AFTER THE FLOODS.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1713, 2 April 1913, Page 7

AFTER THE FLOODS.

BIG DRAPERS LOSSES IN GORE. '!

MANY SCENES OF DESOLATION i • i

SERIOUS. SANITARY ASPECT, i

(By Telegraph.—PreES Association.) ; Gore, April V. I Tho Gore Borough Council mot yest'cpo j lay, to consider flood mutters, Several * :ascs of distress were reported in vari- I ms parts of the town, principally dwiiipr ■ :o damaged and lost clothing and bed-'! ling.. In somo houses doors wero burst , ipen by the ioree of tho flood, and cloth- j ng and bedding washed out and lost. | I t was decided , to open a local subscrip:ion, list, and invite the citizens to sub*. > icri'jo.■■ Tho streets'of Gore'this'morn- i ng are littered with damaged goods discarded from tho shops, which are being ;akcn away in er.rts. Sonic looting was I •cijorted during Sunday, mid )even this i norning women were seen removing dam- ! iged goods placed on tho pavement in a ' nost barefaced imuinor. . ; There is very little water in the town ; reservoir, anil at the panic is tilled - the agency, of a motor direct ' .'oupled un -to a pump, {hero will bo 110 ■ vater in the mains until power h restored. This is likely to affect the snnintion conditions, Efforts arc now being ■ i nade to convey water to private houses, nit the house delivery in this manner »\oiil(. bo only fur , cooking and washing purposes. While disinfectants arc being : used us far as possible, tho town will 1 jooji be insanitary .unless there is water . : in tho mains. Rescues on Horsoback. J l '! 1 , 0 authentic news ftom tho " • "'Hi! 1 V l,s (0 ll '»s morn- j infr. I ito biisicjh s ' correspondent; writes UuU tlwrp has been <wre loss and da;n- • n vc '7 n ' h^' e tho llish ' i( * i o\nn b 'to the ilood. laniilies wero re«- -i cued on horseback. Cottages above tho : £ f iennmus were carried away : Mm" mm "I pieces miles tatou. Jhe railway, workers' houses wero flooded -early on Friday evening, and ,IZ P the occiipants. I heir, belongings . were ruined -■! owing to Die silt. The coal-iiit owners i aie heavy .sufFerorf?. < - , At Fresh Ford several families, liad'to •? Irave their 'homes,'and take refuge in tho : " f VO i ,av f'- '-i'hero ivero . c.n.i losses of Mock lower down tho val- . ; liU' m KKI ■} < "" a 5? to IJ.uildiugs and i e jps.. the railway, me was gutted out : H m <tf i p J acf f!' and ,lwr wiizers Sta- ; tuin tile destruction was very heavy It is mitieipatcKl it will ),e at least two i months before a Irani can run. between : Ijiverstliile and Waikaia. The countTv iffld.s and bridges &nflercd severe) v> und WM wriwaljr ail'ected. ' I lie Ijiisign s Wendonsido correspon- ' deal, writes: "As the water recedes it leaves a scene of desolation hard to describe. I'dices have been washed out, and crops m stook .swept aw.-iv. 't'he.most i serious asp-act is m regard ( 0 winter feed. Hi 9 turnips and i»r<tw «r-> covered with r SIII-, and rendered almost: useless; On onb lann an entire tloek of (;0(l. was - swept away." / . .j Looting, and Bargain Sales, Gere tradesmen were-busy this morn-J in.?, and with the entrances of their .: shops clear, they y were working in shirt sleeves and disposing of sadlv-damnged i goods;at absurdly .small prices. Several : auction sales were held on tho pavement ill,front, of the shops. . There were bill- . ! dors ■in plenty, mid the bargains in i souio cases are not likely Io bo repeated, unfortunately, looting has ly?en going t-n. principally in the drapery establishments. , One of the worst features of the dis- ' aster is tho lack of suillcuut water. : For a short timo this morning the mains .; j\ero! lilled, anu those who woro alive to Hie fact laid in a small Uock for iinmc- < diate usp, ;Tho steam lire engine got to work this afternoon at the pumping sta-, tion. und,commenced pumping dircc't into the mains. -At 5.30 p.m. it was reported that the water had reached tlio reservoir, and pumping is being oontnued'with the ' nopo of obtaining an adequate sujiply. The .sanitation condition is likelv to'be. ' como serious, .'but- the prompt action of the oHicials. in getting a water ■' supply' obviates' this' 'danger- 'to 'a very. great extent. Counting the Cost, "Ail estimate of'damage'in the bu.siness quarter this morning indicht'ed that it will run into some .£30,000, alono iii Main, Mersey, and Jledway Sh-eets. This iiguro i does not include'damage to buildings alid : ' other property. Tho biggest reported' losers are: H. and J, , Smith, and i M'Gruer, Taylor, alid Co., drapers, over * J22000 each; Lbwis and' C<v, draper's, ! .U2000;- Mac Gibbon and Co., drapery, j groceries, and boots, and Thomson and i Heattie,; .drapers,,, each, .£1500;• Federal J Hardware' Co., 1 JiltOO; Co-opera- ; live Universal Stores, \Vriglit, Stephen- 1 son aiul C 0.," merchandise department, 1 A. i It."AVatsan, booksellers, JIIOOO cacli. j Smaller tradesPeoplo suffered severe- ] ly, the amounts varying from JC7OO down to'.£loo, alid many were ail'ected both in i their • business . premises' and homes. What the amount of the damago to pri- ' rate houses is it is hard to say, but it must,be. very considerable indeed. Graiu i stores and fellmongeries also suffered, con- i siderably, a number being .flooded out. ■ j Returning to Their Homes. : j Residents had fires in their homes all, yesterday, and many, whose bedding was j not seriously affected, spent tlio night under their own roofs, but others will not "j be ablo i'to return. for several i days, and are still billeted jwitli i Friends on tlio higher levels. Everywhere ■ blankets, bedding linoleums, and riigs aro J being dried on 'lences and hedges. Tho : citizens lia\-e made,very good uso of tho .! timo since: tho : water subsided, and from tho appearance of things this ntternpon | beforc long t.lio mojority will bo well housed, making good their gxirdeius, and ' stocking tho fowl rlins. ... In the Country Districts. ; It is very difficult yet to estimate tlio ' ilannge in tlio country, but it must lw i considerable- to fencing, which for milei • and miles has been lost. Stacks wero. removed pieceiuculi and as a whole, but it i is impossiblo to get an'estimata of tho i stock lost. , ! Tho disaster will run the Hallway lie- , [lartlnent into heavy expenditure, oil tho : Switzer's brnjiieh lino particularly. Clearing lip operations wero "continued • it tho Slataura paper mills this morning. : Dlio daiiiage' to the main raco is not w> bad as at first anticipated, and it is lioped to havo tho mill restarted ia about i month's time. , At tlio fre'er-ins works all tho butchera : iro employed in elearing-up work. Tho :ompaiiy intends to put in conicrotß work is a protection against future floods. 'Thoflit and rubbish has been cleared away : "rom the cloctric light machinery, and it is expected that: power will bo 'obtained in about two days' iinie, "dunedin factories idle. IrORl r OR WANT OF POWER. Dunedin, April 1. The Waipori hydro-electric power is still unavailable as tho result of daiiui-e i >y the floods, and many oily .factories «ro ' ikely to remain idle unlil'Fnday, when t is cxpected the power will be restored. :