RECORD RAINFALL.

Colonist, Volume LVII, Issue 14145, 24 July 1916, Page 4

RECORD RAINFALL.

CONSIDERABLE DAMAGE DONE,

LOW-LYING LANDS INUNDATED

Saturday, July 22nd, 1916*. will be remembered for one of the biggest floods exponented i.i Nelson for many years. On Friday night ram, winch had been tliraiTemng for several c!aj>, began in reril e-jt'iest, and cunciiued without even •* J. rr.entary lull throughout Saturday. The MaiCai n/er ai;J its tributary, the .:"i<.ok street stream, ro^e rapidly, and by evening the Mf.itra was carrying a tremendous volume of water, bank lu<iji, and the J'rook -trpitm was convened into a raging i.orit-nt. Storm-water drains wore soon overtaxed, and hy even n the low-lying lands in the vicinity of the railway station were under water

The pressure of water eo::.ing down the Waimea street; sewer Ir-irst open the rbad at thy man hole at the intersection of Hardy and Waimea streets, and some idea of the fore© of the water may be gathered from the fact that the heavy iron top plate was deposited some 40ft away. The water from the sewer flowed into Hardy street and Waimea street, and added to the volume that"-was coming down Washington and Toi Toi Valleys. Soon pedestrian traffic into the city by way of Hardy, St. Vincent, Vanguard, and 'Gloucester streets was stopped, and the water rose steadily until it was two or three feet deep in this locality.

In the Post Boy Hotel the water was almost up to the bar counter, and it found its way into the shops and houses in Gloucester street. ; The railway station yard and Messrs Neale and Haddow's premises were also flooded. There was a foot of water in All Saints' Vicarage, land other places in Vanguard street suffered similarly. Owing to the flood there was no service at All Saints' Church yesterday morning, but the service took place as usual last evening, zhe flood waters having sub sided. The water backed up into "The Colonist" office, covering . the machineroom floor to a depth of six inches, and also invaded the paper store, doing considerable damage, although a large quantity of paper was removed to places of safety. Ail the low-lying land between Vanguard street and Waimea street was submerged. The Poople's Pictures were unable to show, on account of the water getting into the engine-house, and in an} r case patrons would have had difficulty in getting access to the theatre owing to the flooded state of the streets near by. J The sacred concert arranged for last night had to be postponed. Hardy street was under water from Vanguard street to Mr Alf. Robinson's bookseller's shop, and many of the business places were flooded. All the low-lying lands between Trafalgar street and Waimea street were submerged. Along Wakatu lane the water rose quite two feet, back yards being^ flooded, while in some places, including the "Mail" office, the water gained entrance. At Mr W. Lock's bulk stores in Wakatu lane c, considerable quantity of kapoc, bedding, furniture, etc., was damaged by flood water. At night it was impossible to see the full extent of "the flood.

The Maitai continued to rise until about 10 o'clock on Saturday night, syhen, although the rain still* kept on steadily, tho river began to subside, and by yesterday morning it was down fully seven or eight feet. The water covered the decking of the Trafalgar street bridge, and traffic over the structure was temporarily suspended. At the Normanby bridge the water spread across from bank to bank, and had it risen a few inches higher would have overflowed into Tasman street. . By the light of the street lamps fowlhouses, logs, and debris of all descriptions could be seen being carried" swiftly down-stream.