THE FLOOD.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXIII, Issue 4372, 1 February 1922, Page 2

THE FLOOD.

RIVER LEVEL 25 FEET 9 INCHES.

LINE WASH-OUTS.

LANDS INUNDATED,

STOP-BANKS PROTECT PAEROA.

Periodic floods are among the penalties a district has to pay for being served with rivers, and one of these periods occurred during the past week-end On Saturday the Ohinemuri rose considerably, flowing over the approaches to the Puke bridge, and culminated on Sunday morning at about three o’clock, vjhep the water reached its highest level, 25ft 9in, as measured by the Paeroa district engineer of the/ Public Works Department (Mr L. May), and his staff. T;he level rose at the rate o£ about 13 inches an hour, and fell in a similar ratio. On Friday night, Saturn day and Sunday the Public Works staff were epgaged night and day taking levels and velocities, and watching bridges and viaducts, Criterion bridge, an officer of the Department told an enquiring representative of the "Gazette,” stood the strain very well, although it shook and trembled when great logs lurched against the trestles.

REPAIRING THE RAILWAY.

When at its height the flood caused about twenty wash-,puts on the Pae-roa-Te Arojia line, aU within a dis-, tance of about a quarter of a mile, (just above the railway bridge. Mr SSellars, Inspector of Permanent Ways, had on his hands what Kipling would call a tough proposition, which, however, he was able to 'solye very satisfactorily, thanks in a great measure to the fine spirit displayed by the men who formed the repair gangs. The inspector, 1 per medium of his motor jigger, got men together from all along the line from' Te Arolia to Puriri, inclusive; also, by good fortune there was a metal gang on the Waihi line, and by dint of rapid organisation they Were all set to work within a very short space of time., To watch those men at work, delving and filling and relaying, was to have proof positive tljiat threatened reductions in wages and other qfi discontent had by no means gapped their loyalty to the Service, nor their sense of duty to the public. They toiled like Trojans, working long hours, till 10 at night , and starting again at* 4 a-m-, with the splendid result that on Monday morning the 7.40 train was able to start on schedule time. The hundreds of people who visited the varioud scenes of flood and relief u works were duly appreciative of t;he hearty and sustained efforts of the railway employees'to permit the carrying on of “busiiiess as usual,” and to prevent the travelling public from being seriously inconvenienced.

DWELLINGS THREATENED. And they wpuld have nepn inconvenienced ,for the Te Aroha roads were well under water,. motor traffic being impossible on Monday morning. A number of homesteads were either partially or wjholly surrounded’’ by water, and in one or two the occupants left, their dwellings and sought safety in Paeroa. The PaeroaWaihi road was submerged in several places on Sunday morning, and also the adjacent low-lying lands opposite ■the convent, and others further outBut by Sunday afternoon the. road was again dear. It was quite, obvious that the stop-banks erected by the Public Works Department saved Paeroa from another ducking. If any part of the bank had given way there would have been plenty of opportunity for launching and other aquatic pastimes in the main street. So far .as we know there does no; appear to have been much actual damage done, except for’the railway line. It is stated that a cream cart, the-, driver of which' tried to ge: through, tlie water on Te Aroha Road, went over a bridge and into the drain. Other minor mishaps occurred, but nothing serious.