THE FLOOD

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLVII, Issue 2907, 9 July 1925, Page 2

THE FLOOD

Quite a number of motorists have been stiranded at Shannon since Saturday night, and a number, comprising women and children slept in their ears on the roadside on Sunday night (says the Chronicle).

In the Shannon railway station yard's on Tuesday, there were six motor ears waiting to be transhipped to as far north as Wanganui, (Miakumi and Waipawa, their owners having gone on by train, leaving the cars to he railed after them. On Friday last the cage and wires attached to the remaining portion id' the Alaliawatu bridge, were carried away by the flood. This will cause a lot of inconvenience as this was the only means the men had of crossing the river to got to their work at Aloutoa. We learn that arialignments are being made to secure a boat lo take them to and fro. Telephonic communication between Aloutoa and Shannon has been cut off owing to a couple of polos being down in the vicinity of the bridge. The trouble is on the Foxton side of the river.

The piles which were driven for the purpose of anchoring the remaining portion of the ShannonFoxton bridge, have been scoured out to such an extent that they are now standing in the water approximately 15ft from the hank. When these piles were put in shortly after the span of the bridge was washed away thoy were 47 teel from the edge of the river, and ev«r since the river has been scouring the hank at this point. On Friday last they were only Bft from the bank and since then approximately another 20ffc of hank has gone leaving them standing in the w a ter.

When the Foxton mail edntractor (Mi 1 Rout) arrived at the Whirokino bridge ou Tuesday night he found that someone had borrowed his boat an it was not until 5 o'clock that some boys returned it, after having had tin adventurous cruise on the river. The warmth of their welcome can be left to the imagination of the reader. As a result of this delay Moses., the Rugby representative from Foxton, who was to play in Wellington yesterday, and was among the passengers, missed his train and had to wait for a later one.