DESTRUCTIVE FLOODS.

Wanganui Herald, Volume XVI, Issue 4691, 10 June 1882, Page 2

DESTRUCTIVE FLOODS.

FEARFUL LOSS OF STOCK.

GREAT DAMAGE TO PROPERTY AT

RANGITIKEL (FROM OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT.)

Bulls, Jane 10.

The Rangitikei river was observed rising on Thursday afternoon, but no fears were entertained till about midnight, when the violent roaring of the river attracted much attention. When morning broke the river was found to be in a fearful state of flood,and alarm spread quickly every where, the banks being lined with scores of onlookers within a very short time. The.wator continued increasing in volume till after ten o'clock, reaching a height unknown for tweatyycars, when it is said to have exceeded the highest level reached yesterday by about a foot and a half. To give some idea of the immense body of water which passed down the river yesterday morning, at one time the traffic bridge was covered to within a height of two feet of the highest part, so that in the course of a few hours the river mnst have risen to a point about sixteen feet above low water mark. The whole of the level land on either bank of the river was submerged to a depth of several feet, and as the rapid rise of the river during the night cut off all means of communication for miles along the banks, the loss of stock for a considerable distance must have been enormous. Cattle and sheep were to be seen floating down the river by dozens, occasionally succeeding in gaining the bank only to be' again swept off and carried away by the waters in their mad career, making the scene a truly terrible one to those .who witness the animals struggling in vain, and bellowing piteously ; now endeavoring to support themselves on a bank, and hopelessly to keep their head above water, and again driven into the midst of the stream only to he tossed about at the mercy of the current until drowned, and carried out to Bea. - .Here and there were also to be seen a group of horses stretching their necks out of the water, their bodies being entirely submerged. Some narrow escapes of human lift are also reported. Mrs Bailey, who resided near the Bridge, and was alone with her three children, her husband being from home, was aroused at midnight by. the sound of the water rushing in at the back 4oor,and escaped with the children to MrPain's house, They had to fly with scarcely any clothing, and had not time to save any of the money which was in the house, amounting to about £10. The end portion of the honse was swept away, together with all the furniture and effects. A chest belonging to -the son Alexander, who was also from home, and supposed to contain, a considerable sum of money, was found smashed to pieces. Much sympathy is felt for the family, who have thus suddenly been deprived of almost everything. For a length of about ten chains beyond the bridge the main road was submerged to a depth of over five feet, the house formerly used by the toll-keeper having over three feet of water in it. Mr | David Robb, butcher, who had some land on the bank on the Bulls side of the river, is one of the heaviest losers. He had some 200 pigs, about 80 sheep, and a number of cattle and horses in the enclosure, and in the morning the pigs and sheep were found to have disappeared. It is not known whether any of the cattle have been lost, but the horses have been rescued. Mr Robb has also lost a stock of tallow and sheep-skins, which were at the slaughteryard. A peculiar fact in connection with this is that a bullock which had been fastened up in . the yard on Thursday night for slaughtering yesterday was found covered with water, in which condition he had remained for several hours, but had succeeded in keeping his nose above water until eventually rescued. The Native reserve at Ohinepuiawa, at present occupied by Messrs Green and Gower, was flooded to a very large extent, and the loss of stock on this property especially must have been considerable, as cattle were everywhere to be seen struggling as in a miniature ocean.

LOWER RANGITIKEI.

The Lower Rangitikei has suffered most severely by far, but as communication with Bulls has been cut off it is impossible so far to ascertain the extent of damage done. Among others, Messrs Scott's, McKelvie's, and Amon's homesteads are known: to have been flooded out, and it is rumoured that several thousand sheep have been washed off. The vicinity of the Moari pah at Parewanui was not distinguishable from the ocean, so completely was the country covered with water. Many of the Native tenements are supposed to have been washed away, bnt one thing is certain, that all their property is destroyed, and the most of then: stock swept off. - ■

UPPER RANGITIKEI.

Communication between both sides of the river at the Upper Rangitikei is completely cut off both by road and by rail, and m several places the river had assumed an extraordinary width, at one place said to be threequarters of a mile, while at the lower' end it is over a mile wide. The formation between the wooden bridge, and the Onepuhi cylinder bridge was swept away, and can~ only be replaced at considerable eatpeikse. ' ■ Three spans of the Kakariki railway bridge have been carried off, and pieces of it vteie seen going down the river past Bolls. : Considerable blame attaches to seme official; or perhaps to a "penny wise pound foolish ' Government in connection with this bridge, as it has been known " officially " for some time that it was in a very dangerous condition. The action of the water had gradually scooped out the earth around the piling until, beyond its own weight, it had not the slightest support. From the appearance of the crash it may be safely inferred that the piling was carried outwards from the bottom by the force of the current, and had broken the back of the bridge at the junction of two spans on the Kakariki side, and' these, by their weight, carried with them a third, the whole being swept down the river. The Railway Department ; propose endeavouring to carry on the through passenger traffic as usual, by procuring a-ooat as soon as the river sufficiently subsides, and by means of it transferring the passengers from one train to the other. It is, however, due to the management to state that they have acted very punctually in taking steps to repair the bridge, now. that the damage has been done, and last night men were despatched from Wanganui with a piledriver and the material for pushing forward the work as soon as the state of the river will permit, but it must take weeks to complete it. It is estimated that, as far as is known, damage has been done to the extent of over £1200. The cause of the flood is due no doubt to strong south-eastern winds which have been prevailing, and invariably cause a rapid rise in the river by the melting of the snow. Since the waters began to subside, they have retreated very slowly, and up to this morning had not fallen more than three feet. It was very windy during the night, and the river again shows a gradual rise. The road between Bulls and the bridge has been thronged with people both yesterday and today. A very large quantity of land nafl taeu swept oft