SEVERE RAINSTORM

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 10, Issue 20, 4 September 1946, Page 5

SEVERE RAINSTORM

WHAKATANE DISTRICT SUFFERS'

HEAVY FLOODING IN BOROUGH MINOR COUNTY DAMAGE Consistently heavy rain, falling over a period of two days, •ending last Monday evening, was the cause of widespread flooding throughout the Whakatane district. In the Borough, where most of the serious flooding occurred, 7.32 inches were measured for the 48 hours of rain. The fall recorded at Edgecumbe measured 4.97 inches, or nearly 2£ less than that recorded in the town. Whilst surface water was to be seen in substantial quantities all over the Rangitaiki Plains, no serious damage has been reported apart from road slips, but in the Borough of Whakatane, inundation in the lower Allandale area, and Valley Road was general.

Anticipation of flooding was generally felt on Monday morning when, with the main outlets running bank high and the Wainui te Whara stream swollen to four times its normal volume, residents of the Borough were prepared for more than the normal overflowing. Fortunately, the excavation of the bed of the Wairere Stream, which flows through the business section, prevented a repetition of the heavy flood experienced six weeks ago, and Borough Councillors may congratulate themselves on the timely action of the drag-line dredge which deepened the stream bed by some three feet. Had this not been done, there appears to have been every prospect of a fairly serious inundation in the town itself.

Flooding at Allandale

On the western side of the Borough, residents were not so lucky. The Wainui te Whara was, on Monday morning, running bank high,

and surface water along the whole

■of its course had already flooded the paddocks to a varying depth. 'The corner of lower Douglas Street and Alexandria Avenue, which marks the intersection of* the lowlying lagoon backing on to Valley Road, was two feet under water, and a number of small houses, erected on the recently sub-divided properties were isolated. Heavy rain continued to fall, and as a result the stream which was an angry brown current from early morning, swept over its stopbanks and covered the adjoining lands on the south

side of Salonika Street. The flood waters swept through all Allan'dale, and reached King Street in a .fairly substantial stream. For the whole of its length, Alexandria Avenue became an angry torrent of water, emptying across King Street and on to the adjoining paddocks ■owned by Mr Allan Stewart. Mr Wray’s property on King Street received the full force of the waters which were a foot deep for the best part of a day and a half. Victims of Douglas Street

In Douglas Street itself, the same sufferers who have experienced no less than five floodings in less than two years were again the victims. Water poured in an unrestricted volume through the properties of Messrs. F. Prideaux, R. Chadwick, R. Woolliams, A. and J. Kinnaird, A. Shaw, R. Taylor, C. H. Brebner and Mrs Lucas. The basin between Douglas Street

and Valley Road swiftly filled up

until it became a lake some twenty ‘or thirty acres in extent. Cattle were hastily moved to higher country, whilst residents in the vicinity of Goulstone Road watched with no

little'■anxiety, the force of water racing down the Wainui te Whara Gorge. A number of residents on Valley Road experienced more water on their properties than in any of the previous floods, and had the stream blocked again at the concrete bridge, the result would have been far more sreious. As it was, the Wainui te Whara Stream changed its course completely, and has swept away portion of the Ohope Road. In the gorge itself, one of the recently constructed concrete groynes was so undermined as to snap under the pressure of the loose rubble behind it. While most of the flood waters had receded by yesterday afternoon, there are still many houses in the low-lying areas with large pools occupying front and rear gardens.

Many Road Slips

From the course taken by the rainstorm, it appears that the heaviest falls were experienced on the hill plateau reaching from the town of Whakatane nearly to Taneatua. Within this area, numerous slips have occurred. There are at least a dozen on the road to Ohope, whilst every stream falling from the hills •on the road to Taneatua has forced

a trail of boulders and debris before it, and much of this has spilt across the highway. The road through White Pine Bush was impassable yesterday. Residents in this area state that they have never seen so much surface water lying about the paddocks. It is anticipated that this will take several days to drain away.