WAIPUKU BREAK

Taranaki Daily News, 23 February 1935, Page 9

WAIPUKU BREAK

WASHOUT ON RAILWAY TEMPORARY BRIDGE UP MAIN SOUTH CONNECTION c CENTRAL TARANAKI LOSS WATER QUICKLY RECEDES Damage in Central Taranaki will run into thousands of pounds. Bridges, culverts, roads and embankments were washed away throughout the district; at Tariki homes were flooded; dams on farms burst and flooded acres of land; Mountain Road was washed completely away at Waipuku and the embankment carrying the railway over the stream at that point was also carried aWay, leaving rails and sleepers suspended over 15 feet above the creek. A temporary bridge was thrown across the Waipuku washout yesterday by Stratford county workmen and was open to traffic in the afternoon. It wiU carry up to two tons, so that cars may use it safely. Throughout Central Taranaki farmers reported extensive damage on their properties, particularly those who have large creeks bridged to give access to the road. In most cases the bridges have been washed away. Several settlers claimed damage done to the. extent of between £2OO. and £3OO. Stratford borough escaped very lightly compared with the damage that was caused in the country. Roofs that were rfbt in the best of repair let water through, and several shops reported damage to stock. As the wind dropped and the rain began to fall perpendicularly, chimneys that had never been known to let more than a few drops of rain down deluged fireplaces and stoves, and many householders had difficulty in starting fires in the kitchen ranges. Minor wash-outs occurred on footpath s and roadsides, but there was no extensive damage. Evidence of severe scouring was to be seen all the way along the road between Stratford and the break at Waipuku, and in two places at least hopelessly overtaxed culverts resulted in flooding of the bitumen to a depth of up to a foot at midday. From Craig Street a small torrent poured into Broadway North, and in its race down the slope past S. Mary’s school had torn away nearly all the surface of the footpath. It disappeared into a gaping hole in the path at the foot of the slope, where a fence swinging in mid-air pointed to the amount of earth scoured from under it Investigation showed that the stream came from a burst dam north of Craig Street, had filled a small valley behind the row of houses, and in seeking an outlet was sweeping right across a well-filled garden. MAIN ROAD AFFECTED. Just before Monmouth Road water about 12 inches deep covered the road for about 25 yards, and about a mile past Midhirst a similar ford was formed. Half a mile south of Midhirst one end of a culvert had caved in, leaving a great hole about 10 feet deep on the edge of the bitumen. Two heavy Idgs on the road showed the force of the stream that had earlier flowed across the road. On either side of the road lay sodden paddocks,, many carrying appreciably. large lakes.. Masses of deposited silt, tree branches in profusion and great gaps beneath swinging fences testified to the extent of the flood. The first damage of any extent on the main road north of Stratford occurred a few yards beyond the Waipuku factory, where a small culvert, carrying what ■is usually a trickle of water, Swelled into a raging river that tore into the road filling and cut it out as though it were putty. The filling wilted visibly as the torrent wrenched it apart and carried tons of it away. The railway embankment 15 yards to the west of the road was cut out similarly, but to a greater extent. About eight feet of road was washed away, leaving a steep edged break right across, anything up to 12 feet deep. Much more damage was done to the railway embankment, so that the line and sleepers were left sagging over a gap 50 feet wide with the water 15 feet below. Beyond the gap on the north side the ballast was scoured out in places for another 30 or 40 yards. The wash-out occurred at 7 a.m. and many of the suppliers on the north side of the break could not reach the factory. They were, however, able to reach Tariki. North of that little damage was done for some distance. Both the road and railway bridges over the Waipuku stream withstood the tremendous pressure of water, which ran about 10 to 12 feet above its normal level. The. water undermined the bank on the north approach to the road bridge and cut part of. the bank away, depriving the approach rail to the bridge of support and leaving it leaning drunkenly outwards over the stream; but the bridge itself was sound. At Tariki a stream by the station, rose at 2 a.m. and flooded an area for hundreds of yards around. Water entered nearby homes and the shops in the township. Carpets and other floor coverings, the lower part ,of wallpapers and gardens were damaged by the water. The residents affected managed to cut getaways for the water, which subsided until 7 a.m., when another heavy downpour flooded the stream. The previous work had to be done again and logs that were thrown across- the main road had to be cut up and cleared away.

ROAD COMPLETELY WASHED OUT. The greatest damage in the district was done on Tariki Road about half a mile east of the township, where the _ road was completely washed out, leaving a gap 40 feet wide by 20 feet deep. Thus all the settlers east of the gap were cut off. Two bridges on Bedford Road were carried away and the settlers were isolated. Skinner feoad bridge over the Patea River is due for replacement shortly, but peculiarly enough it withstood the strain of flood waters, though it has been weakened and is closed to traffic. A large slip came down on the Pukengahu hill .on Wingrove Road, which was blocked yesterday. Slips also occurred in the eastern districts, but out as far as Te Wera they were not extensive, and, except that road surfaces were scoured badly in places, traffic was able to get through. One of the most striking features of the floods was the extraordinarily rapid manner in which the accumulated waters disappeared. Several small streams passed on the road to Waipuku appeared to have fallen' at least 10 feet by midday; with the exception of the two fords the bitumen was dry all the way. On the roadside heavily scoured channels lay empty in many places. At Waipuku the lake which at 7 a.m. lay around the factory and reached the railway line had by midday fallen to a small stream 20 feet below the road. Apart from the break in the road at Waipuku communications were fairly well maintained in Central Taranaki yesterday. No breakdowns in the telephone lines were reported, and telephonic communication with all other

centres was uninterrupted. The Taranaki Electric Power Board reported yesterday that its lines had escaped unscathed except for the carrying away of a pole on the main transmission line to Waitara by the swollen Waitara River.