HEAVY FLOODS IN THE SOUTH

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3096, 29 May 1917, Page 6

HEAVY FLOODS IN THE SOUTH

RAILWAY, SERVICES DISORGANISED WASHOUTS AND OTHER DAMAGE RESCUE PARTIES AT WORK By Telegraph.—Press Association. Dunedin, Mai' is. Heavy rains throughout Utago Jn satUiiuay iiiglii ana Sunday culminated ju tloous._ The' Waipori liiver rose to »n unprecedeiilcd height, and the water entered the Dunediu city Corporation ulcctric power-house. The results represent more disorganisation than damage, however. .None of the works were destroyed. Oi six general-ore, four ver-j thoroughly soaked by iiood waters,, and they only require drying. The disorganisation ol" the service is widespread. Six thousand seven hundred consumers o'.' light and power are being inconvenienced. Thuro u no [lower iur industrial purposes available to-day, but several of the largest linns have steuin or'gas stand-by plants. It is expected the light will be available lor the city to-night; also ;i limited industrial power.

The north express left as usual, but no trains left for stations south of Mo.-giel to-day. A slip near Salisbury delayed the line. A slip near Salisbury delayed the train, which then proceeded to ilmdon. A bad slip was encountered and a deep stream, and the passengers to and from Clyde had to be transferred. It is reported that the bilveistream railway bridge near Wingatui is out of alignment. Between Lawrence »nd Milton n train is stuck up by si washout. On the Catlins branch line traffic is also disorganised. ■ ■ Tho storm appears to be spent. The flood waters ;\t Waipoii are receding rapidly. HEAVY LOSSEOF STOCK :iil-:SIDE-\TS RESCUED BY BOATS. Later. The Molyneux River rose rapidly, ati'd was 15 feet above normal at Balclutha this morning. A number of families on tho lower levels shifted during the night. Baruego, Inehclittha, Stirling, and » large part of Otanomomo are under water. , Mi;. Holgate, of. Barn ego, lost 350 sheep, valued at «£SOO. Thousands of pounds' worth of stock, mostly belonging to dealers in cattle, at Otauomomo and lnchclutha could not be removed, and unless the water recedee they may perish. The protective bank at Stirling burst, and families speut the night on the roofs, waiting to be rescued by boat. To-day the water was -1 feet deep on the low-lying portions of Stirling. The railway Jine from Lovell's Visit ta Hen lliir is under water. Tho Uailwiiy .Department will run a train to-morrow morning, going as far south as practicable, and one iroin lnvercargill will tome as far north as possible. It hoped to get the trains near each other in the vicinity of Henley and exchange the passengers. On the Catlius aud Lawrence branches no traffic will be possible W-morrow, and three or four days nuist elapse before a train can be run' on the Outram lias. Tho Oliigo Central Una is clear. Owing ro the Taieri lliver banks burstins; the plain is flooded. A drop of two feet or three feet look place to-day, but the whole plain is practically a Inisc swi from end to end. Some paddocks in North Taieri are under water to a depth estimated at from 10 feet to 18 feet. Portions of the Outrnin line are under water 10 feet deep. One family at I'irersidc sheltered in a . barn over a cow byre in which '.10 cows mid horses were standing up to their, backs in water. They had hud no food since mid-day on Sunday, but food was carried to them this afternoon by a boat, and two ladies in. the party were taken oft"; the men, however, decided to Slav and look after tho stock.

At Allanton the water is 5 feet deep aiuli running over a wide expiin.se at five or six knots an hour. The stationinastep and his wife were rescued from their house at 1.30 this morning by a dray: The water then rose rapidly, and is now fully five fret deep round the house. In a number of instances boats called nt isolated houses and took off the residents, but in some cases the men decided to stay where they were.

The losses of sheeT) and cattle must be very 'heavy. A number of cows have lwpn seen floatin? in the flood waters in North Taieri. Mr. AYilliam Brrant, of Otakia, is reported, to .have lost 150 sheep. Mr. A. Douglas tried to rescue several hundred sheep, but failed, and their fatp is .unknown. Messrs. Gibson Bros., of Tiiveisiili'. lost S5 sheen. In spvpral' instances mobs nf horses and cattV have been isolated, but s=o far it is 'unknown wlmther thfy have been drowned c- not. The weather is still very unsettled.