HEAVY RAIN IN NELSON.

Colonist, Volume LVIII, Issue 14483, 15 August 1917, Page 1 (Supplement)

HEAVY RAIN IN NELSON.

LOW-LYING PLACES FIOODED.

SLIPS ON R(XJ£S,;BOAI>,

(From ."Tho Colonist, 5; July 30ft'.)Nelson, in common with other parts of the Dominion, has been experiencing a prolonged spoil of wet weather. Except lor :i f.-nv li:)urs of sunshine on Saturday afternoon, rain has been practically continuous here for a week. Yesterday morning there was an exceptionally heavy doAvnpour, which flooded tlie gutters and burst open the vent r.t the intersection of Hardy and Wainiea stiects, causing tho surface water to overflow on to the low-lying lands in the neighbourhood. The streets in the vicinity of the Postboy Hotel were

There have Lpcu several small sllds on tho' Rocks road, and one of considerable pioportious came down at the back of Mrs Charles's ref^cJence on Haven road near tho limnkiln. 1% will be remembered that lash year h .slip occurred at thispTace and V.imted part of the Louse off its foundations. "

The .heavy-rain has c'a-usdd some delays to shipping by the interruption of work on the wharves both 'here aad a* Wellington, . (From1 "The Colonist," August 2nd.) After ..a brief spell of fine weather, the meteorological conditions changed again on Wednesday night, rain commencing to fall about midnight and continuing until after midday yesterday. During the forenoon the fall was particularly heavy, causing the storm-water channels to overflew and flooding the lowlying portions of the city. Over 2in of rain was recorded by Canon Dart at the Diocesan office.

About 10 o'clock the vent at the intersection of Waimea and Hardy streets overflowed, with the. usual consequences, and in a few minutes lower Hardy street and Vanguard street in the vicinity of Messrs Neale and Haddow's warehouse were inundated, and the low-lying land at the back of the Theatre Royal as far as All Saints' Church was. soon under water. The Post Boy Hotel was again flooded, and water found its way1-into Mr S. Winn's premises in Hardy street. Pedestrian traffic from the railway station was suspended.

The ditch in Toi Toi Valley orei flowed its banks and flooded adjoining properties. Wakatu- Lane was also submerged to a depth of aft or 3ft. Numerous rivulets were created on tho hillsides, and carried large quantities of muddy water on to the flats.

A heavy slip came down on to Maori road, and for several hours the hillside was slowly,.-moving. Two young ladies coming along the road shortly aft-er 2 ox-Jock barely escaped being caught. There were also several slips on the Waimea County side of the Rocks road, which'was blocked by falling trees and debris. . Several small slips also came down on the Wakapuaka road. The Maitai river rose about 3ft. between noon and 1 p.m., but receded rapidly after that hour, although a large volume of water continued to come down.

Floods are reported from country districts, and the mail oars from Nelson were prevented from leaving for Motueka yesterday afternoon.

August 4. The rainfall in Nelson for the seven months of 1917 has totalled 27.21 in. The monthly falls have been as follows: .lanuary o.s)iu, February 5.15ir., March 0.57 in, April .3.2-7 in, May 7.04 in, June 3.25 in. July 7.74 in.

Mr Gy S: Huffam informs us that -the rainfall at Motueka for July was a? follows:—lst .36in 3rd .26in, 4th .45in, ."th .28in, 6th .54in, 7th .24in, Bth .43in. 9th .89in. 13fch .Ooin, 14th 1.16 in, 15th .G4in, lGth .36in, 17th .16in, 18th .l&n, irttli ,35m, 20th .04in, 21st .12in, 23rd .llin. 24th .02in, 25th .19m, 2Gth 1.86 in, 27th 1.0-tin, .28th .79in, 29th .17in, 30th .OSin; total 11.89 m. Tjiere wero 25 days with rain,, .and i.he rhaximiim'tail was 1.86 in on the 2-Gth of the month.

Archdeacon 'Kemptborne informs us that the rainfall for July at Bright: water wjvs as follows:—lst .23in 3rd .01 in, 4th .31 in, sth ,21in, 6th .'ilin, 7th .21in, Bth .02in, 9th .47in, i4th ?.lm, loth 1.13 m, 16th .Win, 17th .2?in, 18th .42in. 19th .48in. 2"lst .lOin, 23rd llin, 24th trace. 25th .03in, 26th SOin, 27th 1.30 in, 2Sth .89in, 29th .02in. .30th".07in; total, 7.Ssin. The rainfall on August 2nd wf.s ] WSin.