RAIN AND FLOOD.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXIX, Issue 5304, 25 July 1928, Page 2

RAIN AND FLOOD.

LOW-LYING AREAS INUNDATED. ROAD TRAFFIC HELD UP. TRAIN SERVICES SUSPENDED. Following heavy showers on Saturday. steady rain set in on Saturday night, and witli comparatively short breaks continued until a late hour last night. The fall for the four days is very nearly a record for Paeroa, being 7.75 inches to 9 o'clock this morning. In the period from 9 a.m. on Monday to 9 a.m. this morning the rainfall recorded at the local office of tlie Public Works Department was 6.69 inches. There was at limbs a h'gh easterly or south-easterly wind, but nothing approaching the gales previously e.xperienced this, winter. AH drains and water-tables overflowed yesterday, and sheets of water abounded in all tihe low-lying areas. In the- borough the continuous deluge proved too much for the stormwater drains to cope with, and surface water collected at tlie Arney Street corner, in Wharf and Princes streets, Upper Normanby and along Taylor’s Aven/ie. Owing, to the stormwater being hemmed in by the- stop-banks, and the flood-gates closing witli the rising of the river, the water was unable to get away and it spread out over the low-lying portions of the town, in some places to a considerable depth. Although the Ohineiinuri River is running bank-high, and is very muddy, it does not constitute a maximum flood. The stop-banks have held, s'o far as is known, but in places the earthworks are being severely taxed. WAIHI ROAD BLOCKED. A slip of large dimensions occurred on the Waihi-Paeroa main road during Monday night, completely blocking all vehicular traffic. The point at which the fall occurred is the Paeroa end of Cumming’s flat, at the entrance to the Kanangahake gorge, and following- tihe collapse of an old mining drhve into the.side of. th© hill many toils of earth and .stone were carried out on to the road, blotting it out for a length of about 40 yards. A flooded l condition prevails on the roafl in the ; neighbourhood of Ta<rariki Creek for -about a mile op the Wa.ihi side. All the low-lying land about -Mr G. Buclian.an’s is inundated to a depth of several feet, while tlie water, en.teV'ed the residence of Mr CH. Vincent, and nearby residences. Just past tlie Convtent the; water on the road is just a swirling mass, but is gradually receding. A large outfall drain near Mr Whiitmore’s residence was unable,, to cope with tlie water from the hills and 'overflowed its banks’, inundating' a large area of land and completely covering Puke Road for a distance of several chains. However, 'motor vehicles have been able to us>e tine road. - • BREAK IN- WATER MAIN. A serious break, in the water supply occurred early yesterday afternoon, am! this morning the gauge was r©gis'tering only 51b pifesjsure when normally it should read between 901 b and 951 b. Tlie enynieer (Mr L- E. Shaw) and a party off workmen immediately set out from Paeroa to investigate matters at the reservoir. On arrival at the her.dwo.rks, Tarariki Creek was found' to be a surging torrent, and an examination showed that many tons of debris had lodged agaigst the main, and it appears that the pipe has; been d’slocated. Until the flood subsides, it is impossible to ascertain the full amount of damage done or effect repairs. In tlie meantime people on the higher levels are practically without water. Tlie* position is serious, and consumers on the level areas have been asked to use the supply as spare ingly as possible.

WAIHI LINE DAMAGED.

Some tme late last niight the Ohinemuri River broke through a low portion of its banks 'n the vicinity of the abattoir and washed away the Paeroa-Taneatua railway line for some distance, and as a consequence all rail communication is cut off ber tween Paeroa and Waihi. Later information states that there has also been a slip on the line on the Wa’hi slide of Waikino, and several washouts between Karangahake and Wai kino.

The Tauranga-Auckland express which left Tauranga at 7.40 this morning got as far as Omokoroa, when an extensive washout on the line necessitated tihte traip returning to Tawanga. Lange gangs of men have been assembled at Paeroa, Tauranga, Waihi, and Te Aroha, an.d 'every effort is being made to effect pepairs and restore communications. THE WAIHOU RIVER. A maximum flood has been recorded in the Waihou River, which has overflowed its banks in several places and inundated the countryside far a wide area. At Waitoki several washouts on the railway line have occurred, and in one place three lengths of kails have been damaged. A party of 30 men was assembled at Paeroa yesterday afternoon! and left in a large motor lorry to assist in repaying the damage, but little could be done on account of tlie volume and depth of floodwater. The road between- Tirohia and Mangaiti is also inundated and impassable for wheeled traffic. Considerable damage has been done to farms in the locality, and it is feared that a numben of head of stock have been drowned. CONDITIONS AT THE PUKE. Conditions at the- Puke beggared description yesterday aftelrnoon, when the floodwaters reached a height of one foot above any flood level known pneviously. The Ngalhina wharf was submerged, and the wateir Hose to more than halfway Up the wharf shed. The various shed's and,old wharf on the banks of the old Ohinemuri

meander were almost invisible last evening. The s.s. Taniwlia arrived at the Puke from Auckland this morning, but owing to the flooded conditions she could not berth at the wharf and has been x made fast to the traffic bridge and tlie bank, wliere she .will remain until the flood recedes sufficiently to enable tlie discharge of cargo to be -made at tlie, wharf. Tlie river at tlie Puke appeared to have reached its maximum height this morning, and at the time of going; to press there was no perceptible increase in the amount of water. tiers throughout this district spent an anxious 36 hours in rescuing and removing stock to higher country and securing farm implements, etc.. that had been left in paddocks. Practically all tihe farms on the eastern side of the river frtom the' Piike down'are covered with water, lint so'far as can be, asdertain.ed there lias not been much loss of stock. Yesterday afternoon the river broke through a low portion of lhe stop-bank near Carter’s corner. Netlierton, and -swept through the low-lying country, but tlie damage done; is hot estimated to be very extensive. SUSPENDED COMMUNICATIONS. Owing to flooding on, thte main Netherton road and in the Mangatawhirii Valley tihe service ears travelling, between Auckland and Paeroa and Thames have not made tlie journey since yesterday. It is not very likely that trains from Auckland and Waikato will reach Paeroa to-day, but much depends upon how quickly tihe floodwaters -recede. The same conditions apply on the Paerea-Tauranga line. At 10’ o’clock this morning the baromteter read 30.08 inches, and showed a tendency to Vise'. There was an almost total absence of wind, and the sun was shining intermittently during tlie morning. FLOODING ON PLAINS. MUCH STORMWATER ABOUT. Very heavy rain has fallen practically continuously on the Hauraki Plains since Sunday, and by yesterday the accumulation of stormwater bad become serious.

The rainfall as recorded at the Lands Department’s office. K®-'epeehi, from 8 a.m. on Sunday until 8 a.m. this morning totalled 4.03 inches. By yesterday afternoon every drain on the Plains was running to capacity, yet could not deal with the rain that fell and very large areas of farm land were inundated with storm,wat&r. A s yet the Piako Rive,r has not risen very much and the drainage system has functioned efficiently, but obviously it was not diesigne 1 for such continuous rain, n,or, would it be prac' ticable to undertake a scheme capable of dealing with such volumes. With the: exception of parts, of Kopuarahi and Waitakaruru, where whole farms are under water on account of insufficient outlets, the flooding is not serious and is solely caused by the local rain.

WAIHOU STOP-BANK TOPPED.

The Waihou River, confined within its stop-banks, is abnormally high, and n,ear Carter’s corner, on the Turua• Netherton road, where the stop-bank' ing ijs unfinished’, the river is pouring, on to the farms for several chains. Many hundreds of acifes have already been inundated, and in places the water is two- feet deep. Thign gumboots are necessary to reach some of the farmhouses in this locality.

HIGHWAYS FLOODED.

At the Netherton ferry, where the Paeroa-Pokeho highway, crosses the stop-bank at the end of Pekapeka Road an,d follows the old route for a few chains, tlie road is -Under water to such a depth that cars could not get through yesterday afternoon. Several service cars and Pae'i'oa business vans were parked for the night on Pekapeka Road. The old main road from The ferry to Carter’s corner was undfer. water all the way, and was accordingly closed by the Public Works Department. There was water, all round the Public Works Department’s camp on the roadside and in the huts.

The highway iit the Pokten'o Valley has been flooded since’ Sunday, and service cars had to be towed through or arrangements made to have the passengers brought on by other -cars to the other end of the flooded road; With the rise of the water the road became so deeply flooded at Mangatawhin and Mahgatangi Stream that it was impossible for cars to get through, and as the distance between the two places was too great for other than motors, the service car drivers announced yesterday that their running would have to cease until the water went down.