LITTLE RIVER FLOODS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 25851, 23 May 1945, Page 6

LITTLE RIVER FLOODS

A SCENE OF DESOLATION THREAT TO TOWNSHIP AVERTED (P.A) CHRISTCHURCH, May 22. Little River was to-day recovering from the worst flood in memory. Residents say that had Lake Forsyth not burst through to the sea on Sunday afternoon the township would have been destroyed. This morning Little River presented a scene of desolation. Masses of rocks, shingle, silt, tree trunks, and flood debits were strewn everywhere. The creek was running at full force down the main street. Dead sheep, hares, rabbits, and dogs lay where the flood had left them. At the height of the flood on Sunday the water was fully four feet deep in the township. Creeks overflowed and carried destruction with them, and whole hillsides slipped away. Round the town-ship-to-day could be counted at least 50 slips, ranging from small ones to large ones, in which thousands of tons of soil and rock had come away. Silt covered the main road through Little River to a depth of six inches, and in the blacksmith’s shop three feet of mud and shingle had piled up. A horse- scoop was being used to clean it out this morning. The flooding was accentuated by the fact that the creeks were blocked by slips and then burst through with devastating force. One diverted creek is running through the back door of a garage and oufc the front door, continuing down the main road. A woman who lives two miles from .Little River got througuh to the township last night after wading through silt up to her knees. She said she could hardly recognise her surroundings, as the creek had disappeared and roads, fences, and other landmarks had vanished under the silt. Stock losses do not appear to be unduly heavy.