STORM SWEEPS SYDNEY

Taranaki Daily News, 30 November 1932, Page 8

STORM SWEEPS SYDNEY

PHENOMENAL RAINFALL. BUILDINGS INUNDATED. Nearly three inches of rain fell during a heavy thunderstorm which occurred in Sydney and its suburbs recently. A new meteorological record was established between 7.20 a.m. and 7.50 a.m., when 210 points, the heaviest fall in 30 minutes ever registered was gauged at the ■ weather bureau. At one stage the rain was estimated to be falling at the rate of six inches an hour.

Flood water entered many city buildings, causing considerable damage. The fire brigade, called upon to pump water out of shops and offices, and to salvage stock, had one of the busiest days on record. It received dozens of calls and it was found impossible to respond to half of them. Only the more serious cases could be attended to.

There was a remarkable spectacle in Pitt Street during the height of the storm, when torrents of water poured from the roof of Hordern Brothers, Ltd., to the roadway beneath. It resembled a large waterfall. Taxing storm-water channels beyond their capacity, water flowed over roads and footpaths in every suburb and in the city itself. Low-lying areas were flooded, roadways and footpaths in many places were scoured but, and suburban flower

and market gardens suffered considerable damage. In several instances'poultry was drowned.

Vivid lightning, and thunder of unusually long duration accompanied the rain. Lightning struck a number of telegraph poles, set fire to an electrical fusebox and put a number of automatic telephone exchanges temporarily out of action.

The most serious flooding occurred at Farmer’s, Ltd., Pitt and Market Streets, where several floors were inundated when water poured through leaks in the roof. In the basement the water, which had seeped through from the floors above, was knee-deep. The fire brigade received an urgent call at 8.25 a.m. and a salvage party from headquarters was soon on the scene. When they arrived a huge volume of water was surging about - pou&tgxa the ground floor

and hundreds of pounds’ worth of valuable material were already ruined. One party set to work removing stock to dry portions of the building, while others set the pumps in operation to clear out the water. It was nearly 1 o’clock before the firemen concluded their task.