THE OTAGO FLOOD

Wairarapa Age, 21 March 1929, Page 5

THE OTAGO FLOOD

HEAVY DAftIAGE IN DUNEDIN CITY. GOOD WORK DONE BY RESCUE PARTIES RAILWAY FIREMAN KILLED DUNEDIN, March 20. The flood which swept Dunedin and its environs yesterday was as sudden as it was disastrous. Up to 3 p.m., though the rain was persistent and heavy, there was no threat of a flood, but by 5 o’clock the Leith had leapt its banks and was descending upon the northern area, Concord Creek was pouring down Caversham Tunnel into the southern suburb and there was every indication' of a repetition of the floods of 1923. So far as the northern area is concerned, it has proved probably even more damaging.

Between 9 o’clock and) 2 a-m., a big band of workers —police, naval men from the Duneoin, social workers and firemen—were hard at it removing people from their homes in Wopdhaugh, North-East Valley and Harbour Terrace, where in places there were 4ft. to sft. of water. Some Z»f the work was highly dangerous, the flood waters moving like a river current. In one instance it took six men. to carry one woman clear, and then one of the rescuers was carried off his feet and swept down many yards. Towards 11 o’clock, the Leith, waters, marching via Cumberland and Castle streets, were as far Citywards as St. Andrew Street, and later from Castle jStreet they invaded Lower High Street as far as Queen’s Gardens. This I morning there were still 3ft. of water and debris in St. .Andrew Street. The southern suburbs escaped more lightly than in 1923, but here, too, many houses were flooded and there is much damage reported.

TRAIN SERVICES UPSET Train services were badly hit. The South Express last evening had to return.' from Mosgiel owing to breaks further south, but a special got away this morning carrying the Premier and his party to a complimentary banquet at I Invercargill. The north line is still blocked by a big break at Mihiwaka. •The morning revealed a scene of havoc ■and desolation in the. eastern and northern ends of the city. From the ‘outlet of the Leith at the Boat Hari bour to the Leith Valley Bridge, the • flood has wrought its damage. Premises both residential and commercial .visited by the flood waters have their floors covered with a loathsome coating of slime. The roads have disappeared and many houses are still surrounded by waier. One home is ruined and a big slice of the Leith Valley Road has gone with the flood waters. Although not so extended in duration the flood last night was more serious for the northern and 1 eastern parts of the city than the floods of April, 1923. A greater area was covered with water. A TERRIFYING NIGHT | On the low-lying land near Logan Park, residents spent a terrifying 'night. The inmates of every house in Jthe lower part of Harbour Terrace I were forced to vacate their homes, as the water rose 4ft. early in the evenling. At high tide (11 p.m.), the flood was at its worst and within an hour a fall of sft was recorded at the Forth Street Bridge. Meanwhile the rescuers were paying greater attention, to (Harbour Terrace and Harrow Steet. I The collapsing of the structural part of ;a suspended bridge across Harrow (Street owing to the fearful battering (from logs crashing their way to the harbour and the forceful passage of the water was really the start of the flooding of that district. Men in all manner of attire threw themselves into the rescue work and it was with relief that the announcement was heard that everybody was safe. One old man in a tenement near Forth Street would not leave his premises and he had to be forcibly removed. It was just in time, as a little later his home was flooded out and marooned in an ocean of muddy water across to Logan Park. Lake Logan of old was once again a lake and in l a shorter time than anybody would have pophesied. A dip in 1 Union Street was a big basin through which wading was impossible. A rowboat was used here early in the evening to rescue people.—’(P.A.)