FLOODS IN THE NORTH.

Otago Witness, Issue 2209, 2 July 1896, Page 31

FLOODS IN THE NORTH.

ONE MAN BROWNED. Auckland, June 25.

There is a serious flood in the Ohinemuri river. The Paeroa towuship is inundated, and business is suspended. The water rose almost level ,with the large bridge, and the wharves at the lower township are submerged. Considerable damage has been caused along the river.

In the up-country distriots nearly all, the bridges have been swept away. Communication with Waihi by road is completely outs off, and all the coaches have been prevented from reaching their destination. A man named Charlss Brown, caretaker of tho New Zealand and Crown mineß water race, foil into the river, and was oarried away by tho torrent and drowned. The body was found this morniugbelow Adams Broß.' store, Deceased bad been terribly knocked about by the rocks, and had his coat and one boot and Book torn off. Deceased was very well known and highly respected,- having lived in Karangahake for m*ny years. He was a man who took the greatest interest in his work, and would go out at all hours at night to look after his particular duties. The poor fellow died at his post,, and wiU be mourned by a wife and a large family. Yesterday's flood was. the most serious that has oocurred here for many years. The water in the river rose till -the Railway wharf and' other wharves were covered, and a large tract of country flooded. The road to the junction was covered, and the Waitekauri bridge-lead-ing tv the Waihi was oarried away and oannot be replaced for a week or two. The bridges leading to Golden Grois mine and- Grace Darling wece swept away, besides the suspension bridge near Kirang&hake. ' A small storage shed at the upper wharf, P&eroa, wa9 carried bodily down the stream and dashed to pieces, and altogether considerable damage was done. The river has now gone down. Napier, June 25. I The rain which set in on Tuesday continues unabated. All the riveis in the district are in ; a high state of flood, and a considerable portion ! of the low-lying lands are under water. A very heavy sea is running in the bay. The reports from the up-country districts show that much of the low-lying land is completely submerged by the flood waters. The Ngahauroro river broke through its banks near Kitto's, and 3ft of water is now on the Omaha road. The tops ol the fences are just visible in places. The river at Tomoaua. is in a high state of flood, and was never so high before at that part. The road at Tapakura is quite submerged, and all the country to the west is a, vast shining lake, dotted about with the tops of trees. Ttfe railway bridge there is surrounded by floating timber. At Whakata the wr,ter is nearly bank high. Towards- West Clive there ia a great quantity of water, but., it is not at present thought that it involves any danger to, the inhabitants, as the river outlets aro good. At' dire bridge, however, the Water is about 2ft from the platform-, and soarobly any objeot is visible. ■ .There is a' marked difference between the river and the paddocks near. At noon it looked as if the weather' was breaking. The rivers continued to -rise rapidly until noon, and a great extent of low-lyiDg ground was several feet under water. Fortunately the rain then ceased for several hours, and though it started again in the evening, it has cleared off again, and promises to oontinue fine. Great damage has been done to roads and bridges throughout the provincial district. Road traffic in many places is quite suspended, and the late train to-night could not get through, owing to the water on the line at Clive. No large losses of iitook are, however, reported so far, as the rivers rose slowly, and settlers had time to remove their stock to higher ground. At 10.30 a telephone message from Hastings reported that the Railway department had received intimation that part of the Waipawa railway bridge and the approach to the Ashurst railway bridge, at the other side of the gorge, have been washed away, and the express from Napier could nob geli through. Four other trains are stuck 'up at Ormondville, Wai- ' pukurau, Waipawa, and Whakatu. Part of the line near Waipawa is washed an ay. At a late hour the Railway department decided to oancel the railway time-table for to-morrow, owing to the line being in a dan- I gerous condition through the floods. June 26. The weather is now breaking, and reports from the> country state that the rivers are falling rapidly. Tha ordinary railway time tables are suspended, owing to the lioe being damaged in various places, but the department expeot to carry out the full time table, and have arranged for the Jockey Club's races tomorrow. The mails for Wailingf ord, Porangahau, Wimbledon, and Herbertville could not be delivered yesterday, ' while the ordinary route to Moawhango was also blocked. Heavy slip 3 occurred on the Omahau and Okawa roads, completely blocking traffic. Slips are also reported from various parts of the country. The .principal damage seems to be to the nermftneirt w»js

The rivers have gone down considerably, but a steady rain has set in to-night. The ordinary train service was entirely suspended, but the ; lino was sufficiently repaired to let a train run to Waipukurau this evening. Waipawa, June 26. The heaviest rain for years fell last night. The low-lying portion of the town is flooded, and people have had to remove from their houses. The river is bank high, and the railway line south of the bridge has been washed away. Trains are unable to pass in oomequence. Woodvillb, June 26. Railway communication is entirely suspended. There are several slips on the line, and the approach from here to Pohangina bridge is washed away, while the punt and boat are oarried away from the Lower Gorge, so that the mails from Wellington and West Coast must come via Wairarapa, Wellington, June 25. In the Wairarapa district heavy rain has fallen, and the rivers in some places have overflowed their banks. No serioui damage is reported. The rain in town is not heavy, but the weather is very unsettled. > Christchurch, June 28. ' The late rains have caused the flooding of the low-lying parts in the country districts, and the rivers are high. Tho weather shows no signs of clearing.

The Taieri Advocate Bays : —" At the Wingatui brickworks Messrs C. and W. Gore, anxious to keep' thoroughly up to date, are now drying bricks by the hot-air process. Flues run round the kiln under the chamber where the bricks are stowed and burnt. As the cold air passes through the flues the fire at the place where the bricks are being burnt heats the air. The draught oonveys the heated air under the bricks that have not yet been reached by the fire. By this means the brioks are properly prepared for the fire and their quality greatly improved by the preliminary drying whioh they receive. The hotair process has been thoroughly tested in England and America, and experts have expressed the opinion that in the winter, when it ia impossible to dry the bricks as in the summer, it has the effect of improving the quality of the bricks, reducing the number of ' spoils ' to a minimum and facilitating work."

The annual gathering, concert, and ball of the Gaelic Society of New Zealand will be held in the Garrison Hall on the 31st intt. Particulars are Advertised in this issue.