HEAVY FLOODS.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume I, Issue 88, 20 May 1914, Page 5

HEAVY FLOODS.

LARGE LOSSES OF STOCK.

ROADS AND BRIDGES GONE.

Press Association! WAIROA, May 19; Reports from the country, state that there has been< a-, very heavy loss, of stock. Roads and ; bridgest hare been' swept away iic all directions. At Wailiua the river rose'over 60 1. feet Thai Wairoa river is; still rising, and: r it is, raining heavily., Tlie -river is- 1 over »lk the* walls, audi > the 1 fcownv wharf at the. Harbour Board, shedi Has; dropped sis? inches; Several, piles? wasfcedaway. - The Mbhttka? river ; rostf toan\: endrmous height last night, and 1 the post- - mistress; had ; to? leave?: the office to take shelter at the hotels as- the' flood water, wasi running; through- the.- office.; At, nojom to-day- the Mohaka bridge . was safe), but great, fears ar.e expressed' for its. safety.. The? harbour works a<re / still: holding,. . but the contractor- will a heavy loser,, owing to past of the inner training; wail . and. tramlinebeing washed: away. The. main, works). as, : far: aai can be, asr- . are mtaefc; -v • The tug* Kina )v which* broke: adrift yesterday, has- been* washed, up on the ' beach; She! is; severely damagpd. NO . subsidence., A TRYING TIME: Press Association. i WAIROA, May 20. i The-river is still rising. Unconfirmed • reports from. Waikarii state that, tlie 4 traffic bridge erected' by the'. Public "" \Tocks Apartment on. the Napier-Wai-roa, Road is? gpne-. The. total; estimated- county- flood; dam- . age is; over £9.0,000. . The. river at last baa, had : its; way- and • breached* one of the. walls, causing, a gap; of some- 6jQoft, in length; through the* crowm of. the walk inside • the eatuaTy; The breach' occurred during the »night, when the flood:- was at its' highest, discharging in. the neighbourhood: of. 15« million- cubic feet of water per minute. The water,, overtopping, the wall, , made* a rush for a? lagoon behind, thus causing the breach. As instancing the severity of the flood and its dangerous potentialities) the velocity at the works, was. from 25ft to* 30ft per second,, escpial to from. 17 to 205 miles per hour. At the town front it was l'sft. per second. . Later. - < The weather i& now clearing, and therivers; have been falling slowly since : Sunday; Hp. the, Waikaremoana Koad the Wairoa river- rose 20 feet, but the bridges, on the route; are safe. The Mohaka. bridge, which is ». valuable: one, stood' a greait,; strain. The river fell eight feet last night. In the Nuhakap and' Morere districts' , littlie. or: no; damagp- was-; done, by the flood. ' \

POVERTY SUFFERS; STOCK EOST. ' . WASH®®®® Aim SDJPSi GISBOENE; May 19 (I'l.SO'p-.m.) The fi'oodfc- reached- their maximum at higlr tidte in the early hours of this morning/ and; witii the ebli the flood:* coTtmrence# to recede, and the water has been steadily running- out ail day; , i " At; their worst stage the: floods were, < withim twelyey inches? of the 1910. flood record*.. The'settlers,; taken, all round,, were welll and stock losses' r are comparatively slight. Erank Beady, of Bbugaraej, lost 400 sheepi, and. A. J.. Cameron-,, of Pouparae, alsoi lost, some stock. JudtL' Bros:, of Mafeacmiv also> suffered, some; losses.. . The? washouts anil slips- on; the railway? ars? vergp seripus). and', traffic- will- be entirelv- suspended for ai week. The; approaches! to? the- Grey street bridge* and l the; Peel' street bridge; in the town, are washed- out, thus cutting off vehicular traffic with the: railway station; The; low-level Public Works bridge on the Napier construction, works is agpi'n »threatened, the approaches having been washed'away. Thef seas on. the coast are very heavy; and the 1 Petone, which arrived from Picton, "experienced the roughest and most tempestuous passage in Captain Cowan's 16"» years:' experience of the coast. Telephonic communication with- in.r land centres is subject to interruption, ' and telegraphic communication with: the South is' uncertain. The rain and storm have abated somewhat, and' indications point to a break in the weather. SUBSIDED AT GISBORNE. GISBOENE, May 20. The weather haa now cleared, and the flood waters have subsided. The total rainfall in Gisborne since Saturday was- 8;03 inches, and for. the month 12.0S inches; Bail way traffic is still suspended. v RIVERS SUBSIDING. All the rivers in Hawke's Bay are rapidly subsiding, and material damage is- reported- other than- that at Wairoa. CAUGHT IN A HURRICANE. WHANiGAPE POINDED. WELLINGTON, May 19. Though, less-rain, fell, to-day's wind was wild, and' the weather bitterly cold. The: steamer Whangape arrived tonight from Westport, after a voyage which will be remembered for a long time by those on board. The- vessel left Westport. at <3.30 p.m. on Sunday, and had good weather to: Farewell Spit. Then Bhe met the full force of the south-easterly gale that was- sweeping through Cook Strait. She buffeted her way across Tasman Bay, and spent last night, in the- shelter, of Guard 's. Bay. The Whangape put out from Guard's Bay at 7 o'clock this morning, and took fourteen, hours; to thrash, through theforty-fLve miles of Strait, to. Wellington Heads. About 5.3.0' pun., while somewhere \ abeam, of Sinclair. Head, the Whangape wa». in the, grip of a. fierce- wind, of hurforce*,; whichi raised mountainous seas; that pounded- resistlessly over the labouring vessel. So, gyeat, was: the bnf - feting) and' so, severe; rolling,, that four of the ship's cargo derricks; were: shaken adrift. Two went overboard,

and the others- are so. badly dtunagedi as to be: worthless, The steamer crept? up to the- whaxf at, 9.30- p.m., after taking* ■54 hours to; da a rum usually occupying!, aboufc 22 houra» Besides the cranes,, the j ventilators; audi. other deck fittings were- ! "badly battered about.