THE FLOODS

Southland Times, Issue 18937, 10 May 1923, Page 5

THE FLOODS

PHENOMENAL RAINFALL DESOLATE WAIAU. FACE OF COUNTRY CHANGED. (Per United Press Association). CHRISTCHURCH. May 9. Incredible as it may seem to those outside the locality the fact remains that from the time the rain commenced on Friday morning up to 9 a.m. to-day the rainfall recorded in Waiau township was 19.78 inches and at “Keinton Combe” the still more phenomenal fall of 30.81 inches was recorded. On every hand are scenes of desolation and ruin. The lower lands around Waiau township are covered with silt to a considerable depth. Masses of debris of every description on the fences and trees bear eloquent testimony to the height the flood waters reached. The river fiats which for many years have been good grazing lands are now barren, every vestige of vegetation having been swept off. Farmers have come in to Waiau township on horseback, the only means of transit for any distance at present, and all testify to the tremendous alteration in the configuration of the country in the different parts, but all state that they have not yet had the opportunity of ascertaining their loss in stock, though all agree that the losses must be heavy. No description in words can convey any adequate idea of the alterations in the landscape, actual seeing only,, could convey a true picture. On Lyndon No. 2 settlement the fences have been swept away in all directions, and small watercourses have become riverbeds. Old watercourses which perhaps 40 years ago carried water in times of flood, but which for as long as the oldest settler can remember, have been dry, and in which cabbage trees and willows have been growing for many years, have been scoured out. Cabbage treefc have been swept away; willow trees, two feet in diameter have been torn out by their roots, and a bed of shingle some chains in width remains to give some slight idea of the volumes of water that swept across the country. It may. incidentally be mentioned that one farm residence stands some twenty feet above a stream, but at the height of the flood, a rise of another two feet would have brought the water into the house. HALF POPULATION HOMELESS KAIAPOI SORELY STRICKEN z CHRISTCHURCH, May 9. Approximately half the population of Kaiapoi was rendered homeless, but accommodation was found for all. Some splendid work was dene by various bands of workers in rescuing people, often at considerable risk. The efforts of these helpers is now being realised when there is time for consideration of the events of the past two days. Towards Rangiora flood wafers are receding fast. At Woodend there are whole farms inundated still, and it will take some days for this water to drain off. Forlorn looking groups of stock can be seen clinging to the highest points of farms. The losses of stock have been heavy. DRAMATIC RESCUE SCENES. KAIAPOI’S TERRIBLE PLIGHT. A RECORD INUNDATION. (Special to the Times). CHRISTCHURCH, May 9. At Kaiapoi there was a dramatic scene during the rescue of Mrs Thomas Stevenson, a lady over eighty years of age, who has been bedridden for two years. On Monday night she had taken refuge in Mrs Attewell’s two-storeyed house and yesterday had to be rescued by boats. The old lady was tied with, ropes to a stretcher and lowered carefully from the upper window to the boats below during tho pouring rain. Two punts were placed side by side during the rescue, which was carried out by five volunteers. Mrs Stevenson seemed little ths worse for her adventure. In a number of instances the rescues were carried out with difficulty, owing to the women becoming hysterical, but the whole work was done thoroughly and systematically without mishap of any kind. No difficulty whatever was experienced In finding accommodation for the Kaiapoi refugees. The people in the unaffected parts of the town freely offered to look after as many refugees as they could possibly accommodate, and every available public building in the town was at once placed at the disposal of the homeless. Wherever necessary blankets for the refugees were supplied by the Kaiapoi Woollen Company. Supplies of food were delivered to a number of houses by boats and last night it was reported by the authorities that there were no known cases of distress. The residence of Mr H. C. Revell, which is one of the oldest houses in the district, was built on foundations at the level of the highest mark that was reached by the water in the 1868 flood, but yesterday the water was three inches above the floor and fully fifteen inches above the 1868 level. The house, which is a singlestorey structure, was built so as to be safe from any future flood, it being considered at the time that the flood of 1868 was the worst that the district was ever likely to suffer from. FLOODS WATERS RECEDING. EXTENSIVE DAMAGE AT KAIAPOI FACTORY. CHRISTCHURCH, May 9. The flood waters are receding in Kaiapoi, and to-day the residents were relieved of much of their anxiety of the previous fortyeight hours. Though the water has subsided on the Cam side, access to houses cannot yet be gained without the aid of boats. Charles street, where a sandbag protection was erected yesterday to keep back the waters, is now clear. In the overcast sky to-day, the town bore a dismal aspect. Parts from which the water had drained away were covered with silt, driftwood and debris of all kinds. Most of the houses which were flooded are not inhabitable yet, and it may be some days before the flood is down sufficiently to enable owners to return. Traffic through quite a number of streets is possible only in drays or boats.

The damage to Kaiapoi Woollen Company’s mills was very extensive and it will be some time before the full effect of the flood will be known. Throughout most of the building the depth of the flood water was about two feet. There were over 2000 pairs of blankets in the finishing department and when the water was at its highest it overflowed on the tables on which the finishing work was done, causing considerable damage. A great deal of destruction was caused to stocks of acids and ammonia at the factory, and much of the machinery will also be seriously affected. RAILWAYS SERIOUSLY DAMAGED. CHRISTCHURCH, May 9. Rain has ceased in the city and parts of the country and the flood water is receding. All railway traffic north of Kaiapoi is blocked, but it is hoped to get the afternoon trains to Rangiora. A bad washout at Sefton will block trains to Waipara for some time. There arc five washouts on the Cheviot line and the Waiau bridge, near Parnassus, is badly damaged. Damage beyond Springfield on the midland line is unascertainable, but no traffic is possible to Otira tunnel this week. The express is running to Dunedin. Considerable damage has been done to stocks of blanket* at the Kaiapoi mill, where the average depth of water throughout the factory is two feet. REESTABLISHING COMMUNICATION. . WELLINGTON, May 9. In consequence of the breakdown of telegraph wires at the Clarence River, communication between Wellington and

Christchurch has had to be maintained via Westport. In reply to inquiries the Post-master-General, the Hon. J. G. Coates, stated that the quadruple Duplex telegram printing machine, capable of taking 500 messages an hour, is being installed between Wellington and Christchurch via Blenheim, Tophouse, Glcnhope, and Greymouth. The Superintending Engineer of Telegraphs, Mr E. A. Shrimpton, left for Nelson by the Wainui on a visit to the scene of the breakdown, and the local engineers had been instructed to get the work of repair in hand as soon as possible. DAMAGE TO STOCK. ' POTATOES AND WHEAT SUFFER CHRISTCHURCH, May 9. Some heavy losses have been sustained in the Coldstream district of North Canterbury, where there is scarcely a house that is not surrounded by water. In some instances houses are submerged to a depth of two feet, their occupants having been removed to safety. With regard to the losses of produce and live stock, a farmer who had 2000 bushels of grain stacked five sac Its high in a shed had the lot surrounded with water which caused the sacks to burst, zk well-known grazier between Saltwater Creek and the Ashley river had 100 head of cattle washed out to sea, and a Waikuku settler lost 50 pigs. At Flaxton a farmer is a loser of 110 valuable stud sheep. Considerable damage has been suffered in respect to potato crops. In a paddock at Coldstream 600 sacks are submerged to a depth of two feet, and in the adjoining paddock a large number of sacks are not visible at all. There are large quantities of potatoes not yet dug and it is considered that these will bo of no use at all now as they will rot. Owing to the Municipal Gasworks being flooded there was no gas available in the Borough of Rangiora last night, and in consequence, those wliose premises were not connected with electricity had to fall back on kerosene lamps and candles. DAMAGE IN BLENHEIM. RESCUE WORK DIFFICULT. FAMILIES’ TERRIBLE EXPERIENCES. BLENHEIM, May 8. The flood was the- highest on record and came with such suddenness that it was impossible to rescue residents in all the lowlying area before dark. The shortage of boats also made rescue work slow. As a result many families, particularly in the Grove road area, had to spend the night under terrible conditions. Whole families were fuddled all night on top of chests of drawers while others stood all night on top of tables. However all seemed bright and cheerful when rescue work was resumed this morning and no fatalities are reported, though there have been some remarkable escapes. At Hale’s comer, Springlands, four drays carrying people were overturned one after another, but everyone escaped, though in one case the horse was drowned. A cart was also swamped and two* men occupants spent twelve hours in a tree crying for help. The town is in an appalling state as the flood waters recede and shopkeepers are reporting heavy losses. WORST FOR 50 YEARS. SERIOUS STOCK LOSSES. SHOP WINDOWS SMASHED BY LOGS. BLENHEIM, May 9. The floods which inundated the town in what is known in Marlborough as the “Old Man” flood, that is to say the whole of the watershed- came into play simultaneously and all rivers and streams on the plain contributed to the disaster. Such an occurrence is very rare. Old residents say there has been nothing like it for half a century and the experience resembles very closely that of the ’6B flood. Reports from all directions state that the flood was severest within memory of the present generation. The Waiau River broke its banks at Whittle’s bend and inundated the whole Spring Creek district. There was three feet of water in the Ferry and Junction Hotels. The whole of the peninsula was deeply flooded, and observers state no stock can be living there.

Most farmers in Tu«marino are isolated by large stretches of waler. A number of corn stacks have been swept away and there, too, it is feared the loss of stock will be heavy. The railway from Piclon to Wharanui is badly damaged, and no trains will run for a considerable time. In several places the permanent way has been washed out and at Spring Creek the rails are suspended for several hundred yards. There is no road communication with Picton. The flood interfered with the gas supply in the centre of the town, with the result that the Marlborough Express was unable to publish in the usual form, though a small hand sheet, printed on a treadle machine, was circulated.

Some large plate glass windows in the principal shops were smashed by floating logs. The damage to business people’s stocks must be very heavy. The waters are now receding everywhere, but it is still raining. The scene in town beggars description, thick layers of filthy silt being left over everything. MAN AND BQY MISSING. ENORMOUS DAMAGE TO ROADS AND BRIDGES. BLENHEIM, May 9. •In connection with the flood, fears are entertained for the safety of E. E. Robinson, secretary of the Spring Creek Road Board, and a farm boy. They left Robinson’s farm, Lower Wairau, last night in a dray for Blenheim. zV search party discovered the dray on the roadside in deep water. The horses were reaming free with broken harness. Subsequently a vest, presumably that worn by Robinson’s companion, was found, but there was no rigns of the missing man or hoy. Some of the grain and produce stores were invaded by the flood with serious results. Thousands of bushels of peas, seetb, and grain are irretrievably ruined, and there is much loss by saturation of bales of wool. In one case 20 tons of sugar literally melted away. One dealer in produce estimates his loss at £lOOO. The railway line at Spring Creek was severely damaged, and the permanent way was washed out a distance of 100 yards. The damage done on roads and bridges throughout the province is enormous. The Blenheim-Kaikoura road is impassable. The approaches to the Ure bridge have been washed away. It is reported that the Flaxbourne bridge ha- gone. Two spans of the Clarence bridge and two cylinders were carried away. Telegraphic lines have gene, breaking communication between the two islands.