FLOOD MENACE RETURNS

Star (Christchurch), Volume LXVI, Issue 20298, 7 May 1934, Page 7

FLOOD MENACE RETURNS

Heavy Damage Already Dime at Little River.

RESIDENTS FEAR GRAVE LOSSES. Lake Forsyth and All Streams Again Rising Rapidly. LAKE FORSYTH is again rising rapidly, all streams in the vicinity are swollen, a storm is blowing and the menace of a big flood still bangs over the township of Little River and neighbouring districts. This afternoon the position at Little River, with the lake waters backing up, was full of danger. It is estimated that damage amounting to some thousands of pounds has already been done (an exact figure cannot be approached) by the storm and floods of Saturday, and with the recurrence of the sou’-wester last night, bringing rain equally heavy as before, the plight of residents is serious. With numerous streams of water pouring into it from the hillsides, the lake, which had gone down considerably yesterday, is again rising, and the gale is causing the water to bank up at the Little River end. The main road is under water at Birdling’s Flat, and Lake Road is also inundated in several places. The water supply pipes are broken. Wainui has been badly hit. Damage to the extent of £IOOO at least has been done to bridges, and two families had to leave their homes on Saturday night for the refuge of the schoolroom. The water pipes are broken, cutting off the supply, and stock losses are feared. The first train to reach Little River for three days, an engine and a van, from Kaituna, arrived safely at the township at 1.15 p.m. Residents cheered it.

Little River’s one hope is that an outlet can be made in the seaward end of Lake Forsyth. All day yesterday a gang of men battled against the elements to open the lake and allow the flood water to pass harmlessly out to sea, but their efforts were of no avail. The men were back on the job early this morning, making a desperate fight to save stock and property from the steadily rising waters. The peril and drama of the situation was expressed by Mr C. E. Steans, a storekeeper, this morning, who said: “ It’s raining in bucketfuls again. The lake is coming up fast with the gale. If they can't let the lake out we’ll lose everything we've got.” A stream that formerly flowed under a culvert a quarter of a mile from the township has broken its banks and row courses down the main street. It was carrying a flood of water five feet deep on Saturday, but has gone down considerably since. It was this stream that caused the flooding in the stores and shops, and the storekeepers were keeping an anxious eye on it to-day. People Cheerful. For all the danger that is imminent the people are cheerful, and while a second flood threatens to sweep over their property they were at work this morning clearing away the silt and mud that have been left in the wake of the first. Some conception of the task that is before them can be gathered from the fact that three chains of the railway line near the town are buried seven feet under tons of mud and boulders. Many of the houses have from two to eight inches of mud covering the floors, and the furnishings have been damaged. Ironical Touch. Ironically enough some of the residents of Little River are without water. The flood carried away a portion of the main from the reservoir, leaving the householders without supplies for#their needs. Adversity met a cool rebuff when one or two housewives not to be beaten put out basins and buckets to catch rainwater and made this serve in the stead of that which the storm had taken away.

All roads are badly damaged by scouring. On the lake road there are many holes, varying from 12ft to 15ft in depth, while very few bridges have survived the storm and flood. Manv of the farmers in the valleys are still isolated, but are not believed to be in danger. The flooding was severe in the Okuti Valley, where the road was washed out in many places and all bridges were swept away. “ We’re having a deuce of a time.” That was how Mr C. E. Steans, a storekeeper, expressed his view of the position over the telephone this morning. “ I’ve had eight inches of water over the floor of my shop, and I’m not sure that I'm not in for it again. The rain has come on as hard as ever and the lake is coming up again. It’s going to cost thousands to fix up all the damage that has been done here. I have lost quite a lot, and most of us are in the same box. It was lucky for me that my house is on high ground, otherwise that would have been as badly off as the shop, where there is a creek flowing past the door.” A woman said that it was her good fortune that she and her family lived in a two-storeyed house. The water flowed right through the lower floor and the family took refuge upstairs. “ We shifted everything we could,” she said, “ and saved quite a lot, but there has been a good deal of damage. We had a picnic of it, and the worst of it is that there is a prospect of another flood. We’ll be hard hit if the men cannot get the lake out. They’ve been held up so far by the sea. It is dangerous work for them.” Fears Increase. At 2.30 o’clock it was still raining heavily at Little River. “ Nobody will take the risk of spending the night on the flat here,” said one resident, who has had a long experience of floods, emphasising the danger that threatens the township. lie added that the position might prove worse than that of Friday night, as the flood-waters that had accumulated then were able to drain away into the lake, whereas now the lake v.as full to capacity and there was no outlet for the water coursing down from the hills.