STORM ON THE COAST

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 18960, 10 March 1936, Page 11

STORM ON THE COAST

TOKOMARU'S EXPERIENCE

HEAVY KUMARA LOSSES

(Herald Correspondent.) As a result of the torrential rain in Tokomaru Bay on Friday afternoon and night, creeks in the vicinity rose to an alarming height and the whole district was Hooded. Many patches of kumaras, which are not. yet ready for digging, were covered with' silt and water, and it is feared that they will he a total loss. The M'angahauine Stream, which runs through the centre of the.township, overflowed its hanks near the month, causing flood waters to enter many buildings. The public school and the Toko marn ]>av Oarage suffered through this, as did the boarding-house, sill being left in the interior of the buildings. The children will not be able to attend school until the place has been cleaned, and il is slated that, it will be three days before this is completed'. SEA BANKS 111' WATER It. appears that the worst time of the Hood was at- approximately 4 a.m. on Saturday when the tide was full, and owing to fairly heavy seas rolling in, the water coming down the stream was unable to gel- away quickly enough, this causing the residents in the lowlying areas near the mouth an anxious hour or so. A willow tree about Ift. in diameter at Ihe Iruiik, evidently uprooted from the side of the bank upstream, was carried down to the .Mangahauini bridge, and deposited on one of the piles, with the roots and branches almost touching the railings at the top of the bridge. It acted like a groyne, but a very dangerous one. Many road subsidences occurred causing a deal of difficulty to negotiate.

On the Anaura load, if is stated, one resident had an unenviable experience, water entering the cottage as high as the top of the range. The fall of rain during the 24 hours from 9 a.m. on Friday to 9 a.m. on Saturday was very heavy. Mr. A. B. William's' Puketit'i figures show that 9.31 in. fell, wjiile at Waima. Captain Hummer stated that 5.04 in. was the reading. At Parenga station. Mr. F. R. Jetferd stated that the fall was heavy. 7.92 in. being the total, and Ruangarehu (Mr. D. W.W. Williams' homestead) recorded 4.96 in. The smallest recording occurred at Owliena, where Mr. L. F. Heald stated that 2.69 in. fell.