HEAVY DOWNPOUR

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22826, 10 March 1936, Page 10

HEAVY DOWNPOUR

EFFECTS OF WEEK-END RAIN LINDSAY’S CREEK OVERFLOWS LEITH REACHES HIGH LEVEL MINOR DELAYS ON RAILWAYS Following exceptionally heavy week-end tain, Lindsay’s Creek and the Water of Leith shortly after 6 o’clock yesterday morning reached their highest level since the flood of 1929. While the Leith remained within its banks, Lindsay’s Creek overflowed at Allen street, North-East Valley, and .flooded a large area extending to the Botanic Gardens. Fortunately, after damage to a number of shops and homes had seemed imminent, the water began to recede, and in two hours the roads were again clear. The downpour which set in on Saturday afternoon caused a gradual increase in the level of Lindsay’s Creek, and by the time it had overflowed yesterday morning the usually innocent-looking stream had become a raging torrent. The water, flowing from the side streets, found its way into the Main North road, which, with its slight fall towards the Gardens, offered a convenient course, and residents with some alarm watched the flood level grow and an increasing area become submerged. Their fears were soon removed, however, and the water receded after a very email amount of damage had been caused. Apparently the water found its way into only one house, a low-lying residence in Allen street. The owner, fearing that the creek might break its banks, remained awake during the greater part of the night in order to take prompt measures, if necessary, to protect his property. Eventually, however, he fell asleep, and, leaping out of bed on awakening later in the morning, he stepped into water. In other homes, however, the damage was confined to the gardens. SHOPS ESCAPE DAMAGE The sudden fall in the level of the flood water, which reached its height at about 7 o’clock, was welcomed by shopkeepers on the Main North road. About this time the floor of the butcher’s shop occupied by Messrs Bennett and Houston was covered with the muddy water, which had penetrated about a yard into the doorways of other premises. The narrow escape which other shopkeepers experienced is shown by the fact that in several cases the water at its highest level was only a few inches from the doors. When the water subsided, after reaching a depth of over 18 inches at the Gardens and extending over both pavements for a considerable distance, it left behind a thick deposit of silt which was cleared away by workmen, and a few hours later little evidence of the flood could be seen in the North road. A number of gardens, however, remained under water, and on the banks of the stream clear evidence could be seen of the surprising height reached by the water and of the speed with which it had been flowing. TRAM SERVICE INTERRUPTED One effect of the flooding was an interruption of the early tram service to Normanby. The first car, which was due at Normanby shortly before 7 o’clock, ran into water reaching over the running boards and had to remain at the Gardens. As soon as possible two buses took up the running, the first arriving shortly after 7.20. The buses maintained the service until 8 o’clock, when it was possible for the trams again to be brought into commission. In anticipation of blockages caused by the continuous rain, the Tramways Department had men on the roads as early as 4 o’clock in the morning to ensure that the lines should be clear. LEITH RUNNING HIGH It was more than an hour and a-half after high tide that the Water of Leith reached its greatest level, which was also the highest in the past seven years. The Otago Harbour Board’s gauge at Harbour terrace showed the level of the river to be at the 6ft 9in mark, but, although the water had reached the top of the original protective walls, the parapets erected below Forth street offered a wide margin of safety. Residents above this point would perhaps have been justified in feeling a little uneasiness in view of their previous experiences, as the river was carrying a huge volume of. water and for a short, distance above Forth street the water at its greatest height was lapping over the protective walls. A further rise at this point might have had a damaging effect, bujt, as a clearance of about , 2ft 6in remained under the Forth street bridge on its upper side, the flow of the swollen stream was not impeded. The fall in the level was so rapid as to dispel completely any fears that residents might have entertained, and at noon the gauge recorded a depth of only 3ft. Even at this time, however, the Leith was still carrying a large volume of muddy water, the contrast with the normal level showing how exceptional the rainfall had been. The behaviour of the river wa s closely watched at the second high tide of the day at 5 o’clock, but, although there had been further heavy rain, the water remained at about the noon level. PROTECTIVE WORKS UNDAMAGED Officials of the City Corporation and Harbour Board kept a close watch on the Leith from the early morning, the Harbour Board having a special interest in the situation in view of the fact that its flood protection works are at present in progress. As the river is still confined to its retaining walls, the new works were not damaged, although no work was possible yesterday. The excavation on the northern side of the canal was flooded to a denth of several 'feet, but it is expected that this water will be quickly pumped out, enabling a resumption of the work as soon as the weather clears. EXTENT OF DOWNPOUR The rainfall records taken by the City -• Corpcration in the Leith watershed explain the abnormal level of the river. At the Ross Creek reservoir the fail tor the 2i hours ended at 8 o’clock yesterday morning was 2.69 in. and the total fall since the commencement of the downpour, following the sudden storm on Saturday, was 3.59 in. There was a similar fall at Sullivan dam. and at Wliare Hat, which is outside the watershed, the recordings were even heavier. No less than 3.62 in fell there for the 24 hours ended at 8 o’clock yesterday morning, As a result of the heavy rainfall there has been a considerable gain in the city s water storage. The total quantity in the reservoirs yesterday was 142,201,000 trillions. which is only 6,519,000 gallons short of the maximum capacity.^ In a number of low-lying portions ot tin* city gardens were under water yesterday. and minor losses mav be faced. I lie drainage from the hill suburbs was considerable, and on the flat the full capacity of most of the drains was ventured to carry awav the surface water. More than half of the Carisbrook ground remained under water throughout the day’, and there yvas a large amount of surface water at the Oval, to which some thousands ot seagulls were attracted. The outer portion of the Logan Park playing fields was covered bv a large, unbroken expanse of water, and the Hospital Board’s gardens behind the Talboys Home were flooded, LITTLE DAMAGE TO ROADS In spite of the heavy nature of the fall, the rain caused few interruptions in road traffic, and the most important main highways north and south of Dunedin remained clear. . . ~ . , - As ft result of Hie rise in the. level ot the Taieri River, the Outram bridge yyas impassable yesterday, the water sweeping over the decking. A deviation via Alianton was necessary. At Waitabuna the road was covered to a depth of three leet, but it was possible to tow cars through. At Highcliff the upper road to Portobello has been blocked by a slip, which has not yet been cleared, and a further

slip has party blocked the Port ChalmersWaitati road at the Scott monument. It is possible, however, for cars to pass with caution. SLIPS ON RAILWAY LINE EXPRESSES DELAYED With the exception of short delays occasioned by two small slips, the running of the trains on the Dunedin-luvercargill line was not affected to any considerable extent by the heavy rains. Shortly after 6.30 yesterday morning, a slip about a chain in length and between four and five feet deep came down on the north line, near Carey’s Bay, with the result that the night express from Christchurch was held up at Purakanui. Some difficulty yvas experienced by the district engineer’s department in securing labour at that early hour, but finally a gang was despatched, and shortly after 9 o’clock the line was all clear again. Before reaching Timaru, the express from the north bad experienced engine trouble, which caused a delay of about an hour, and it was exSected that Hie train would not reach limedin until 8 o’clock —an hour after its scheduled time —but on account of the stop at Purakanui it was 9.45 before it arrived here. There was a number of through passengers on the night express, and so that they could connect with the 8.33 express for Invercargill this train was held back until 10 o’clock. The 8.45 express for Christchurch yya s delayed at St. Leonards until the line was clear, and arrived at Onmaru about an hour behind time. A small slip near Mount Allan was responsible for a slight disorganisation of traffic on the Central Otago line, and it was nearly 9.30 before the 7.52 a.m. train for Cromwell got away. The inward train from Cromwell also experienced ft silght delay on account of the slip, and yvas half an hour late in reaching Dunedin. AN IDLE WATERFRONT SEVEN VESSELS DELAYED All work on the Dunedin waterfront yvas abandoned yesterday, when seven vessels, with an aggregate gross tonnage of over 24.000. were idle. The vessels were the Taranaki, with cargo from Liverpool. Oakhank, with phosphates, Waikouaiti. with cargo from Australia, Abel Tasman, with freight from Sydney, and the Wingatui, Kara, and Rata ready to continue loading for northern ports. Four of the ships berthed at the various wharves were due to sail dunring the day, but in consequence of the delay the Wingatui and Kara are not likclv to sail before 11 a.m. to-day, and the Rata is expected to sail to-night, while the Waikouaiti and Abel Tasman will not clear the port until to-morrow at the earliest. About 60 Port Chalmers yvaterside yvorkers wore brought to the city at 1 p.m. to supplement the gangs engaged to discharge the Taranaki’s cargo, but the rain prevented a start being made, and the men stood by for the greater part of the afternoon. The Abel Tasman encountered stormy south-west weather and heavy head seas all the way from Lyttelton. She left the Canterbury port on Saturday morning, and reached port at 3 p.m. yesterday, the passage occupying about 52 hours RAINFALL THIS YEAR EXCEPTIONALLY HEAVY TOTAL The rainfall in Dunedin this year has been exceptionally heavy. The records shoyv that nearly three times as much rain has fallen for the two months and nine days of this year, compared with the fall for the corresponding period of last year. Since the rain commenced to fall at 1.15 p.m. on Saturday up to 6 p.m. yesterday the total fall yvas 3.37 inches, making the year’s figures to date 11.36 inches, as against 4.12 inches from January Ito March 9 Inst year. The rainfall from 1.15 p.m. on Saturday to 9 a.m. on Sunday was .85 inches, and from W a.m. to 9 a.m. yesterday 2.32 inches, while .20 inches fell up to 6 p.m. yesterday. CONDITIONS ON THE TAIERI SMALL STREAMS* OVERFLOW Heavy rain on Saturday afternoon followed a short period of beautiful autumn weather, during which farmers had made the most of their time threshing from the stook. or leadiug-in and stacking. Some late crops were also cut and stocked, but the rain late on Saturday afternoon put a stop to all such work. Sunday was showery, the sou coining through at intervals, but late in the evening a steady rain set in, and continued all night. Yesterday there yvas a thick drizzle all day, yvith the result that all loyv-lying lands yvere covered with patches of surface water, and the various streams rose, some overfloyving their banks. The Taieri River rose 11 feet by noon yesterday. The most serious effect of this yvas the blocking of the MosgjelMiddlemareh highway at West Taieri bridge, and the flooding of land at Riverside. The Silverstream and smaller water courses yvere responsible for the blocking of the Wliare Flat road and the Riccar-ton-Wylie’e Grossing road, and also for a short time Gordon road, near Mosgiel. The various roads in this area received a certain amount of scouring, but not to any groat extent. The Chvhiro overfloyved its banks near Mosgiel railway station, but the yvater did not invade any buildings. Near Wingatui several crops in the stook yvere surrounded by yvater yesterday. In some instances the sheaves yver" floating in the water. Mr John Garrett (inspector of yvqrks, Taieri County) reports that very little damage has been done on any of the roads. There yvere some yvashouts in the Whare Flat district, near the school. The Riccarton-Wylie’s Crossing road, which had been flooded during the day. yvas again passable, but flood waters still covered the Circular and Riverside roads in East Taieri. The Taieri River yvas at the 15-foot mark at the Outram bridge at 5 p.m.. but (here yvere signs of the yynter commencing to recede. Less rain fell in the upper reaches of the Taieri River, snoyv falling on the Rock and Pillar mountains. A cold but drying yv'tid sprang up before dusk last night,' and the rain stopped. There appeared to ho every sign that a break in the yveatlicr bad occurred, and therefore further flooding yvas not to be feared. Latest reports arc to the effect that the streams arc all falling and 1 lie surface yvaters on the paddocks disappearing. THE MILTON DISTRICT TOKO RIVER BANK HIGH Rain showers fell intermittently on Saturday and Sunday, and reached their greatest intensity in the early hours of yesterday morning. As a consequence, the Toko River and district creeks yvere running bank high, but no damage to the Bruce County roads is reported. The rainfall for 24 hours ended 9 a.m. on Sunday totalled .51 in, and for a similar period to 9 a.m. yesterday 1.02 in. CENTRAL OTAGO RAIN IN CROMWELL Early last yveek there yvas a fairly heavy ‘rainfall in the Cromwell district, but later a cold southerly brought snow on the mountains and tyvo nights frost followed. The first of these did a good deal of damage to tender crops in kitchen gardens. On Saturday evening rain again set in from the south, and on Sunday morning snow yvas lying halfyvay dow ll (lie slopes near the town. Showers tell all day Sunday but the steadiest fall yvas for tyvo hours before daylight yesterday mornin'' The wind has been from the south, and with snoyv loyv down the ram has not affected the rivers, which, yesterday morning were still running at a loyv level.