OVERFLOWING TANK FLOODS SHOPS

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 105, 20 May 1937, Page 4

OVERFLOWING TANK FLOODS SHOPS

Damage Runs Into Three Figures MAIN STREET PREMISES Consternation reigned in at least three business premises in Hastings this morning when, on opening up for. the day, the proprietors and staff wera greeted with a very good imitation of a flood. Overnight a tank situated iu thfi extension of the Grand Hotel had overflowed, and a very considerable volume of water had found its way into Thorpe 's Building, with the result that, after flooding out a dental surgery, the water had percolated through to the shops on the ground floor. The., damage was eonsiderable and is believed to liave run into three figures. The premises mainly affected dre Redman's Dental Surgery, Thorpe and Co., Ltd.'s footwear shop, Holland's Fruit Depot, Mrs Hounsell'i cake shop and two rooms of the Grand Hotel. The last two mentioned were only very slightly affected. Probably the greatest sufferer was Thorpe 's boot shop, where several hundred pairs of shoes were affected by the water as it found its way down to the ground level after flooding out the surgery direetly above the shop. Water was over an inch deep on the floor of the store-room of the shop, and had made its way out on to the street, passing almost the full length of the shop.

A similar state of affairs exist^d ia the fruit shop. Here the water entered the specially-constructed banana storeroom, which, when opened this morning, allowed a big vblume of Water to escape into the shop, the close-fitting door having greatly retarded the flow of water, with the result that it was several inches dcep in the room until the door was opened. Scores of cases ot bananas and other fruit were affected, for it is inevitable that they will ripen prematurely and so seriously inconvenience Mr Holland's sehedule of stocking and ripening. Both these premises are on th* ground floor. Upstairs the dental workshop was another miniature lake, and the water had found its way also into the surgery, waiting-room and passageways. Adjoining the workship is the extension4 of tho Grand Hotel, and in this part are convenienees and a bedroom. It was a tank over the former that became bloeked and overflowed, causing all the tronble. For several hdurs this morning it waa a ca«e of the staffs of the combined premises getting busy with mops, . buekets and absorbent matter lifting up cafpe(;s and linoleums, moving stock and generally endeavouring to place matters once again in ship-shade order, The task was by no means completed when it came to taking the halfholiday, and much remains to be done, for there will have to be a check-up of the damaged stock, the relaying of the carpets and lineleums after they have been dried out, and then the problem of replacing and renovafcing the damaged struature. ''There was a dickens of a mess all over the place," was tlie comment of one of the sufferers. "Water was every where, and the floors were like lakes. We.'ve taken out gallons and gallons; in fact, there 's enough to fill the reservoir. It could not have been worse if we had had a real flood. "