CAUTION URGED!

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXV, Issue 19622, 4 May 1938, Page 6

CAUTION URGED!

NEW FLOOD DANGER UP-COUNTRY DELUGE RIVER HOARD'S REPORT BAD WEATHER GENERAL "We are anxious that there should be no unnecessary alarm, but the Poverty Bay River Board feels that in view of reports received from the headwaters of the Waipaoa River, farmers on the Poverty Bay flats should take every precaution against further Hood losses," stated Mr. W. C. Pilmer, chairman of the River Board, this afternoon.

"I have been in touch with settlers in the Mangatu, and have been informed that at 1 p.m. the river was 6ft, above last night's level at Whatatutu. Heavy rain was falling all the morning in the Mangatu and Waikohu valleys, flooding the streams in those areas, while in the Waipaoa Valley, though the rain is not so heavy, conditions are such that the river will be bringing down a lot of water.

"At one o'clock this afternoon, the river at Matawhero was half-full. The country is soaked with water and wili not absorb any more. It is to be expected that if heavy rain continues in the watershed, last week's flooding will be repeated. Advice to Farmers "Farmers are urged to take every precaution to minimise the effects of such flooding. The district escaped a most serious inundation last week by, the smallest of margins. The board members urge that no chances be taken this week," added Mr. Pilmer.

The Waipaoa River rises in the Waipaoa Valley, and its two chief tributaries are the Mangatu and Waikohu rivers, the first joining it at Whatatutu, and the second near Tc Karaka. When rain falls heavily in either the Mangatu or Waipaoa valleys over a period of some hours, the river carries a large volume of water down to the sea. Heavy rain in both va"lleys at once will flush the lower reaches of the Waipaoa in a few hours; while if rain is falling heavily in the Waipaoa, Mangatu, and Waikohu valleys, serious flooding is considered to be probable. To-day's reports from the watershed indicated that the Waipaoa Valley was not experiencing heavy and continuous rain, and this circumstance held out the hope that flooding would not reach last week's danger-level.

The incoming tide in the lower reaches of the Waipaoa will reach its peak between 9 and 10 p.m. Settlers probably will take their precautions before darkness falls, and so avoid the difficulties encountered in the night handling of stock occasioned on Sunday and Monday, April 24 and 25.

HIGHWAYS SUFFER AGAIN KNCROACHMENT OK WATER SOI'THEN ACCESS GONE The highways in the Poverty Bay and Coast districts have suffered through the encroachment of water on sections of the roads and the conversion of watercourses into raging streams as a result of the morning rain, according to reports received from various quarters at an early hour this afternoon. In all cases further damage was expected if the intensity of the rain continued.