murdoch (coroner) and a jury of 12, of whom Mr J. Patterson was chosen as foreman. The following evidence was taken :— l''rank Hobbs, brother of deceased, gave evidence regarding the identification of the body.

Robert Paterson, bootmaker, residing1 La Dunedin, deposed : I was a passenger by the express train from the North on Saturday last. I was one of the party who hired a buggy at Palmereton to go to Dunedin. James Allan Hobbs, now deceased, was one of the party. I do not know the names of all the passengers. There were five in all, and Foster, the owner of the buggy. Wo started from Palmerston about 7 o'clock. It was a wet night, but not dark, and we had no lamps lighted. Frank Guinness, one of the passengers, was driving. The reason he was driving was because it waa thought the owner was not capable of driving. It was Allan Hobbs who objected and got Guinness to take the reins some time after starting. The horses were going all right. After arriving at Pleasant Creek we got into deep water while on the road. The water waa too deep for tho horses and they turned. The passengers then left the buggy, because it was full of water and sinking. Some of them jumped on to the road, and the othersinto tbs deep water—three from the back and. thred frojh.thb frtint Of, the .buggy.. - 1 got idtadeep water and had- to swim1 ashore. I.eaw'Hobfel go sideways out of the buggy, but did not take any notice whether he swam.

To the Foreman;- I had no difficulty in getting to the road. Two others swam ashore. On landing it was so light that I could see the time by my watch. The driver Guinneas was perfectly sober. To Sergeant Conn: He seemed to drive the horses straight. Sergeant Conn stated that this was the only witness he could produce of those who were in the buggy at the time of the accident. .Foster was, he believed, lying in a very precarious condition, and the other witnesses had proceeded in the coach to Dunedin whiles he (the ser* geant) was.searching for the body. l; . James Sloan, farmer, residing at Pleasant River, said his attention was attracted to the accident by a shout. Hia brother also called to him to come, stating that there were some men drowning. Witness rushed to where hia brother was. The latter was in a small dingey. They at once pushed off to the men. • Witness saw the man Allan Hobbs in the water crying foi help. He was in deep water in one of the lagoons on the roadside, and was struggling, not swimming. Witness and hia brother endeavoured to rescue him, but when they were about two feet from him he sank. ~At thaj time witness saw; neither the buggy nor ths horses. When looking round expecting Hobba to rise they saw something floating-on the water, and on going nearer witness found it to be Foster. They got hold of him and brought him ashore. The road where the accident occurred was very narrow and dangerous, on account of the large holes on either side of it.

To Sergeant Conn: When covered with water, as.at the time of the accident, it would be impossible to. see whether one-was diiving into the holes or on the road.- The fences being submerged there was nothing to guide* one in keeping the centre of the road.

William Patterson Sloan, brother of the last witness, gave corroborative evidence. He also stated that he assisted two other men besides Foster from the sides of the road. On the centre of the road there would be about 4ft of water; and on either side about loft or 16ft. The road at that point was very dangerous in time of flood. . - . , ■ * jTo thp Foreman i When I cailght Foster; I thought he was the man who first sank.

To Sergeant Conn: There is a turn in IBS road juSt where the accident occurred.; . , Si Dr, Brown, who Had examined ,th'e,body! said his, opinion was, that death bad resulted from suffocation caused by drowning. :, .■ ~ The Coroner in summing up, aaid;that he had laid before them all the evidence it was in his power to call. He thought they would have no hesitation in arriving at a verdict of, accidental death.

The jury, without retiring, came to the conclusion that deceased bad been "Accidentally drowned." They also decided to call the attention of the authorities to the dangerous condition of the road in times of flood at the spot where the accident occurred.' /

The Foreman called attention to the very creditable manner in which the Sloans had exerted themselves in saving the lives of tha occupants of the buggy. The Coroner said Tie was glad Mr Patterson had called attention to the matter, and he thanked the Messrs Sloan on behalf of tha jury for their exertions.

THE TAiERt

The lower portions of the Taieri Plain1 axe still flooded, but a,s. yet,tio.very jjreat damafeS has been, done, .The greater portion of the land in the vicinity of the farms of Messrs V?. Shand, W. Kirklahd, and R. Charters is completely underwater. . Little or no, damage.bas been done at either the West.or North Taierjj but a portion of the road leading from Riccaiton to Wylie's crossing has been washed away and rendered impassable for all but foot traffic. At Waipori all the drains are overflowing, and a good deal of mischief has bean wrought by the water. At Messrs Bairy'a and Dow's farms the ditcheg are also overflowing, and the lower portions of the paddocks are covered with the water. It commenced to rain again yesterday afternoon about. 1 o'clock; but by that time the river had gone down a good deaf, and was considerably lower than it wag on Saturday.

TIMART7.

(Timaru Herald.)

One of the heaviest rainstorms which has ever visited this district occurred on Saturday last, and although it really only lasted off ana on about 10 hours, we doubt if a greater quantity of water ever fell here in a similar tima before. Commencing about 6 o'clock in the morning it continued to come down in sheets for several hours in town, after which it became less heavy, until 3 o'clock, when the clerk of the weather again turned the tap full on till 5 o'clock. The effect of the storm in town was soon' noticeable, from some of the low-lying portions with bad drainage becoming flooded. After giving particulars of many of the local effects of the storm, the Herald goes on to describe the state of matters to the south from Timaru. It having become knfiwn that tbe express train was stuclt up at Makikihi a special train went out to meet It. The report proceeds i—"tfrom half way between St. Andrews to Makikiki station it was a case of flood almost everywhere. On the upper sids of the line the water had backed up—in soma instances for fully a mile back, the green shoots of the. young crops only showing here and there. The dray road in many places waa under water several feet, while the trips of gorse hedges and fences were seen only on the hillocks. Fortunately) the strip of land between the railway and the hills was cl no great width. Wherever there was a culvert or a viaduct the water rushed through with immense force, but these apertures were few and' far _ between, and proved totally inadequate to give vent to the flood, which poured over the railway line in a dozen different places; At times the water was nearly up to the axles" of the railway wheels. The land on the seaward side of the line presented a much more dismal aspect than that oh the uppers f°r tUere one long sheet of water presented itsolf for miles, in somefei stances reaching from the sea-beach to the line. Here and there small flocks of perished-looking sheep were Been clustered on a rise or amongst bunches of flax, looking as if their last hour had come. After passing the Otaio the worst part came, the cowcatcher of the engine literally ploughing its way through the water at times. Below Quinn's there was a roaring, rushing stream running for a long distance parallel to f he line, and then in a hollow rushing under and over it. A mila and abalf or so this side of Makikihi the express was met, standing, afraid to run the risk of tackling the line. It waa backed to the Makikihi station, and the special train from Timaru, after its engine had been shunted to its other end, undertook to pilot it on its journey northwards. The Makikihi Biver was running bank and bank as the special went down the line, and the outlook for the journey back did not look promising. At 4.45 p.m. the special was set in motion, tho express following at a fair distance, much to the delight of the passengers by the latter who were tired of waiting nearly three hours, All went well until St. Andrew's was passed, but" at the place already mentioned as being doubtful the pilot engine was seen to pull up» A couple of chains of the line had been undermined and the ballasting carried away. It took Mr Hawkins and his mett nearly an hour and a-half to put it right* the trains meanwhile standing in the midst of a miniature lake about two miles long, created on flooded paddocks. The workmen, however, threw their whole heart into their work, though they were up to their middle in tbe torrent. About? o clock another start was made. On reaching the Pareora it presented a very altered appearance to what it had done about three hours previously. It had, in the interval, risen fully sft, and was running in one broad stream at the bridge. Fortunately the outlet to the sea, as visible from the line, was a broad and straight one, otherwise the fresh must have done considerable damage. After passing the Pareora good time was made to Timaru, which was reached at 7.30 p.m. The Saltwater Creek Lagoon, as the train passed, had not found an outlet, and was close up to the railway-line, and covering all the low land to the south-east corner where the line strikes the cliff."

OAMARIT.

(North Otago Times).

The rain that fell over the district, and beyond it, on Saturday was. ; exceptionally heavy, and falling as it did without a moment's cessation for somo 16 or 17 hours, has caused a considerable amount of damagd of various kinds. From all parts of the country there are rumours and.accounts of swollen streams and consequent carrying away of bridges, and interruption of traffic, flooded houses, and damaged crops. The Oamaru Creek on Saturday rose in flood with groateK rapidity than it has been known to do within the memory of the oldest Inhabitant. The shingle bank at the tnollth of the lagoon wag swept away. From Maheno comes tho intelligence that the stone bridge which crossed the Island Stream In two spans has been completely swept away by the swollen river—bo completely that there is not a stone left to mark whore the bridge once stood. On all the lines radiating from Oamarit traffic was suspended on Saturday.' The exjifass train from Dunedin travelling north from OamSfti was brought to a standstill atOtaio ; but after a delay of four hours was able to proceed north again. In the afternoon, however, with the increased floods, the same line was again broken by the force of accumulated surface water, and neither the afternoon train from Oamaru to Tirnaru, nor vice versa were able to reach their destination. The former got as far as a few chains on this side of Studholrae junction, wlißn it was brought up; it there waited for some time expecting to connect with the train from Timaru, but the lattor having been stuck up at the Hook, thay both had to return with their passengers to their starting point.

Our reporter^ wHo visited the,atone of tho bridge disaster at Maheno, says that with the exception of a few stones lying in the river, the whole of this previously substantial structure appears to have gone down tho stream. The quantity of water that swept down tho Island Stream must have been considerably greater than at any period in the previous history of the district. Whatever description of structure is erected ovor the Island Stream, in place of that swept away, will apparently have to cover a greater span, so that at flood time the water will bo able to get away without doing any injury. The other bridges on the road have suffered no injury. The Kakanui River has, however, been in strong flood, and it is quite possible that flockowners in the valley may have suffered some loss by the drowning of sheep.

[By Telegraph.]

Ghristchuroh, November ID. Heavy rains have been experienced here on Saturday and to-dayj but no damage from floods, is reported. The rain has done immense j^oo'd to all kinds of .crops..- „., .- Auckland, November IP._ Excessive rains havo cause a heavy land-slip on the Waikato railway near Wangareate, Wellington, Novembor 19. The weather is dull and threatening. It has been raining the greater part of the day. Blenheim, November 19. Heavy rains have fallen for the past week, but there are no floods.

TiMAitc; November 19.

The damage done by tho floods of Saturday has been more severe than at first anticipated. Tho approaches to several main road bridges are entirely carried away, and traffic stopped. After a^ spell of 48 hours, the gale has set in strain, this eyening with renewed fury. So far, ho los 3of live stock or injury to crops is reported, but this will not be the case if the storm continues. -. '.'

Arrow, November ly. A thunderstorm of a mild description passed over the district yesterday. Rain fell heavily while it lasted. The last two days have been very wet.