STORM DAMAGE

Southland Times, Issue 25309, 12 June 1935, Page 7

STORM DAMAGE

SNOW AND FROST « CANTERBURY PROVINCE FURTHER PARTICULARS POWER SUPPLY FAILS J Further details of the widespread damage to telegraph, telephone, and power lines caused on Sunday night by the heaviest fall of snow that has occurred in Christchurch and North Canterbury for 17 years are given in yesterday’s Press. Miles of wire broke under the weight of the accumulated snow and hundreds of poles snapped or bent almost double under the strain. By midnight on Sunday the Christchurch telegraph office had lost communication with stations to the north, west, and south, and the city was isolated. The Post and Telegraph Department s gangs were out at daybreak and began the tremendous task of repairing the most extensive damage that has ever occurred to the telegraph and telephone services in Canterbury. Telegraphic communication with Wellington ’ was re-established at 8.30 p.m. on Monday. All transport services were interrupted. The Railway Department’s telegraph lines were broken near Christchurch and control points were established at Rolleston and Rangiora. This caused slight delays and frozen points and heavy snow on the line also caused trouble, but the sei-vice was maintained, only two • goods trains on a branch line being cancelled. Although the Christchurch Tramway Board had men out as early as midnight it was nearly 10 a.m. before some of the first cars from the suburbs reached the Square. Snow on the roads greatly delayed service cars and buses and some arrived at their destinations only after the utmost difficulty. Some trips had to be cancelled. Motorists were in difficulty in many places and some cars had to -be temporarily abandoned. Some of the country districts were without electric power or light for many hours, and in some cases the power has not yet been restored. The Public Works Department’s main lines from the Lake Coleridge power station did not suffer greatly, and by Monday evening the power had been restored to all the supply authorities except the North Canterbury Power Board. However, the lines and poles of power boards and other authorities fared badly, and because of the interruption in communication it was not known on Monday evening how many of the authorities were in a position to pass the supply on to their consumers. In. the city the snowstorm was followed by a hard frost and then a day of brilliant sunshine, with no wind. The mid-winter sun, however, did not have sufficient heat to melt all the snow, and by evening there was still a considerable coating on house tops, lawns, and suburban streets. BROKEN POLES AND WIRES MANY WEEKS OF WORK. TELEGRAPH DEPARTMENT’S ' DIFFICULTIES. With miles of wire and probably hundreds of poles to be replaced, as well as many minor breaks to be repaired, the Post and Telegraph Department is faced with one of the heaviest tasks in its history. Although a big stock of interruption cable and other emergency equipment is kept in Christchurch, it has been found necessary to send to Wellington for more, and this was expected by the steamer express yesterday morning. All the men who can be spared from other districts are being brought to Canterbury to assist in the work. The immediate object of the department is to restore temporary communication with all centres, which is no small or easy job, and then to complete permanent repairs. It may be some months before all the damage is repaired the service completely back to normal. The Post and Telegraph Department has made for itself an enviable reputation for efficiency, which must only be increased by the speed and skill with which it has set about repairing the effects of a major disaster. Its linesmen are noted for their willingness to work long hours under trying conditions. On Monday they were out in the snow at daybreak, and one gang at least did not stop until the circuit to Wellington had been completed. Long Breaks. The worst breaks in the lines occurred comparatively near to Christchurch. The snow collected on the wires until they were approaching the size of a man’s wrist. The accumulated weight then snapped the wires or broke the poles. Iron poles bent nearly double, throwing additional strain on the adjoining poles, until near Amberley there was- a complete break nearly 10 miles long. There was another bad break between Waikari and the Hurunui bridge, and another between Christchurch and Kaiapoi. To the south most of the trouble was near Burnhamtelegraphic communication from southern towns to Dunsandel was possible all Monday between Christchurch and Burnham, however, the poles were down for a stretch of two and a half miles. On the West Coast circuit the main trouble was between Christchurch and Rolleston. The repair gangs had reached a point half a mile from Rolleston on Monday evening. Early on Monday evening the circuit was complete from Christchurch to Leithfield, and from Amberley northwards, and it was when this gap was bridged that communication with Wellington was possible. The department brought its emergency radio sets into use, and urgent traffic was handled in this way. With the co-operation of amateurs, the sets were also used in ascertaining the location and extent of the damage to the department’s equipment. MAIN WEST ROAD MILES OF WIRES TANGLED. POLES BROKEN OR BENT. On the main road west from Christchurch, buried beneath snow varying in depth from six to 18 inches, there was complete dislocation of telephone, telegraph, and power services in most districts, but public and private transport made an uncertain way through to maintain contact between Springfield and Christchurch throughout the storm, and on Monday. As far as is known, only three vehicles made the through trip either late on Sunday night or early on Monday morning, and then only at great hazard. Many Christchurch parties were marooned overnight when caught by th? storm on Sunday. Train and motor-bus services, and private motor-vehicles struggled adventurously through to and from Springfield on Monday. The major damage on the west road was between Riccarton racecourse and Aylesbury—particularly at Yaldhurst and West Melton—where there were several miles in which there were more telegraph poles "down than standing, and wires were broken and badly

tangled. Several power circuits were broken and large districts, both near the city and near the western foothills, were without power on Sunday night and throughout Monday. Heavy Damage at Yaldhurst

The tangle of damaged poles and lines between Yaldhurst and West Melton had to be seefi to be believed. For miles the iron standard poles had been bent and twisted fantastically. The wires that had not been broken and buried under the snow swung in great sagging curves, coated with frozen snow until they resembled great cables, between the few posts left standing. The power lines carrying 6000 volts had broken in many places, and this had cut off a large area extending to the north-west of the city. Repair gangs of linesmen were out at dawn on Monday, but it probably will be weeks before this sector is repaired properly. The cause of the damage was the freezing of the snow late on Sunday night, followed by a strong wind early on Monday morning. I I < The many, breaks in the lines in this area caused widespread dislocation of telegraph, telephone, and power services. However, contact was never lost between Darfield and the West Coast, and the Railway Department maintained connection between Rolleston and the West Coast. The performance of the department’s officials in keeping the service, although much behind schedule, was a tribute to the organization. TRAINS AND TRAMS CONTROL DIFFICULTIES. EARLY MORNING CARS LATE. Because the telegraph lines near Christchurch were broken, the Railway Department was unable to control trains from the train running office in Moorhouse avenue, and ‘established control points at Rolleston and at Rangiora. In spite of this difficulty, however, and that caused by frozen points in the stations, the service was maintained and trains were not much behind schedule. For the department most of the trouble occurred near Christchurch in places where it is unusual for a heavy snowfall to occur. In the north the greatest damage to the telegraph lines was between Belfast and Rangiora, and in the south near Sockburn. Further away the snow did not freeze as it did near Christchurch, and although there were heavy falls between Kowai Bush and Staircase, a pilot engine was able to clear the track sufficiently for trains to follow. Men were on duty all day scraping the points, pouring hot water on them, and working them frequently, but even after those precautions, some of them froze, delaying the trains. There was a general improvement later in the day, though it may be several days before the lines are restored and control from the normal points resumed. The Christchurch Tramway Board was not without its difficulties. The frozen snow affected the tracks and the overhead gear. A report presented to the board at a meeting on Monday stated that the board’s engineer had early consultation with officers concerned. A snow plough was brought into commission and kept the Riccarton line open, and cars were run on other lines in an endeavour to keep them open also. Wheel guards of cars were removed, Trolley wheel sleet cutters were used, but the frozen snow on the overhead was difficult to remove. Permanent way gangs, under the superintendent, were on duty at midnight clearing lines. The board’s overhead stood the strain well and trouble could have been avoided if the frost had not set in. The traffic manager reported that time-tables were fairly well maintained until about 8.50 p.m. on Monday evening, and from then on the cars began to lose time. Broken wheel guards caused trouble and caused dislocation to timetables. On Monday morning, because of frost after' the snow and consequent effect on overhead, trolley-buses did not commence operation until 9.30 a.m. Petrol buses were placed on Richmond and North Beach. CAUGHT IN THE SNOW CHRISTCHURCH PARTY’S EXPERIENCE. NIGHT SPENT IN SHED. With frozen snow piled high on the roof and running-boards of their sedan car and their clothing having been alternately frozen and thawed out a dozen times, four young sportsmen arrived back in Christchurch on Monday morning after an experience which none of them would care to repeat. Their names were Messrs C. Reynolds, M. Calnan, W. Moorhouse, and Mulholland.

They had been shooting in the Waimakariri Gorge region when a heavy rainstorm warned them of worse weather to come. No time was lost in getting on the road to Christchurch, but before 10 miles had been travelled the car and its occupants were enveloped in a blinding snowstorm. Shortly afterwards the magneto 6f the car began to “cut out” owing to the drifting of snow into the engine through the slits in the bonnet. The next seven hours were spent in an endeavour to make headway against very trying conditions. lime auer time the magneto was dried; again and again, although a rug was lashed over the bonnet, the snow drifted into the engine and the car spluttered to a standstill. In no case did the car creep forward more than a mile without its occupants finding it necessary to deal with the magneto. About midnight, after only 17 miles had been covered in eight hours, the car was finally held up by deep snow near Courtenay. By this time it was half-filled with snow, and the travellers, whose clothes had been wet since 4 o’clock in the afternoon, decided to seek shelter for the remainder of the night. The snow was then about a foot deep. Wisely, the men decided not to separate. “The snow was coming down more thickly than ever, and we could not see more than a foot or two in front of us,” said one of them. “I have never before seen such big snowflakes, and they seemed to be coming from all directions. We fouglV our way along the road, looking for a house. Just as we were thinking of giving up the search and of making our way back to the car we were overjoyed to come suddenly upon a shed. In this we stayed until morning, huddling over a tiny fire which we had managed to light with wood which was by no means dry. We were sorry to make such free use of somebody else’s property, but there was nothing else for it We were all half-frozen, and it might have gone badly with us had we been compelled to face any further exposure. A farmer with whom we talked in the morning informed us that he measured a depth of 14 inches of snow on his front lawn.”

The party set out in the car again at 7 o’clock on Monday morning, after having discovered that the night had been passed only a few hundred yards from a farmhouse. The journey to Christchurch occupied four hours and a half.