THE FLOODS

Evening Star, Issue 20133, 25 March 1929, Page 11

THE FLOODS

RELIEF COMMITTEE MEETS MORE BLANKETS AND HATRESSES NEEDED DONATIONS OF GOAL A meeting of the Flood Relief Cornmifcteo was held this morning, the deputy-mayor Air J- ,S. .Douglas) presiding. The Rev. G. Tv Moreton reported that the central bureau was open Horn 8 o’clock till midnight on Saturday, and from half-past 9 on Sunday morning till 10 o’clock on Sunday night. Throughout Sunday the workers found plenty to do. Many people were supplied with meals, and a number' of blankets were distributed. Everything was beitrg worked on a systematic basis, and thanks were due to those who were helping. The demand tor food was now slack! rtg off, but some was still needed. The Otago Motor Club and other's had provided cars;, with which good work was done. On Saturday night, through.the courtesy of the manager's, collections wore taken up at the Regent, Strand, Empire, and I’rincess Theatres, and over £l5O was obtained. Yesterdav a collection was token up by Mr and Mrs R. S. Black at Woodhaugh, and £39 15s was netted. A number of blankets and mattresses are still required. The work was beitrg done as carefully as it could in the _ circumstances so as to avoid duplication. Valuable assistance was given yesterday by the Boy Scouts, and ott Saturday members of the St. John Ambulance had assisted officials of the Health Department irt disinfecting houses.

-Mr Ansell, M.R,, said one of the most urgent needs seemed to ho to get away the mattresses and furniture which had been mud-soiled. A stench was arising from them. A good deal more was required in the way of coal. Mr Moreton said that Air 8, Dunkley (of the Children’s Rest Homo) was working day and night on the coal supply, The number of eases needing relief, said Air Moreton, was 451), a few of whicli had not yet been dealt with. A number of eases in Month Dunedin had yet to he attended to. Air Douglas pointed out that people who had left their homes and who were not there when the area, officers called should call at tho central bureau.

This morning the corporation carts were taking away wet mattresses and rubbish, said the Deputy-Mayor. Officials of the Health Department wore inspecting houses, and arrangements were being made to pump water from under houses. Airs Baker suggested that anyone who had small cottages to lot should communicate with the central bureau. Homo of the people had no places to go to. Some had been hoarded out, and others had been provided with board free by private citizens. Authority was given for tho purchase of forty pairs of blankets and forty mattresses.

Mr Dvmkloy reported that donations of seventy-eight and a-half tons of coal hud been received. Altogether there wore about .‘3BO orders for coal, this requiring about ninety-five tons. The friends of some people had sent them coal in addition to that supplied by the committee, and he thought that was how _ some people thought there was duplication. Out of 1380 orders he knew of only nine cases of duplication. Authority was given for the purchase of another twenty-five tons of coal from the five coal companies that had given donations of coal.

Mr Dunkley imported tliat the following donations of coal had been re-ceived:—-.Kaitangata. Coal Company, 25 tons; Linton Coal Company (per John 51 ill and Co.), 15 tons; 'Westport Coal Company, 10 tons; Mossbnrn Coal Company (per J. Jackson Purdie), 10 tons; Wairaki Coal Company, 10 tons; Ogilvie and Company, 2 tons; Mrs E. J. Denny (St. Clair), 1 ton; John Mill and Company, 1 ton; A. J. Allen, 1 ton; Mrs C. S. Reid, 1 ton; Waronni Coal Company, 1 ton ; J. D. Todd (coal merchant), J ton; Rev. J. H. Rogers, S ton; Mrs Norman Smith, £ ton. Hogg and Company had donated fifty bags of firewood, the Otago Chair Company, thirty bags, and loads of wood bad been given by Messrs (1. B. Smith, Paterson Pros,, Mr Lloyd (fruiterer), Mr Leith (fruiterer), and Haynnui Pros, (fruiterers). The Deputy-Mayor reported Unit advice bad been received that Sir Joseph Ward would pass through Dunedin on Wednesday by the express from Jnvorcargiil. Arrangements bad been made to meet him with the idea of asking for assistance from the Government.

SILVERSTREAM RAGE SERIOUS EXTENSIVE DAMAGE WHARE FLAT SUPPLY CUT OFF For the repairing of the extensive damage to the Silverstream race, from Whare Flat to the reservoir, a gang of 57 men is at work. The clearing of the race of slips is progressing satisfactorily. The flagstaff erect? h- pouring into the race, hut the water is being deflected down the gully into the Silverstream at a point about half a mile on the coastal side of the Wakari-Whare Flat road. It is expected that by this evening the Flagstaff water will be carried right through to the reservoir. That will amount to half supply, but by Thursday night, the race inspector estimates, the Silverstream supply will ho available.

The flood lias not seriously affected the supply from the .Southern reservoir, and the expedition with which the difficult work lias heen carried out will completely dispel any doubts of south consumers that a shortage will be experienced. The gangs havi been working up from the reservoir. In some places tons of mud have blocked the race, but it is on the Whare Flat side that the most extensiv damage has been done. At the confluence of the Silverstrenm race and the Flagstaff creek the bridge, witlrthe concrete supports on one side. _ has been carried away, hut the pipe line is intact. The wooden flnniing which had stood for many years was replaced only three months ago with the iron pipe. Up the Flagstaff, the concrete weirs have heen carried away. Towards Whare Flat extensive slips ot the hillside have,? taken place, and in ono or two places the race has disappeared with the hill. In other places, where the water is carried in iron pipes, the pipes have been left swinging above the valley. This has required the use of trestles and the lifting of the line till tie hanks were recovered by the gang The race is hidden from view for eight to ten chains opposite the Whare 1 ' Flat School by a pile of boulders and stone six to eight feat dep.

Wharo Flat is isolated from the Aorth Taiori, as the bridges and hand bridges have been carried away by the flood whirl is described by tiro oldest residents as being tho worst in memory. The roads arc impassable. Aboye Meiklejohn’s property at the Black Bridge tho race carried away and the water rushed down the valley, taking with it the bridge and its foundations near the Black Bridge. There is a great gap 20tt deep and 25ft wide in tho road. Motorists who travel from Dunedin via Wakari to North Taicri will be unable to get past here. A gang (f bridge builders was at work this morning on the erection of a new bridge. - WATER SUPPLY RESTORED BUSY REPAIRING OF DAMAGE DETRITUS REMOVED FROM STREETS. After several days of anxiety and strenuous efforts on the part of his staff, the city engineer (Mr J. G. Alexander) was to-day able to report that tho watei supply was restored to practically tho whole of the city area Since the flood occurred work has been continuously carried out in repairing the damage caused to water mains through wash-outs and slips. It is safe to say, in fact, that no body of men has been more busily engaged since the flood than the city engineer and his staff. Apart from tho work of clearing tho ! mains and re-establishing the voter supply whicli was cut off, a heavy job was presented in clearing the detritus which’ had collected in the streets of tho city and suburbs as a result of the floods This morning Mr Alexander was able to report that up to Saturday evening his staff had cleared no loss than 2,625 cubic yards of detritus on tho streets between Harbour terrace and St. Andrew street. There was stilt a great deal to remove, and to-day the workmen wcim busily engaged. Mr Alexander reported that since the breaks in the water supply caused by the flood had been discovered work had been in progress a largo staff of men being'engaged. The two principal fractures _in tho 12in main miming through Leith Valley had been repaired, and another leak had been attended to. The work of repairing the pipe from the Morrison’s Creek intake was in progress. On’ the Silverstream race water had been brought in from Abbot’s Crock by permission of tho owner (Mr Freeman), and the repair of the race was well in hand to-day. In addition to tho twenty permanent men, fifty men had been engaged, and the work was being pushed on expeditiously. Difficulty had been experienced in the low levels in tho north end owing to the flooded waters from Ross Creek where the rainfall had been particularK heavy, carrying detritus into tho reservoir over tho hanks of the basin and hy-channcl, the water thus being made rather muddy and discoloured It was impossible, however, to cut this reservoir out without depriving the north end of the town of water. The best available ' advice, however, was being obtained by Mr Alexander re garding the quality of the water. Slips on the race between Flagstaff Creek and Wharo Flat had still to bo removed. This • work was being prosecuted as quickly as possible, and it would not be long before everything was clear there.

it was hoped that all consumers would realise that, in the interests ol all they should conserve their water supply ns much as possible by restricting their demand till everything was in order again. Men were still engaged on the clean-ing-up process on the streets, particularly in the north end, where an immense amount of work was called for The south end had been fairly well cleaned tip as far as the streets were concerned, and attention had been directed to clearing flooded sections.