STORM AND FLOOD

Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue 131, 4 June 1937, Page 10

STORM AND FLOOD

HUTT VALLEY SUFFERS

LIGHTNING DOES DAMAGE

This, .morning's thunder. . and hailstorm was particularly severe in the Hutt Valley, where the rain fell in blinding sheets, making motor vehicle driving almost impossible, and approaching vehicles were invisible until a few yards away. . . ■■ . .

Up to noon the Hutt River had not been appreciably affected, but it wa:s expected that later it, would feel the eiXect of.-the.downpour , in.the upper readies. ■ ."

Jackson Street. Petone, and High Street, Lower Hutt, were flooded, the water covering the footpaths in places. For. a time side streets in Alicetown were impassible for pedestrians in places, and a similar state of afl'airs prevailed in Waterloo Road.

The worst flooding, however, occurred in Wyndrum Avenue,' Lower Hutt. Here the water poured down in waterfalls ' from the clay hills and rushed, like a mill race down the sloping ' roadway, covering it to a! depth of twelve inches in > places, and flowing across-vacant sections-into the Waiwhetu Stream. ■■

Apart from, the temporary incon venience no serious damage'■ is 'reported. '■' , . '■••'■

STRUCK BY LIGHTNING

The woi'st' effect of the storm was the failure of.the electrical supply in the area which receives power from the Government sub-station at Melling. Lightning struck one of til; heavy transformers at the station, which was put but of action, and as a consequence many Hutt • Valley industries had to close down for approximately half an hour until the supply ' was' switched over to the Khandallah sub-station which, for a period, has to carry the full power,load for Hutt .Valley. The factories most seriously interfered .with were those which depend on -.electricity for heating ovens, which cooled to such an extent, that the operations;of some departments were held up for a couple of hours.

Government workmen, lost no time in replacing the damaged , transformer, but as this "was a very heavy, task, it was expected early this afternoon that it would .be' some.hours before the Melling sub-station was'again in working order. .

Neither the Hutt railway workshops nor the business area of Petone experienced any ■ electrical trouble, as their power supplies, come from Khandallah.