Rivers Rise Swiftly; Main West Road Closed

Press, Volume C, Issue 29513, 13 May 1961, Page 10

Rivers Rise Swiftly; Main West Road Closed

Two days of heavy ram caused rivers in South and North Canterbury to rise quickly yesterday. No serious damage was reported, but the Main West road was closed when the approaches to the Kowhai river bridge were swept away. In most areas there were reports of minor flooding as tributaries of main rivers overflowed on to roads

About an inch of rain fell in Christchurch yesterday, but no damage was reported. Gutters overflowed where leaves had blocked outlets, and in most parts of the city surface water was lying about. The chief engineer, operations, of the Drainage Board (Mr H. F. Pagei said last evening that the flooding was much less than was expected. The chief service officer of the Automobile Association (Canterbury). Mr B. A. Anderson, said that only one road, the Main West road, was closed, although there was minor flooding on most country roads. The Ashley, Selwyn. and Eyre rivers were all in light flood yesterday afternoon The Ashley river rose 9ft above normal at the Ashley Gorge bridge. When the last major flood occurred in Canterbury the Ashley rose 14ft above normal. In the catchment area of these rivers the rainfall was about 2in yesterday, and it was still raining heavily last evening.

The Eyre river by 8 p.m. had dropped Rin. However 18 scouts from the St. James' troop, Spreydon. were marooned when their camping place was surrounded. A police party led by Sergeant R. J. Hart, of Rangiora, found that they were in no danger even if the river began to rise again. The scouts are without food, but it is hoped to get supplies to them today. The Selwyn river had risen 4ft at 2 p.m. yester-

day at Whitecliffs, but where the river meets the Main South road there was no rise. During the afternoon, 46 farmers were warned to move stock from the riverbed in case of a sudden rise in the lower reaches. The assistant engineer of the North Canterbury Catchment Board (Mr E B. Dalmer) shid that the Waimakariri river had risen 3ft at the gorge, and it was expected there would be a light fresh today Flooding In Oxford

In Oxford, more than 3m of rain fell in 21 hours. The main street of the township was flooded, and customers trying to reach shops had to wade through water 18in deep. One shopkeeper constructed a wooden jetty 14ft out into the water to give his customers dry access. The main road to Coopers Creek was blocked at Gammon’s creek, and buses were unable to get through las: evening. Most other roads in the Coopers Creek area were blocked at fords which had flooded. The approaches to the bridge over Gammon's creek were washed away, and at the Coopers creek bridge the water was over the decking. Residents described the flooding as the worst in the last 12 years. The prolonged ram in the area has badly affected the wheat sowing, particularly on the heavier land. Farmers in Loburn said that if there was more rain it would not be possible to cultivate until the spring. At Cheviot and Scargill heavy ra n was reported and low-lying paddocks were flooded. In the Cheviot township roads were under water in some parts.

Blenheim .and Kaikoura had heavy rain for most of yesterday but there was no flooding. With two to three inches of rain falling up to 9 a.m. yesterday South Canterbury rivers rose rapidly. The main rivers stayed within their banks but several tributaries overflowed. Last night the Opihi. Temuka. and Pareora rivers were still rising after further rain, but by 10 p.m. no reports of flooding had been received. In the Methven foothills. 4.29 in had fallen up to 8 p.m.. the heaviest downpour for many years, and it was still raining heaviiy late in the evening. The Ashburton - Rakaia highway at Dry creek was also blocked by floodwaters, and minor flooding in some Ashburton county roads was reported. Both the Hinds and the Ashburton rivers were above normal levels, the Hinds river being almost in flood At Staveley, west of Methven. sandbags had been placed at the approach of the stormwater channel, which was flowing from bank to bank.