NOT SERIOUS.
DAMAGE BY FLOODS. RIVERS SUBSIDING. SURVEY OF THE POSITION. Flooding of both a serious and minor nature appears to be general throughout Canterbury. During the past week over four inches of rain have been recorded in Christchurch, and, coming as it did when the ground had been unable to recover from previous soakings, it was only to be expected that there would be a good deal of surface water lying about. This last fact applies not only to the City, but to the country, reports from which indicate that a good deal of damage lias been done to winter-sown crops, which ai ? covered with surface water. Rivers are running bank high in many instances, and the Eyre, which overflowed during the last few days, has been responsible for most damage in North Canterbury. Railway services on the Midland and Ellesmere lines have been interrupted by wash-outs, and a break occurred in the West Coast telegraph lilies at Springfield, but the damage was made good yesterday morning. In the City. Great sheets of water cover many of the City reserves, and most sports" fixtures set down for this afternoon have been postponed. Peihaps the greatest damage done in Christchurch during the week lias been to the streets. It is estimated that the cost of making the damage good in this direction will run into several thousands of pounds, and will take some months before it can be completed. The chief parts of the roadway affected are those in the vicinity of the tramway rails, where the macadam and tar-sealing has been washed away bv the rush of water from the passingwheels of the trams. Motor vehicles running along the tram rails have assisted in making the damage greater, and pot-holes on either side of the 'metals practically over the whole length of the service are frequent. Even the surface's of the tar-sealed roads are breaking up in places, and will have to be. given a fresh coating when the streets dry sufficiently, and allow of this being done. The Avon river is running very high, while the Heathcote has overflowed its banks at Western terrace, River road, Qpawa, and temporary flooding has also occurred in Simeon street, Spreydon, in • Barriiigton street, and at several other places.
Both public and private gardens throughout the City and suburbs are m-a hopeless state for working, and householders in many instances have been forced to use their ingenuity to drain flood waters from their paths and around their houses. Fortunately, yesterday the weather gave promise 6f clearing, and should a spell of dry days follow, it will afford opportunity of proceeding with the restitution o'f flood damage. • The Railways. - The- break on.. the ' Midland line at Springfield has now been repaired, and the usual service will operate to-day. 'About 200 yard 3 this side of Spring'fleicl a washout occurred on the Midland lino on Thursday, and all that night and yesterday men were engaged repairing the damage, with a result that at 8 o.'clock last evening the express from the West Coaßt which had been unable' to reach Christchurch the previous evening, arrived at the station in the form of a goods train. All the passengers' luggage, which had been held up on account of the washout, came through, yesterday.
\On the Southbridge line, however, there hao been a washout between Ellesmere and Lincoln, and yesterday morning it was possible for the train to proceed only as far as Lincoln. It will not be possible to do much to repair the damage until the Selwyn river has subsided. The length of line covered on thTs route is extensive, and it is difficult to estimate how much damage has been-done, though it is considered that the work of repair will be only slight. A special train was sent out yesterday to pick up passengers hetween Christchurch and Lincoln, and the trains to and from Southbridge ran only to and from Springston yesterday afternoon. •
The Waimakariri. Apprehension was felt concerning the Waimakariri, which rose in sympathy with other Canterbury rivers. At White's bridge the river was at one period yesterday sft 9in above normal, but matters never became any more serious. The overseer for the Waimakariri River Board, Mr T. Jeal, stated last night that the protective works recently erected by the Board were standing up to their task well, and that at no point had the water got through. Damage in Lyttelton. the largest slips at Lyttelton for many years occurred shortly after 'll o'clock • yesterday morning on the property of Mr H. Gilmore, Hawkhurst road. A visit to the scene disclosed that the area affected was nearly half an acre in extent, and thous- "" ands of tons of earth had fallen, while water was running; everywhere, the side-channels resembling miniature torrents.' Part of the slip had fallen on to Hawkhurst road, completely blocking all traffic. A dairyman, Mr J. Bowden, whose farm is at the top of the road, was compelled to leave his cart on the lower side for the night. A number of- Borough workmen were promptly placed on the job clearing a temporary track. When seen by a "Press" representative, Mrs Gilmore stated that they had been rather apprehensive during the heavy rain as to whether the part of the ■ hillside on which their section is situated would come Sown or not, bub as the water was running freely from it, they concluded it would remain safe. At about 11.15 yesterday morning, however; she was startled by a rumbling noise which grew to a roar and shook the house considerably. She was just in time to see the mass of earth and clay shoot past the dwelling, ' missing it by a few feet only. In its course the slip demolished and covered .a small fowl house, while a larger fowl •house was carried about fifty feet '.down the hillside. The poultry in the house were unharmed, but the smaller hiuse contained a number of show bantams, which were killed. Last year a simifer slip came away from the hillside, nearly opposite Mr Gilmore's •property, and a few years ago. a big slip occurred higher np the valley, ou the property of Mr James Bowden. On that occasion, a cowshed was covered and nine cows were killed, .There have been a number of smaller - clips about the port during the past few days One on.» residential prbp- , - erty in West LytteEon filled the hack- •• y i£ *?. P aßt ed in a window AnaSS -^^r 011 , ?*■ Property of Mr "W. Hawkhurst, carried awav a Hi KiTOi^ 1 * P** 9 * -'*e best ■
Ohapuku Again Flooded. As predicted yesterday, the* Eyre [ Eiver broke its banks earJ.v yesterday morning on the north side, some twenty chains above Burgess's ford, with a gap about 100 feet wide, through which it has. been discharging a iuge volume of water ever since. The river itself is flowing almost bank high at a rate of some twelve miles per liour, and as probably a volume equal to one quarter of this is going through the break, the .low-lying lands at Ohapuku were soon suomerged. The break occurred at the boundary between Messrs Brown and Burgess, at about two chains below the break caused by the 1923 break. The properties of Messrs Williams, Burgesb, Magon, Webster, Lynskey, Lynskey, White, Barnard, Jordan, and Evans are heavily flooded in parts. Several acres owned by Mr Burgess are covered with shingle discharged from the river, but so far no loss of stock has been reported, as sufficient warning was given by the police at Oxford. The large breaks in the south side on Mrs M. J. Dixon's property at West Eyreton and that of Mr C. Leach, of Swannanoa are still discharging a large volume, whiph is running down both sides of the South Eyre road to Cherry's Ford, where it forms the old North branch, and rejoins the Eyre River channel again beneath the break in Burgess's. The flood level in Ohapuku has practically reached the level of 1923, and but for the relief given by the overflow on the south side at WestEyreton and Swannanoa,, . the present flood must have been even more disastrous than that of 1923.
Strong banks erected by the River Trust on the north side at Mr Chapman's property in West Eyreton have saved the Swannanoa, Mandeville and Ohoka districts from flooding, but accentuated the trouble on the south side there in Mrs Dixon's and Mr Leach's properties. It is apparent that if banking is done, they should be raised by a great height on both sides. Another instance of the necessity for tliis is to be seen on the site of the present break in Burgess's. Here the actual trouble occurred through the dual circumstances of a high deposit in the river hed by the 1923 flood, which the Trust failed to - remove- and the higher southern bank .on Mr It. O. Dixon's side, causing the flood water to pond against the lower bank on the north side. Flood marks are ■ to be found ; for many chains along this northern side until the weak point was found with the present disastrous resu't - ' • • Very considerable indignation is felt by the residents of Ohapuku that the River Trust has neglected to heighten the lower branch, which has been known all along to be a danger spot, and one to which the attention of their engineer has been drawn from time to time. The Main Drain outlet to the Cust Rirer has so far been able to carry the Cust. waters.- through jthey against the planks of the Skew brTuge, leap at Flaxton. Flaxton is partly free from water excepi an area between the Skew bridge and the Flaxton Railway Station where some paddocks are covered with surface water. 'The Cam berno- low and the Cust confined to its hanks, Flaxton has escaped the devastation of the flood of 1923.
Hororata's Plight. The Hororata correspondent of "The Press" telephoned last night to say that rain had fallen in Hororata and district for the past week, and a total of 3:70 inches had been recorded. The river was Tunning as high as during the May, 1923, flood, and a large area, of low-lying country was under water. There were no mails received in the township yesterday, communication by road and rail having been blocked by flooded rivers. An electric pole on ths main south transmission line had been washed out-by the-.Selwyn river, and was hanging over-the water suspended "only.by the wires., . Ready for Trouble. Having in mind the recent disastrous flood, Kaiapoi people prepared for trouble yesterday when the Cam river lose about 18 inches. The river waters were backed up by the tide in the morning, and two residents were compelled to leave their homes at Gii'der bridge owing,to the rapid rise of the river. The road between Kaiapoi ai>d Eangiora was blocked yesterday by the flood. Slips on the Peninsula. Our Akaroa correspondent telephones that yesterday was showery, but the weather generally showed distinct signs of clearing. Since last Saturday eight inches of rain had been recorded in Akaroa. The downfall on the ranges and in the eastern bays must have considerably in excess of that. Mr Alf. Bead, the Eastern Bays mail contractor, reached all the bays as usual yesterday, but on leaving L". Bon's Bay he had to return to Akaroa via Okain's Summit and Duvauchelle. The Summit Toad between Le Bon's and Long Bay was simply impassable, while the Long Bay road itself,! on the Aka roa side, was blocked with [several slip 3. The Akaroa-Little River road was open again yesterday, continuous work by gangs of men resulting in a track being cut through the slips." Mails and passengers for the City were connecting with the train at Little River, the Main road beyond the township being stili, for several miles, practically covered with slips. As the lake was out, and th'e flood waters about Little Eiver had largely subsided, it was anticipated thai this section of the road would be open for motor traffic with two or three days' work. At Tai Tapn. The country in the vicinity of Tai Tapu was covered with a sheet of water yesterday, the flood being the'worst experienced in the district for forty years. At the main traffic bridge the Halswell river reached the top of. its banks, and anxiety was felt for the safety of the township but, with the clearing of the weather, the river receded to a less dangerous level. Position at Ellesmere. The Selwyn river broke its banks aL an early hour yesterday morning, flooding the paddocks in the vicinity of the station. Several houses are surrounded with water. The morning train was unable to get through from Southbridge, and several motor-cars are stuck up at the bridge. It is feared that much damage to fences and roads ha 3 been 'done. The- cricket:'paddock, on Hadstock Estate is under water.
Kaikoura Still Isolated. It is still raining at Kaikoura, although there was a break of a few hours yesterday morning. The county chairman is putting on teams to-day to provide an approach to the Hapuku bridge. The Clarence River has risen eleven feet, and even when the Hapuku is passable, traffic north will be blocked by the Clarence. The South road is also blocked and the heavy seas prevent shipping, so that Kaikoura is at present isolated. Malvern District. The old hymn "Winter Reigneth O'er the Land" in E Minor, and omitting the ending in G Major, could be aptly sung during these truly dark and stormy days. On Thursday night heavy rain set in from the sou'-west, but towards morning the wind changed to due east, and was accompanied By very heavy showers. Yesterday morning a dense fog came over, and with the heavy overcast sky the day was one of the dullest ever experienced here. In the afternoon the wind increased in force and blew most of the fog away,_ and by night the wind had reached the. force x»f a gale. Wed-
nesday night and all day Thursday the .weather was very wild, and these conditions coming after a heavy fall of snow could have only one result. Streams of water palted down the hillsides and dotted the land with small lakes in every direction. Soon the water-courses rose and. carried their volumes along to the Selwyn, which at 5 o'clock on Thursday night was flowing bank to bank, and making a great noise. There is no doubt that a serious flood would have resulted if" the rain had been continuous. As it was, the rain came in drenching showers, but the intervals between the showers enabled the water to get away as-rap-idly as it fell. It is reported that the Black Creek bridge, near Snowdon, has been washed away. This bridge was being erected by the Public Works Department, and was nearing completion. All roads to town are impassable with the flood waters, and the only means of getting out is by train. The rainfall since Saturday and up till 8 a.m. yesterday was 5.17 inches. The weather in the Sheffield district has been of a very wintry nature during the present week, in strong contrast to that of the previous week, which up till Saturday, was quite springlike, with light nor-west winds. With the heavy rain and the thaw of the snow, the fields are nearly all under water and the gullies are sending down country a full flow of water to districts that must be already full to overflowing The total fall to date for this week is 33- points. A number of farmers took advantage of the fine days last week to, drill a fair quantity of wheat, but under present conditions..it does not look as if their diligence will receive its due reward.
Not for years has work on the land been held up so frequently as has been the case this winter, when wet weather serins to be the rule (writes our Greendale correspondent). Following the heavy rains of May, when the land received a thorough soaking, the ground was kept quite moist enough for top work up til; the shortest day, when drying nor'-west winds made conditions very much better for most of the week. Since Sunday snow or rain has been falling almost continuously, with a result that the land is quite waterlogged. All farm work will be held up for some time, and unless drying conditions set in soon, the area to be sown in wheat is likely to bo considerably restricted. The rainfall for the month of June at Kirwee was 4.79 inches. Rain 'fell on thirteen days, the maximum fall being 80 points on the 29th. For the corresponding month of 1924, the fall was 2.30 inches; 1923, 1.(V2 inches, and 1922, 1.7 inches. During the past twenty-one years, .only once has this year's June rainfall been exceeded, and that was in 1911, when 4.90 inches fell, the next June .fall above 4 iuches was 4.65 inches in 1910. The total fall for the six months ending on June 30th was 15.36 inches, whilst for the same period of 1924, the fall was 12.00 inches; 1923, 22.05 inches (10* inches of this total fell in May), and 1922, 11.25 inches. Snow fell on four days during the month, and there were a number of hard frosts. On the whple it was a very wintry month. The weather cleared on Tuesday afternoon, and a'ppearances pointed to fine weather, hut rain, again, came on.during the night, and 28 points of rain were registered on Wednesday morning. Showers fell during the day, and towards evening heavy Tain set in, and at 7 p.m., a further 50 points were registered, making 78 points for the day. This already exceeds by 21 points the total fall for last July. ■ The rain continued all night, and fell very heavily at times, at_ 9 a.m. on Thursday, another 71 points were registered, making a total of 1.49 inches already this' and a total of 3.25 inches since midday on Saturday. The wind has changed- to the east, and the temperature is higher and the snow has almost disappeared. The weather shows'ho sighs of clearing at present. Traffic Interrupted. • The weather shows no signs of clearing at Asnley Bank. Creeks were all running high on Thursday, but as little rain fell during the nignt, they were much lower yesterday morning. The roaring of tne Ashley River can be heard at a great distance. It is in high flood and the low-lying ground in the neighbourhood of the bridge is under water. At the bridge the water yesterday afternoon was within two ieefc of the supports below the mark reached by the previous ■ flood of two years ago. Cars and other vehicular traffic were unable to get through to Rangiora owing to the river breaking out in the iyicinity of the racecourse and forcing its way to the north end of Ashley street and filling the hollow there. The water at this point was up to the shafts of one vehicle that made itsway through. 1 Mid-Canterbury. There is no improvement in the weather conditions in Ashburton. Rain fell heavily during Thursday night, but although it had stopped yesterday, conditions were very damp, and rain threatened all day. Every water-race, creek, and river in the county was full to overflowing. The Ashburton River rose very quickly during Thursday night, and yesterday morning at 11 o'clock, it began to flow across the approach at the south end. It was not long before the water reached a depth of 18 inches across the approach, and the County Council had to prevent motor trafhc from crossing to and from town. A carrier's horse and express had to be requisitioned to convey people across the stream, and farmers had to leave their cars on the Tinwald 6ide of the bridge and proceed to town on foot. The river .was higher yesterday than it has been for a great many years, and fields all along its banks are flooded.
About 6 last night the Ashburton River commenced to subside and three hours later had fallen 12 inches. For the greater part of the night men on horseback were employed to usher motorists who required to go south on urgent business across the approach on the south side. The heavy fence on each side of the approach has been washed out, for several chains. The Ashburton golf links were completely under water yesterday, and the latter was about oft deep in the golf house. Considerable damage has been caused to nine of the greens On account of the river overflowing its banks the water at the blacksmith's shoo at Winchmore was four feet deep yesterday, and several cars were stuck, but the Ashburton-Methven mail cajr. got through safely, both on Thursday and yesterday. The load to Methven from ffte old stable to within a mile of the township is badly scoured down the middle. The -flood is the worst that has been experienced in the Ashburton county for the past twenty years.
■'Our Mount Sotners correspondent writes:—On Wednesday, the mail contracts got far up the Ashburton tjiorge as Mount Possession, the. track through the snow having; been cleared by the snow plough belonging to the County Council drawn by six of Captain Neill's horses. ''.Two* .feet 1 of snow prevented his going to his .objective, Hakatere. Wednesday was a dull day with some sunshine now,and then, arid a lighl drizzle, which turned at evening into fairly heavy rain.' This con--iimiing: through the night; melted most_of thesnow, but the hollows are all filled with water and everything else is damp with a clammy' vapour. Many of the houses are surrounded with a sheet of water. The thaw has probably been the quickest on record. Although the rain ceased early vetterday morning at Bakaia, the weather is stitl extremely dull and cloudy. The mildness of the ah" Ts causing the snow on the hills to melt, and the Rakaia River is rising, and is very dirty; The surface water is gradually disappearing, but as there is no wind 4 the land
is not" Tlrying very quickly. As the football grounds at the Domain are still Tery soft and wet, the competition matches arranged *or to-day have been postponed. South Canterbury. There is still no sign of a break in the wet, cold weather, which has now lasted for a » full week at Tiniaru. Scattered showers kept the streets and pavements wet and slushy yesterday, and the light air from the south-east brought frequent showers of thick misty rain over the town. More unpleasant conditions have not been experienced in Tiniaru for a long time past. Reports from the country districts do not bear too healthy a tone, for most of the rivers are in flood. In the F;\irh'e district the rain and snow are the worst that have been experienced for some time, almost a foot falling there yesterday, and the roads a:e in a deplorable condition. On Thursday the Te Ngawai overflowed its banks and traffic was completely blocked. Conditions in the Temuka district are also very bad. the Opihi having overflowed in places. The Waihi was also reported to be up about three feet on Thursday night and was still rising. The Waimate and district rivers are also in high flood, heavy rain having been experienced there during the past few days. Further heavy falls of snow are reported, from the Hermitage, and if rain is experienced there conditions will be serious. The Temuka River was in flood all day Thursday. Toward evenhicr it was seen to be rising and by 8 o'clock the river wai over its banks, and was washing over the road on the approach to the Temuka Bridge. At daylight yesterday all approaches to the bridge were cut oft, tho river I>eing awash at the corner of Frascr street. The dwellings of Messrs Honkinson, Poultney and Bremner, although high enough from the flood waters for the present, have the aporoaches cut off. From the new cattle road over to Vine street, through the stock yards to the manse bridge, is one torrent of rushing water. Roports received yesterday afternoon indicate'that the Ooibi is now in high flood, having risen seven feet in a few hours. The huts at the Milford lagoon are stated to be in. imminent danger. The Pareora River is also in high flood, and the lower Pareora Bridgo was ws'.shed away yesterday morning, the- middle section going out and the north end /.being slewed right round. Communication by way of the Main .South road is thus cut off, but traffic will probably be able to get through via the upper Pareora Bridge. Wet weather continues in Ueraldine, and on Thursday a warm rain melted the snow on the mountains and toothills, causing the rivers to rise very suddenly. In a short time a great volume of water was rushing down the Orari bed, and the Upper Orari bridge, which was damaged six months ago, was more seriously damaged by the present flood. In order to- allow farmers to get their fat stock to market, the repairs to the bridge were delayed and were being carried out when the present bad weather set in. It was seen that the bridge had been damaged and yesterday it waft found that one span' of the bridge had gone entirely and that another'span was shakv It was surmised that a traction engine used for pile-driving had been carried down stream but this rumour was not correct. Some decking is said to have been lost and the County Council .-will be a heavy loser AU the rivers in this locality are in. heavy flood and communication is dimcult. The rainfall for the past week' is just under three inches.
OUTLOOK IN THE NORTH. (SPECIAL TO, "THE PRESS.") AUCKLAND 1 , July 3. The outlook regarding floods in the Auckland province is gloomy, as the glass is very low and further ram 14 falling in the city to-night. Messages from Huntly state that the town has suffered severely from floods and presents a desolate scene. in© Maoris at the pa near the town have in many cases been forced to vacate •their whares, which are practically submerged. In the town itself a number of houses are surrounded by water. Whakatane telegrams state that the Rangitaiki River is now subsiding very slowly, but a large area is still under water.' However, heavy rain has fallen again to-day and has added to the discomfort of the settlers. The body of an old native woman, Merihana Ngahou, who had been missing for some days, was found yesterday among some willows near her home on the banks of the river. At the inquest it was stated that deceased was attempting to rescue a pig from the flood and was caught by the rushing waters. (PKESS ASSOCIATION TJSL3GRA.V.) AUCKLAND, July 3. The latest report regarding the floods at Mercer is that the Waikato River is still rising and to-night was only about 10 inches) from the top of the Mercer wharf. The river was expected to rise still further. The water id now flowing direct from the river into the railway station yard, is onlv six inches below the platform. The main line is under water for almost, the whole length of the station. The road between Ohinewai and Rangiriri is completely submerged for a mile and a half. WAIRAU BRIDGE SUFFERS. (PRESS ASSOCIATION TELEGRAM.) BLENHEIM, July 3. There has been heavy rain all over the district for the past week, and the rivers are much swollen, but there has been no risk of floods so far. Part of the northern emd 'of the approach to the Wairau Bridge on the BlenheimNelson road was washed out last, night, also one. tier of the piles in the actual structure. The bridge had been closed for repairs for six weeks, and only reopened last night. Now, of course, it is again closed. TAIERI RECEDES. (fress association telegram.) DUNEDIN, July 3. The threat of flood appears to be over. The Taieri River is down a foot at Outram, and two feet at Middlemarch. Trains have resumed on the Otago Central, wnere an engine was derailed by a fallen rock. A short deviation has been made at Mount Allan, and the Outram train has been cut out.
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Press, Volume LXI, Issue 18425, 4 July 1925, Page 14
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4,734NOT SERIOUS. Press, Volume LXI, Issue 18425, 4 July 1925, Page 14
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