Bay of Plenty Beacon Published Tuesdays and Fridays. TUESDAY, MARCH 6, 1945

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 8, Issue 54, 6 March 1945, Page 4

Bay of Plenty Beacon Published Tuesdays and Fridays. TUESDAY, MARCH 6, 1945

FLOOD AFTERMATH

DAMAGE IN BOROUGH WAINUI ROAD BLOCKED NO SERVICES DISRUPTED Although the flood which took place as a result of the torrent which fell on Thursday night did not reach the proportions of the last which residents of tht» Bay will remember only too a , certain amount of damage was sustained by both Borough and County roads as well as by private property owners. In the County portion of the district, the main damage was clone to the Wainui Road, McCoy's Road and Stanley Road. On the Wainui tne main trouble occurred about half way along where two bridges received the lull force of the swollen streams and were carried away. One of these streams which was formerly a rivulet but a few feet Avi'de was gouged out to a width of something approaching six chains and became . a turbid river of mud, silt and fast flowing water. Slips also presented a problem in this area where a number came down to cover the road entirely for a distance of several chains. Some hours passed before, the water drained from this area and allowed the ground to hard-en, but the County bulldozer is now engaged in clearing work and it is hoped that the road will be open again to traffic on Wednesday. On McCoy's and Stanley Roads the largest percentage of the damage was caused through slips but by dint of continuous Avor'k throughout the week end ? both roads were opened without delay. The slips have not been entirely removed but it is hoped to finish the work of clearing within the next two or three days. Waiohou River Flooded Although a fresh was noticed in both the Whakatane and Rangitaiki these were not inordinately high. The Waiohou River which lies through White Pine Bush however carried water far in excess of its normal level. Tis. found an outlet in the valley adjoining Downard's Road where something approaching a thousand acres was inundated. Viewed from above this i*ttch of ground took on the form of one vast lake and it was fortunate that all the houses situated in that part had their foundations above flood level. It can be expected that a number of crops will have received damage. One farmer in particular 1 whose hay had been cut and left 1 ready for stacking was unfortunate ■ enough to witness it floating in a 1 layer on top of the flood water. < Ohope and Taneatua , < In the Ohope area, a small amount i of damage was. sustained, this being a confined to the two watercourses. \ Both of these were forced to carry t much extra water and as a result \ were washed out making them im- r

passable to traffic. On the Taneatua Road; slips occurred in the vicinity of Mr W. C. Robert's place where four or five small streams became raging torrents and brought down a quantity of silt, on to the highway and the surrounding land. Units of the P.W.D. are engaged on clearing work. Inundations in Borough In the Borough, the main flooding occurred in the. area bounded by Goul&tone Valley Road } and

Salonika Street. A number of houses were isolated in this part of the town and although the water lias drained oft' to a large cxtent j silt and rubble is still lying as a result of the inundation. The town itself was brought back to its usual appearance on Friday morning by the appropriate usage of fire brigade hoses which Avere used to sluice the mud from the pavements and gutters. The worst damage was done at the rear of Messrs Hamili Bros garage where the stream from Hillcrest burst and poured over into the Strand. Part of the water flowed up the main street while the remainder was carried away down Commerce Street. Eating far into the cliff the water gouged out many tons of rock and debris and this was hurled over the edge and piled up at the side of the garage. By yesterday morning, upwards of sixty cubic yards of rubble had been removed by the Borough gang under Mr W. S. Henderson Borough Foreman-Engineer and work was still in progress. Blockage of Pipe Line

With its entrance at the rear of the garage, and its exit into the river is a twenty-our inch pipe line which runs- underneath the Strand I for a distance of seven chains. This pipe is filled with and the clearing of it. presents a major problem. No faults or stoppages occurred in the electric power service and the only break in telephone wires occurred through a car which lost the track of the road striking a pole outside the Borough Council Chambers and dislodging it sufficient to break several local lines at 7.40 p.m. These were repaired, next morning •