FLOODS IN THE SOUTH.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLIX, Issue 16120, 8 May 1923, Page 3

FLOODS IN THE SOUTH.

TOWNS INUNDATED

DISASTROUS EFFECTS IX XORTII CANTERBURY,

WORST DELUGE SINCE 18611.

BLENHEIM, RANCHOR.A AND AMBERLEV INVAI)ED.

ROW-LYING LANDS SUBMERGED

(per Press Association.) WELLINGTON, last night. The secretary of the G.P.O. lias received the following telegram from the Chief Postmaster at Christchurch:— “Owing to the heavy rain since Friday part of North Canterbury is reported to be flooded.’’ . , ... . The postmasters at Cheviot and \\ aiau report that owing to the flooded rivers tihd .mail cars will he unable to get through. The postmaster at Amberlev report* that Amberlcy township is flooded and the surrounding country is under iintei. The Post Office is surrounded by water, but not. entered. A large number ot business and private residences are flooded from 3to 18 inches. There have been railwav washouts north and south ol Amberlev. The Kowai river is in flood. The postmaster at Lmthfield reports that the Kojwai river has broken through its hanks, and is rising Li rough the township and on the mam north road, which is impassable. The Superintendent of telegraphs ativisea that telegraphic communication >s totallv interrupted north ot Ka.ikoura and west of DarffeUl. It is still raining heavilv in North Canterbury. The-Railway Department advises that no trains are running beyond Rangoon. The postmaster a‘. liangiora reports that the Enngiora-White Rock mail service is suspended, a 9 tlm Ashley river is impassable. The Oxford branch train service is being maintained, lint it is doubtful it' the trains will get right through, as it is still raining heavily. Duvauchelle reports that the Eastern Bays mail contractor is held up owing to wash-outs. , The postmaster at Ktikaia reports similarly regarding the • Rakaia-lligh Bank and Rakaia-Doric services. A telegram from tlie* Chief 1 osfcmaster •at* BVnbeim to the secreterv- of the G.P.O. at 12.50 p.m. says: “The tow.ll is completely under water," and at o P.m. ■‘Water i« now flowing through the Government 'Buildings. Over two feet of water is in the Departmental quarters. Tt is raining heavily and! the water is still rising.” , The rainfall in Wellington was the heaviest yesterday, but only 24, inches were recorded* for the 48 hours and meie* ly light/ rain - , has fallen to-day. No damage is reported in the city, but, at Eastbourne, across the harbor, swollen streams from*the hills gave trouble in conjunction with the high tide and waves which caused'• much erosion in front of the new recreation ground, where some !buildings are threatened, and the ground 'itself on which milch money was lately .spent is in danger of injury. The Hutt river is in heavy Hood, lint no damage is reported beyond, a pile-dr i\ - ing punt being stranded. Two employees on hoard' had-ft harrow escape. ASHBURTON, last night. Iff- has been raining almost without o break since Thursday night. Many of the footpaths are flooded, and taxis are busv conveying people to business. 1 lie conditions are very- exceptional for tins drv district. Four days’ rainfall amounteel to 6.13 in, In the last 24 hours Dio fall has been 4.58 in., and it. is still raining. Raknift reports 4.80 in. in the last seventeen hours and Methven 6.50 m. in thfl last few days. Methvcn reports extensive damage to wheat stacked in the paddocks. Owing to the tardy settlement of the wheat selling scheme millers are buying only from band to mouth, mid consequently the farmers have been unable ta effect sales. They had slacked wheat in sacks in the paddocks undei covers adequate for ordinary rainfall, but quite inadequate for this deluge. Ibe losses will probably be serious. CHRISTCHURCH, last night. - Several families bad to be rescued from their homes ; ;at Culverden, winch was completely’ isolated 1 to day. In AmbevleV business houses were bar needed, with .sand T>auA .at the doorways, but the water triumphed and entered almost all the business places, some to« a depth of two feet. Heavy losses of stock are reported. In the Waiau districts 9.50 inches of rain fell in twenty-four hours The Waiau river is in heavy flood, but at present no accurate details ais to the damage, which must be considerable!, can be obtained. The Cam dairy factory at Rangiora is out of commission, hawing eighteen inches of water in the building. A record for over twenty years was established by the rainfall for twentyfour "hours ended 9.30 a.m. to-day. Ihe fall was 3.396 inches, which was the greatest since the magnetic observatory was established in 1902. The previous record curiously enough was on January 26 of. this year, 3.227 inches. Dip wetness of the year .so far may be judged from the total rainfall to date, which is this year 15.387 inches, and last year was 6.255 inches. This year’s rainfall to date is already over three-fifths of the total average annual rainfall for the last forty

years'. . Telegraphic communication with the •"North Island was completely cut. uff this I morning, even .flic West {..oast route l being out of aetjon. • The railway" service in North. tanterbnry was completely disorganised lie* yond Rangiora',, owing to slips and waslieiuts, while there was dislocation on the West Coast line. Considerable surface flooding occurred in'the city and’ suburbs, but the damage was hot extensive. The rain resulted 1 in the most extensive and! disastrous flood in North Canterbury since the great flood of 1868. This morning the . people rose to find! the rivers running bank high and flooding low-lying country, with water- in some places to a depth of four feet. All the low-lying parts of lv*iiapoi tfiro ihkhji water, and in some cases the water has entered the houses. The Eyre river rose during the night am# cy/enflowedl its banks in several places, flooding Clarkville. The main drain at .Flaxton also overflowed, the flood waters covering most of the land between Flaxton and the Cam river, farmers finding'it necessary to remove their stock. The Rangiora gasworks fires are out. There is only one night's supply of gas in the holders. The main streets of the town of Rangiora are more or less under water, the footpaths being covered! up to the shop fronts. The conditions) in Amberley arc very bad, the township being flooded to a considerable depth. The water is over the crown of the main street to a depth of two feet, and the business places and private houses are flooded, there being three and a half feet of water in the Railway Hotel. All the low-lying land is inundated. Further north from Amberley the conditions are reported to be serious'. A heavy flood 1 in the Kowai river burst the hanks at Leithfield, and water was rushing through the town this morning along the main north road, which is now impassable. A number of houses are inundated. At Cheviot, since Friday, up till 8 o’clock this morning, 10.56 inches of rain fell, and from 8 a.m. on Sunday till 8 A.m. to-day 8.45 inches fell. All the roads in the district are impassable. The bridge at the mouth of the Ilurunui river, erected a few years ago by the Cheviot County Council, was swept out to sea. it connected parts of Cheviot and Stonyhurst. It is stated! that the Hurtinui river is in flood', the highest for thirty years. The water has entered some houses on low lying areas. The floods and washouts have scriouslv interrupted! railway services. Tn North Canterbury no trains were ran north of Rangiora Ibis morning. Between Balcairn and Soften the line is under water and 1 damaged at three places, and 1 between Amberley and Waipara the line is] flooded and! undermined at a number of places, rendering it unsafe for traffic. The country around Cuivcrden is flooded, the station yards being under water.

On Iho Midland line./ "o:-li/' , .i! uccip red on the Christchurch side ol Spring field, which prevented the morning-train leaving Springfield’ for Christchurch. A lii.gr R iip also occurred' beyond SpringHeld, and' the West Coast train may be unable l to ran tomorrow.

Later. —No trains arc running north of Kaiapoi. No trains aw likely i 1 get through to Arthur’s Pass before Die end of the week, but trains will ho able to laiJj? to and from Springfield. The SoimThridge line is also interrupted.

The south-west side of Rangiota .suffered! considerably, Dio water washing down John street like n river. Ihe lio|.ises were soon surrounded and' in many cases it was impossible to gel in or out of them. Fortunately the rain eased- this afternoon, and’ the water he gan to subside, averting a great amount of damage. It is still raining throughout- Canterbury to-night, bur the- fall is light compared with the previous 24 hours. For a period to-day Die Somli Island wn-j cut off telegraphically from the North Island, ’fill 1 p.m. the only two messages which came through "eie official servile telegrams iorwariM by the radio from Karori (\\ ellingti to) to Awarua (Bluff) and thence by ordinary telegraph to (. liristchnrch. Later in the day a circuit to Wellington was established 1 via GreymouDi. and it has since been worked. the East ( oast route to the North Island! is still blocked. It is expected’ it will be 8 or 9 o clonk tomorrow before to-day's accumulation of telegraphic work is cleared, olf.

RLENIIEB l TNUNDATION

Six FEET OF WATER- IN SOME

HOUSES

HEAVY LOSSES CAUSED

FLOOD WATERS NOW RECEDING

(Per Press Association.)

BLENHEIM, this day

The river burst the banks at the school yesterday, and flooded the business area of the town to a depth of four feet. Most of the shops were inundated. Heavy losses of stock are reported, one, instance being that of Girling and Co., about £IOCO. Many house® in low-lying areas were invaded by water. The refugees are distributed among the more fortunate in the higher areas'. Tlie worst locality is Grove road, at the eastern end of the town, where many houses were flooded to a depth of six feet.

The flood waters are now receding.

All day yesterday it was impassible to get about the town. Business is at a, standstill. Washouts on the Picton and Wharanui lines caused a complete stoppage of railway traffic. Reports from country districts indicate that the flood was general. The Uro railway and traffic bridge was swept away. It is also reported that the Flaxbourne bridge lias gone. The railway bridge on the Upper Awatere was washed away. All the- bridges in Pelorus district are reported to have gone.

Heavy losses of stock have occurred in various localities.

All roads are- blocked and impassable. There is no communication in any direction. The telephone services are in torrupted, and reports are difficult to obtain. The full extent of the damage will not lie known for some davs.

TER RIBLE EX PER!ENOES

PEOPLE HUDDLE ALL NIGHT ON ARTICLES OF FURNITURE.

FOUR DRAYLOADS OP PEOPLE CAPSIZE.

NO FATALITIES REPORTED

(Per Press Association.!

BLENHEIM, this day.

The flood was the highest on record, and came up with such suddenness that it was impossible to rescue the residents in all the low-lying area before dark. A shortage of boats also made tin' rescue work slow. As a result many families, particularly .in Grove road area, had to spend the night under terrible conditions. Instances are being quoted where whole families were huddled all night on the top of chests of drawers, while others stood on tables. However, all seemed bright and cheerful when rescued. The work was resumed this morning and no fatalities tiro reported, 1 hough there have been some remarkable escapes. At Hale’s corner, Springlamls, four drays carrying people wore overturned, one after another, but every one escaped, though in one case a. horse was drowned. A cart was also swamped 1 in Hutcheson street, and two men, the occupants, spent twelve hours in a tree, trying for help. The (own is in an appalling state as tho flood waters recede, and) shopkeepers are reporting heavy losses.

HEAVY RAINFALL AT WEI LTNGTON.

I Per Press Association.! WELLINGTON, this day. Heavy rain came on again last night, making the fall to 0 a.m. .°>.9 inches. The wind shifted to the north this morning, anil after a lull rain started again.