STILL MOVING

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXV, Issue 19694, 28 July 1938, Page 6

STILL MOVING

WAIHORA LANDSLIDE

ISO 1 iATION TII RE AT GN R D

SETTLERS AT KANAKANAIA

Settlers of the Kanakanaia Valley arc much perturbed by the possibility of their being isolated by the effects of Sunday's huge slip, which blocked the Waihora River bed for a time and has been forcing the stream out of its normal course steadily during the week. This morning the erosion consequent on the blockage of part of the bed had almost reached the roadway above Orr's bridge. Overnight rain brought the level ol the Waihora River up again to-day. and continued rain this morning offered the prospect of continued [lushing in the river. While these conditions last, the Waikohu County Council's staff is unable to carry out any effective protection work where the river is threatening the road, and such efforts as have been made to date have been practically wasted. Temporary Protection Work

A large number of trees have been dragged to the bank where erosion has been proceeding, and have been placed as a temporary protection io? the road, but the flooding of the river has produced a strong scour, and much of the temporary work has been washed away. The county staff has prepared willow "mats" which will be laid and pinned in the same manner as fascines, when the river subsides sufficiently. In the meantime, the huge slip is still moving, as can be seen by the steady encroachment on the river channel. The slip is an amazingly long one, having started almost a mile from the river, on Mr. A. A. Frascr's property, and spilled out through one long gully into another, effecting a right-angie turn about a quarter of_ a mile from the river channel. 'lt spread fanwise on emerging from the gully, but its bulk even then was sufficient to almost fill the channel, and at one place it towers about 15ft. above the water level. Bridge May Be Lost

The clayey core of the slip is resisting the natural erosive action of the river water, which finds less resistance in the lighter soil on the bank nearest the road. This morning the roadside fence was left hanging in mid-air at one point, There are at least 16 homesteads in the Kanakanaia Valley above the point at which erosion is proceeding, which is live mites from Te Karalca. All the settlers will be affected if the erosion scours out the roadway, and there is a distinct possibility of the County Council suffering the loss of its bridge as a result of a change in the course of the stream.