TOWN IN DANGER

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20003, 31 July 1939, Page 4

TOWN IN DANGER

WAIROA RIVER OUTLET POSSIBILITY OP FLOOD SERIOUS POSITION (Special to the Herald.) .WAIROA, this day. The state of the outlet to the Wairoa River is still giving abuse for great concern, and the opinion was expressed at the monthly meeting of the Wairoa Borough Council that unless some steps were taken to improve the present position, in the event of heavy rains there was a danger of portion of the town 'being flooded and serious damage 'being caused to the traffic bridge.

It was decided that a letter be forwarded to the Engineer-in-Chief of the Public Works Department drawing his attention 'to the seriousness of the position.

The question was raised iby the Mayor, iMr. iH. L. Marker, who stated that he felt that in the event of a heavy flood and the river ‘backing up, it was likely that the 'bridge -would be in serious danger. Or. M. J. Gemmell: There is no question, about that. The Mayor said that thefe was a very big fall from the bridge to the Heads, and if the water backed up and there was any heavy timber in the river the position so far 'as the bridge 'was concerned, would 'be precarious, especially 'in the event of the river breaking out at the Heads suddenly. In his opinion the attention of the Public Works Department should be drawn to the 'position. Rise in the River Cr. Gemmell said that be was pleased the Mayor bad mentioned the subject. In addition to the danger to the bridge, 'the river, in its .present state, was also a danger lo other parts of the borough, especially the riverbanks. He added that during the heavy sea that was running on Thursday the river rose 18in. in a short time. He did not know what would happen if the district experienced heavy rain. He would not be surprised 'if the water came up on 'to 'the main street. The seriousness of 'the position was mentioned also .by Cr. Scott, who pointed out that in the event of ithe river rising all -the drains in the borough .would become inactive, causing serious flooding.

Cr. Gemmell stated that two months ago when 'there was a heavy downfall cf rain the river rose 18in. above the maximum height during the time of the Ko.puawhara flood and that was the worst experienced here for many years.

At this stage 'the Mayor moved that the Engineer-in-Chief of the Public Works Department be written to drawing h'is attention to the possibility of the danger to the bridge and the borough through flooding as a result of the state of the outlet to the river at present.

The motion was seconded by Cr, Scott and carried.