SCENE OF CHAOS

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLV, Issue 21190, 10 November 1938, Page 6

SCENE OF CHAOS

Orchards Ruined Damage Estimated At £lOO,OOO Coal Creek Cloudburst B; Telegraph—Press Association DUNEDIN, November 9. An examination of the area in the Coal Creek district affected by the disastrous cloudburst yesterday, revealed a scene of indescribable chaos and desolation, nearly a square mile being thickly covered by huge boulders, rocks, timber, debris and flood waters. It was the worst visitation of its kind experienced in Central Otago, and as it occurred in one of the richest and most productive sections of the stone fruit-growing region, the cost of the damage is very’ high. A leading orchardist at Roxburgh said that if the losses were put down at £lOO.OOO it would probably be an understatement. Had the cloudburst occurred during the night, at least a dozen people would almost certainly have lost their lives. A score of orchards and several thousand fruit trees were affected. Some orchards will never bear another crop, as cultivation will be impossible, and the properties will have to be abandoned.