SEVERE FLOODS

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20109, 1 December 1939, Page 8

SEVERE FLOODS

BLENHEIM DISTRICT j TOWN ALMOST ISOLATED RIVERS BREAK BANKS ROAD AND RAIL BLOCKED (Pur Press Association.) BLENHEIM, this clay. I After running bank high practically ■ all yesterday, following several days'; 'heavy rain in the back country, the j Wairnu River flooded several areas in the lower parts of the valley last night! when the banks were broken in at 1 least, three places. As a result road communication to j Christchurch and road and rail con- j nection with Pieton were blocked, i Flooding in the Polorus and Waka-; marina Rivers also blocked the main; Nelson highway so that for the moment the only surface exit from j Blenheim is via Tophouse road to the ' West Coast. This route is also im- j certain, as it is feared that Branch j bridge some 10 miles from Blenheim may be damaged. 161 ft. Above Normal The Wairau River was running 16ft. 6in. above normal level all night, and i this morning had fallen only two i inches. It came down with terrific ! force yesterday morning, and gradu-; ally increased until it reached the j stage where old residents claim it is j in the highest Hood since the disaster ! in 1923. The railway bridge at Spring Creek ; was under water last night, and two ! washouts occurred between the bridge j and Spring Creek, where the low-; lying ground is all inundated. The j contractors on the new railway bridge , and the traffic bridge lost a consider- j able amount of material, but for'tun- j ately both structures were sufficiently i advanced with to stand the strain. The traffic bridge over the Wairau j River at Renwicktcwn, on the Blen- i heim -Nelson highway, also lost some j piles. Only light traffic is allowed j through. Road Blockages On the Nelson side of Havelock; there are two blockages on the high-; way, one five miles from Havelock, j where last night there was eight feet! of water over the road, and again at j Canvastown, where the flood in the j Wakamarina River has resulted in a depth of 3ft. over the road. ■At Morrin’s Hollow, on the main Pieton highway, there was 10ft. of water all night and the level is about the same this morning.

■lt will be easily another day before there is any chance of getting through to Pieton. The main south road is blocked about four miles south of Blenheim, where the Wairau River backed up the Opawa River, the water flowing over the road for a distance of nearly half a mile, in places several feet deep.

Stock losses are reported in several part's of the district, mainly in Havelock, Canvastown and Rai Valley, but the full extent is net known. The floods follow a series of drought years, the rain having broken a prolonged dry spell at a period when harvest prospects were''being regarded dubiously.