WORST SINCE 1868

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LII, Issue 17185, 8 November 1926, Page 7

WORST SINCE 1868

1 WAIMAKARIRI FLOOD HEAVY PROPERTY LOSS DANGER TO CHRISTCHURCII (Special to the Herald.' CHRIBTCHURCH, thU day. It is considered by many that the Waimakariri flood is the biggest since that of 1868. No damage was done by the flood at Stewart's Gully, the water being diverted before it reached the hats and boats there, but at Chnnevs, and near the Marshland road, the roads and paddocks were flooded to a d*pth in places of .ft. or Bft Some stock was caught in the flood and those who ventured across the paddocks in boats caught an, occasional sight of horses and cows standing in 3ft. or 4ft. of water in the high part of their paddocks. The losses in crops are expected to be severe, for when the flood came it arrived with a rush, and the paddocks became the bed of a swiftly-running

stream. ' One of the pioneers of the district, Mr. J. Chaney, told a reporter that the flood was the biggest he could remember in the district, and when he first came there he packed food and supplies on horses to the farm that was established by his elder brother. lie considers that the water has never before run past the back of the Belfast hotel like it did on Saturday, when it raceed round the hotel and swirled on to the road to the south of it, leaving the hostelry on an island for some hours.

The very serious aspect of the flood from"the point of view of Christchurch residents Avas mentioned by the licensee of the hotel, Mr. W. Martin, who claims that his hotel is on land 17ft higher than the city. Residents of Coutts Island consider that the flood is the worst on record, and that if the river had not broken its banks near the island they would have been washed out completely. All the crops are lost, but practically all the stock was put on to high ground safely. WEST COAST DAMAGE RAILWAY LANDSLIDE (Per Press Association.) GREYMOTJTH, last night. The subsidence on the railway line between Groymouth and Omoti proves more serious than was first anticipated,- there being two landslides on either side of the viaduct. One is at the spot where, a weakness has existed for years, while the other is a new slip. Both were due to what is known as "greasy back." The line has subsided about u. foot. 'Two ballast, trains and a* gang of about ")0 men were to-day employed depositing sand and rocks there, but the loose debris from the hillside still moves towards the river. . No trains could use the line, but it is expected the expresses will run to-morrow. The Little Grey river, a tributary of the Grey, has changed its bed some distance, following the road and causing a break in the railway line at Reefton. The Little Grey * washed part of Marsden's land and house away. The Blackball bridge damage includes two 80ft. spans and two 20ft. temporary spans. A third span of 20ft." is swinging. There was no communication till Saturday with- Reefton where Thursday night's, flood reached the level of that of the preceeding Sunday, invading some houses on Lower Broadway. Farms on Coal Creek Flat. near Greymouth, have a covering of sand and silt 2ft. deep in places. Arthur's Pass reports that 12? in. of rain fell in the 24 hours succeeding 0 a.m. on Friday. Buller Gorge farms are reported largely to be denuded of soil, leaving - a gravel surface. Telegraphic, communication was being gradually restored to-day, when the weather cleared. A dozen motor cars on Saturday morning proceeded with racegoers to Christchurch, catching the train.