RIVERS IN FLOOD.

Press, Volume LX, Issue 18220, 3 November 1924, Page 10

RIVERS IN FLOOD.

CONTINUED. RAIN GENERAL IN THE PROVINCE. REPORTS FROM COUNTRY DISTRICTS. I I Very unsettled weather conditions j have been Timaru's portion daring the past week, and further rain set in on Friday night, to continue at intervals ! all day Saturday (telegraphs our cor-1 respondent). All outdoor sports were j postponed, tennis players, howlers, and ] ••rieketcrs being the chief sufferers. Eain fell on fourteen days during the month, the total being a fraction over I four inches. The heaviest fall on j any one day was on October 10th, when i 114 points was registered. The month's total gives a good lift to the yearly average, which up till the end of the previous month was considerably below the average for South Canterbury. An unusual feature of the weather in the period under review was the fact that there was no record of frost. The total rainfall so far for 1924 is 13.26 inches, so that the previous low record of 12.36 inches in 1914 will remain, contrary to expectations- a month ago. The yearly average over the past eighteen years has been 23.36 inches. The following are the meteorological, observations as recorded by. 3lr Jas. O'arr, '' Budstone,'' Meth ven, for October:—Eain fell on 14 days during the month, the maximum fall being 1.28 on the 30th. The total for the month was 5.74 inches. For the same month in 1923 the total was 3.39. To the end of October, 1923, the total amount for the year was 41.77. while for this year to date the total is 26.21. At the post office, Methven, for the 24 hours ending at 9.30 a.m. on Saturday 5J points were registered. Heavy rain fell throughout Thursday and Thursday night at Scargill.. The creeks are in mild flood. The rainfall recorded at Mr H. B. Douglas's homestead, "Glen Esk," from 8 a.m. Thursday to 8 a.m. on Friday was 2.31 inches. The weather in the Sheffield district since Wednesday night has been 0? quite a wintry nature, and up to Saturday morning 260 points of rain have fallen, and rain still continues to fall (writes our correspondent). October has been a very wet month, rain having fallen on thirteen days, giving a total of 660 points. Following on the very dry spell of late winter and early spring the change has brought about a very rank growth in the cereal crops. The exceptional growth on the pasture land and so many wet days are beginning to have a detrimental effect on stock, especial]/ on the lambs and shorn sheep. All team work is at a standstill, and the sowing of rape and other fodder crops is getting, behindhand. Cust is being visited by another exceedingly heavy downfall of rain (writes our correspondent on Saturday). Bain was badly needed a few weeks ago, but how the country, if anything, is receiving an over-abund-ance. Since the last heavy rain on Dctober 19th, when the fall was 1.97 inches, vegetation has made great strides. The crops, etc., are now looking well, and there appears to be plenty of green feed. The fall has been:—October 29th, .19; October 30th, 1.26; and October 31st,' .63: making a total of 5.83 for the month of October. Another refreshing rain has dispelled ill fears of a drought (writes our Hororata correspondent). This fall commenced on Wednesday night, and rain totalling 157 points came intermittently imtil Iriday night. The growth during this month has been tremendous. Peed is abundant everywhere, and both autumn and spring crops are looking exceptionally well. Shearing, which is becoming general with dry sheep, ■will be suspended for a few days. The total rainfall for the month is 4.61 inches, rain falling on 11 days. Sain was still falling on Saturday. The break in the fine weather that took place early on Thursday morning lasted well over the week-end. On Friday afternoon (writes bur Akaroa correspondent).it had looked like clear* ing, but before sunset it was raining again, the fall becoming heavier as the night wore on. Saturday was a very wet day, a cold south-easter helping to make the conditions almost wintry. The Peninsula hills have received such a soaking as to ensure practically an abundant supply of summer feed. Ail reports state that the cows are milking very well # indeed, and supplies to the factories are increasing accordingly. Woodbury had more rain last week, 5 points, being registered at 9 ajn., Tuesday, .53 on Thursday, and .52 on Friday. It is still raining steadily (writes our .correspondent on Saturday). The rain which; set in • at Waiau on Thursday morning, and which fell unintermittentrjr throughout the day and' night, continued, with few breaks during Friday and Friday night, and by 9 a.m. on Saturday a further 1.15 inches had been recorded, making a total of 3.82 inches for the forty-eight hours, and rain was still falling steadily (writes our correspondent). All water-courses were carrying a considerable volume of water, some being quite impassable for motor traffic. . At *'Wandleholm, ,> six miles north of the Waiau township, a fall of 4.5 inches had been recorded for the same period. On Saturday morning the bridge over the Wandle was under water, and the stream was practically impassable, being unsafe even for horsemen. Much preparatory work for the- erection of a heavier bridge over this stream had been done, and considerable damage has been wrought, necessitating the doing of the work over again. During Thursday night there was a very marked fall in the temperature, and heavy snow fell on the higher levels. The brag-continued rain, together with the comparatively low temperature, will hare ill-effects upon newly-shorn sheep, and there is almost eertain to be a considerable mortality among a number of flocks. At 1 p.m. on Saturday rain was still falling steadily, with very little' signs of clearing. Very heavy weather prevailed at the end of the week in the Oxford district, rain falling from various quarters, flooding creeks and rivers, and thoroughly saturating the soil (writes our correspondent). potatoes that were planted during the fiae weather, in the hope that they would be early harvested, are likely to suffer. Bain fell on thirteen days during the month, the total fall being 7.40 inehes. This is far above the average during the past fourteen, years, which was 3.07 for October, and is the record for that period, the next highest being in 1921, when 7:05 inches fell. The total rainfall since the beginning of the year is 27.46 inches. The rain which started at Kirwee on Thursday morning, has continued

intermittently ever since, and at times the showers have been very heavy; 1.27 inches have been registered, and at 9 ajn. on Saturday it was -still raining (writes our correspondent). There is now an abundance of grass, and feed should be assured for the summer. Crops which a month ago looked very indifferent are now looking splendid. " The rainfall for the month of October was 4.49 inches. Eain fell on 13 days, the heaviest falls being recorded on the 39th and 20th when ■ 1.01 inches and 1.02 inehes respectively j were registered. For the correspond- •; ing month of 1923 the fall was 2.63 I inches; 1922, ..'0 inches: and 1921. j 7.00 inches. For the ten months end- i ing on Oetober 31st the total fall was J 18.31 inches, whilst for the correspond- ! ing month of 1923 the fall was '.29.9:2 j inches: 1922. 17.26 inches; find 1921. j 28.77 inches. | j TELEGRAPHIC LINES INTER- | | RUPTED. ! I i Owina to the wet weather, telei graphic communication with the North Island was held up for a period, a ' break in the telegraph wires having oc- j enrred a few miles south of Blenheim, j Until repairs were effected the only ! means of communication '.vitji the North j was by a wire through the West Coast j to Blenheim. ! HEAVY RAIN AT RANGIORA. j Exceptionally heavy rain fell at Rangiora during the week-end. From 11 a.m. on Thursdav to midnight on Saturday, according tc the rain gauge < at the District High School. 4.62 inches j fell, and for the '24 hours ended en \ Saturday at midnight the fall was 3.27 : inches. The Ashley .River was flowing i bank to hank, but did not overflow. ; A good deal of water came through j from the Makerikeri stream, which runs into the Ashley, but no soricus damage was done. . Conditions at WaikuSu were not so bad as was expected, in fact, it is stated that there was considerably more flood water there a fortnight ago. Generally speaking, not a great deal cf damage lias been done as a result! of the downpour in the district. the I crops escaping pretfv well. nlthouplf a [ few of the more forward have l>een | flattened down. •• ■ j ; ; i HEAVY SURF AND RISING I i RIVERS. j i (SPECIAL TO "THE PRESS." 1 } KAIKOUEA, November 1. Rain set in on Thursday before noon, and has continued with occasional showers of hail. To-day there has been a continuous downpour, and the rivers are rising rapidly. The Clar- j ence ferry is out of action, while on ; the inland route to Waiau traffic is blocked at Humbug creek. ' Stony creek, on the South road, is running high, and cars will have difficulty in crossing. There is a tremendous sea running, breaking with considerable force on the foreshore. Lyall creek is carrying a large volume of water, but the outlet so far is open, and, provided that there is no backing up of the shingle at six o'clock this evening, during high tide, the West. End may avert a flood. SLIPS BLOCK TRAFFIC. ROAD AND RAIL TO WAIRARAPA. (PBXSS ASSOCIATION TBUCttllf.) WELLINGTON, November 1, The heavy rain of the last two days has been accompanied by inevitable slips, and this morning both road and rail routes to the. Wairarapa were reported blocked, the Wairarapa Automobile Association notifying the city as regards the main road. The Wairarapa mail train due out this morning, was detained in consequence of a slip near Kaitoke, on the railway, but it was hoped to clear this sufficiently to allow the afternoon train to get through. The slips on the main road were not so serious as originally reported, and the Public Works Department expected to have the main slip on the Mungaroa Hill cleared for traffic to go through this afternoon. There is a number of minor slips elsewhere on the road, but they are not of the nature to hold up transport badly. November 2. A later message regarding the floods reports heavy slips on the summit of the Rimutakas, and that the Cross Creek line is clear on the Wellington side to the Summit. Through traffic ceased oh Friday night, and no trains have been through yet. It is unlikely that the line will be clear for traffic to-morrow. It cannot yet be ascertained if it will be possible to. tranship passengers across the slips. The rain was exceedingly heavy, causing several washouts and slips. The officials think that there must have been a cloudburst. Railway gangs are at work, and these will be supplemented to-morrow. At 5 o'clock to-night it was reported that the rain had cleared, and no further slips were probable. There have been slips for over 100 yards on the Rimutaka hill between Kaitoke and the Summit. The road is impassable to motor traffic, and is likely to remain closed for three days. ABOUT KAIAPOI. CROPPING LAND FLOODED. Yesterday the flooding of low-lying land in the vicinity of Kaiapoi gave evidence of the unusually heavy rain which had fallen during the last few days, and but for cessation of the downpour late on Saturday night there . is no doubt a serious flood would have , resulted. A considerable area of low-lying land ' between Flaxtou and Tuahiwi was inundated from the overflow from the > Cam river, while at Wavedey, the • Eyre river came over, flooding the" land towards the Main Drain. The Main Drain overflowed towards Flaxton, but , fortunately the volume of water at that , point was not as great as usual. Owing to tlie water backing up during the morning, water found its way ' from the 'south aide of the North I Branch railway bridge, following the t railway embankment until it emptied into the river again at Raven street. Most of the green crops affected by the water are well forward, and it is not expected that they will bo greatly damaged by the flood, but in many ' cases the land prepared for the main potato crop received a thorough soak- , ing, and it will U> some time before planting can take place. 1 The river through Kaiapoi was running very Jiigh all day yesterday, * but 1 by evening there was a considerable 1 drop in the flood level. 1 The Waimakariri was carrying a large volume of water yesterday, but it ' Raver looked damgeroua.

NEARLY SEVENTEEN INCHES. HEAVY RAINS IN MARLBOROUGH. RIVERS FLOODED AND LOW j ! LANDS INUNDATED. i i | 'special to "the psess. ') ] BLEXHErM, November 2. From Thursday afternoon to Saturj day afternoon was an anxious period i for the Marlborough district, which I was deluged with rain to an extent j that filled s!l the rivers bank-high. i and brought the danger of an "oldJ man" flood uncomfortably close. The | storm drove in. for the most part, from the s'.-utli-east. but for a time the attack was maintained from the north- j west, and the watershed right round i ! was involved. : The heaviest downpour was at Pic- | i ton. where no fewer that; 1(5.9*3 inches] i were registered, and what is believed j j to be a record for that locality was ; established at Flaxbonrne, where 10.3 1 inches fell, of which six inches teemed | down between !•) a.m. and 5 p.m. yesterday. At Blenheim ?>A2 inches fell, including S4 points between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. yesterday, which being the provincial anniversary, was a public holij day. Everyone who did not have to ! be out took cover, and, of course, the j customary holiday celebrations, which j i take the form of .Sunday school pie- j j uicß. had to be abandoned. I Spring Creek reports 4.S inches, and j ! Avondale 3.0 inches. < ! i No Damage in Blenheim. j The severe strain put on the capacity i of the Taylor river and the consequent | swelling of the Omaka. Tunning j through the town, caused concern at Blenheim, but the protective works j proved equal to the occasion, and when the storm exhausted itself at about ! four o'clock .yesterday afternoon, there j was no further need for alarm. The i .worst that happene-d in town was the i i floding of a few sections by some over- ! taxed ditches. The Fairhall river and I Doctor's creek overflowed on to "si numi ber of farms west of Blenheim, but j the area under crop thus affected was | not an extensive one. ; I The most serious inundation was at j j Tuamarina, between Blenheim and I Picton. "Water from the Para swamp I and the Tuamarina creek, which was backed up by the swollen condition of the Wairau river, flowed over severs i properties on the lower ground, and it is understood that not a few crops were ruined. Family Leaves House. j A number of landslides are reported, i the most serious of which, as far as j is known, was at Mr Guard's residence I at Kakapo Bay. A slip containing I thousands of tons of earth and rock came down yesterday, and water and mire actually entered the house, which was rapidly evacuated by the family, but otherwise no damage was done. Slips occurred at the Picton Freezing "Works, and one came down against the schoolhouse at "Waikawa. The weather turned very cold during the storm, and there has been a pretty heavy fall of snow on the high country. It is reported that there has been rather heavy mortality among shorn sheep on some back-stations. Generally, the rain will do a tremendous amount of good, especially in the Awatere district. IN THE WAIRARAPA. COMMUNICATION INTERRUPTED. STORM ACCOMPANIED BY COLD SNAP. ... (special to "the press.") MASTERTON, November 2. A most unusual occurrence for November, heavy rain with cold southerly winds, has brought with it considerable loss for farmers in this district, with. destruction of sheep, mostly recently shorn, and property in general. A south-westerly set in on Thursday, bringing with it regular blasts of excessive violence, and -when it veered to south-east those knowing the. meteorological peculiarity of the valley predicted a rough time. Their predictions proved correct, for it is many years since the eleventh month of the" year has produced such unseasonable weather with such unfortunate results. The topic of conversation among the farming community of late has been the very favourable prospects ahead, but this unexpected reverse has indeed shattered the hopes of many throughout the whole of the district. Low-lying areas present a scene of flood-swept desolation and on rain setting in again on Sunday afternoon it was apparent that further trouble was in store. The first sign of trouble for Wairarapa was the blocking of traffic, both rail and road, between here and Wellington, slips" falling on the Rimutaka hills. A landslide on the road has proved to be more serious, and it is not anticipated to regain connexion for some davs. Railway communication was also blocked, and no south mails arrived on Saturday.' Water Supply Endangered. Inconvenience, from Masterton 's point of view, is most likely to occur from the flooding, of the Waingawa River, for it is here that the water supply for the borough is derived. An inspection yesterday revealed the fact that the river, which flooded considerably ou Saturday but had subsided yesterday, had altered its course about 23 miles above the reservoir, and the volume of water is flowing down the old channel, long since out of requisition, and from which the water was diverted by means of a groin. The latter offered feeble resistance to the surging waters, which, after silting up the original course, burst through and took the old course. This deflected the volume away from the water supply intake, which now remains between two temporary courses, and several chains of drain will have to be laid to connect the intake with the isolated pipe-line at a point where the present course tips over a small fall, and to join the course the river followed before the flood. The groin is checking the flow, but should this break away, and a portion of it had commenced to yesterday, [ the borough supply is in danger, as the pipe-line, which is close to the surface, would scour and the supply naturally j would be eut off. [ The acting engineer states that if the rain continues on the hills, he would , not like to predict what would happen. t Ho was emphatic that the supply of water was endangered by the present

, condition of the river. Over sevon inches of rain fell in that locality in 13 hours. Stock Losses. Losses of stock in the northern end of the district seem to be confined to Bideford and Tinui. Mr J. L. Murray, of Wainuiomapu. who had just finished shearing, lost 100 sheep on Thursday night, while losses are reported from Tinui by Messrs 11. C. Bellis (140 s ). Karvey "and Innes (o0), D. Speedy (.50 ewes and more lambs}, and H. B. Matinsell (50). Minor losses of cattle are also reported. While it is understood that there are other losses of sheep, these are the only official reports yet to hand. ! The Tinui district, towards the coast, J suffered badly. The Whareama River - rose to an enormous height, and road i communication with Masterton was blocked through culverts in the Maur.ga- i pakeha Valley washing out. 1 Carrying All Before It. ' One settlor states that the river at ', the back of Mr Stilborn's station was ' :i mile wide, and carrying everything , before it. There was not a floodgate left in its whole course. | At Ihuraua and at Alfredton settle- ; i nient the river rose higher than ever - known previously, and a mailman from Maurieeville had to do his round ' i through four feet of water. So high 1 was the water on some of the lower . I flats that dairy farmers could not get ■ to their milking sheds, and milking for I the morning had to be abandoned. Nearer Maurieeville the flood was not so pronounced, and though the Kopuai ranga stream flooded its banks in | several places, road traffic was mainj tained. and no stock, it is understood, was lost. I Mt. Bruce fared similarly, and being mere, elevated lost little, with the ex'eeption of the floodgates. I Crops Washed Out. j Tc Whiti soldier settlers experienced ] j heavy rainfall. Ci inches falling, and I the liuamahunga burst its banks in i several places. In this locality, newly- - j sown crops suffered, and in several in- ' ' stances potatoes and outcrops were 1 j washed out. ] i It is understood that the damage is ' J much more extensive in the lower val- | ley where the Ruamahunga, Waiohine, ! and Tauherenikau each flooded, but rej ports from that locality are not expectj ed to reach here till late to-night, owj ing to the restricted communication. ' It is learned that Through Creek at I Feathcrston is backing up. Several j streets resembled rivers Mnd residents j could only effect entrance to their homes i by wading waist-high in water. Information regarding the railway service is scarce, but it is understood ( that many trying situations weie ex- j perienceel by passengers aud staff. ] MANAWATU IN FLOOD. [ PORTION OF PALMERSTON ' NORTH THREATENED. < (FJtESS ASSOCIATION TELEGRAM.) , PALMEESTOX NORTH, Nov. 2. Owing to heavy rains in Southern Hawke's Bay and locally, the Manawatu Eiver rose loft above normal, the 1 water reaching within a foot of the banks, and in one place, south of Pal- i merston North, actually overflowing on ( Saturday night and eroding five acres of ploughed land. The erosion constitutes a new problem, on account of the river having scoured a new channel opposite the lowest part of the town. It is expected that the greater part of the river -will flow through this, and may eventually become a danger to this district, which includes the golf links, unless the Eiver Board's programme, now in progress, is carried through soon. The river is subsiding this afternoon, but the floods will certainly affect the Shannon and Makcrua flaxmillingarea, causing a cessation of milling.