EXTENSIVE FLOOD DAMAGE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26749, 19 April 1948, Page 6

EXTENSIVE FLOOD DAMAGE

P.A. AUCKLAND, Apl. 18. Sweeping like a cloudburst across the coastal belt the most intense electrical storm in 20 or 30 years was experienced in the Bay of Plenty late on Saturday night and early this morning, while the black lowering sky was lit spontaneously by dazzling flashes of lightning. Between 7in and 9in of rain fell in a few hours throughout the countryside between Tauranga and Op'otiki. The worst effects were felt at Whakatane, where two streams at the back of the town were transformed into torrents, and a river of water swept through the main shopping street. Almost every shop was flooded, and goods stored or displayed on the floor level of premises suffered considerable damage. An early estimate was that the total loss would amount to thousands of pounds. Two cottages were damaged by slips from the face of hills backing the Ohope beach, and the road, linking Ohope with Whakatane was blocked. A few business premises were also flooded at Tauranga, where the rainfall over the 24 hours up to 9 o’clock this morning was B.9in. In the Opotiki district, where the recording was over 7in, lightning destroyed 50 transformer fuses and repeatedly interrupted the power and telephone services.

Part of a picture theatre audience at Waihi Beach was marooned for the night by a stream which broke its banks, inundated the footpath to a depth of four feet and destroyed five bridges on the main road along the foreshore. A store and several cottages were flooded. Streams Through Town A foot of water thick with silt and sand swept through most of Whakatane’s shops and business premises when two flooded streams became a five-knot tide in the centre of the shopping area early this morning. Several buildings were damaged or undermined, and debris was piled high in the street near the harbour, where the racing water found a broad outlet into the sea. The first showers occurred at nine o’clock last night, but heavy rain was not experienced until 11 p.m. It then fell with the force of a cloudburst until 7 o’clock this morning. The total fall to 9 o’clock this morning was nearly eight inches, but most of this rain was concentrated in a few hours after midnight. The approach of the storm from the north-west was heralded by a vivid display of sheet lightning. As its centre reached the town great peals of thunder burst overhead and flashes of forked lightning provided a startling electrical display. One resident counted a succession of 400 flashes at approximate intervals of three seconds. The stream near the rock, which is a landmark at the northern entrance to the town, became a torrent charged with , a heavy load of silt from its freshly scoured bed. It broke through the windows of a garage owned by Hamill Bros., deposited a heap of rubble four feet high against the walls of the building, and changed its course to follow the main street of the town towards the sea. A channel was later dug across the road at the northern end of the town to divert the flood waters from the main business area. The Wairere Stream, which is normally a modest cascade from the cliff face at the southern end of the town, was similarly affected. It rose 4ft higher than its normal 6ft channel, and, gaining momentum on the lower slopes of the hillside, heaped up the flood waters that were already pouring into the town from the northern end. It also covered the floors of the Bank of New Zealand, where it left smaller items of furniture in the residential part of the building floating, and deeply undermined part of the County Council chambers. .

Salvage in Darkness I Water to a depth of two feet was racing through the dark streets when the first shopkeepers arrived at their premises to begin the task of lifting stock to safer levels. Many of the shops were invaded by about lOin of water, and when the flood subsided it left a thick film of mud on floors and fittings. Recovery of their goods and the cleaning of walls and floors meant a full day’s work for the proprietors and their staffs. The road between Whakatane and the beach resort of Ohope was blocked by several slips, and it was not reopened to traffic until late this morning. At Ohope itself falls of earth from the hillside behind the beach damaged cottages and destroyed Canning’s motor garage. The approach to the bridge at the northern end of the beach road was also washed out. A stream near the Waihi motor camping ground burst its banks and broke across the main road of the township. Five small bridges were made useless, and the rapidly spreading water flooded the post office, store, and several cottages on the lower levels.

The deluge also enveloped Tauranga, where 6in of rain fell in three hours. With the drains overtaxed, the waters spread across the streets and there was flooding in the Strand. Water entered the kitchen and public rooms on the ground floor of the Commercial Hotel, and shops in the same locality were similarly affected. The Tauranga aerodrome was still partly under water to-day, and aircraft could use only one runway. Auckland, North Auckland and Waikato did not experience the full severity of the storm.