TORRENTIAL RAIN

Wairarapa Age, 16 February 1935, Page 5

TORRENTIAL RAIN

DAMAGE IN AUCKLAND CITY AND SUBURBS. MANY BASEMENTS FLOODED. FALL OF 4J INCHES. AUCKLAND, February 15. Torrential rain of exceptional severity fell in Auckland and suburbs this afternoon, causing considerable damage in shops and warehouses in the lower parts of the city and in the low-lying areas in the suburbs. Heavy rain in the early hours of the morning was followed by warm, humid conditions but shortly after one o'clock the weather again became thick and following minor cloud bursts the storm broke in full force and continued unabated for two hours. The rain was accompanied by a mild electrical storm. By four o'clock the wind, which had been light from the north-east swung round to the south-west and with a quick improvement in the conditions, allowing thousands of shoppers who had been marooned under shop verandahs for most of the afternoon to make for their homes. The total fall from midnight to 4 p.m. was 4.40 in., of which probably three and a half inches fell during the afternoon. At the height of the storm the rain was falling at the rate of two inches an hour and with the city drainage system failing to cope with the water the streets were awash and flood waters entered many basements in the business areas.—(P.A.)