CATASTROPHE IN SOUTH.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLVIII, Issue 3689, 10 September 1927, Page 3

CATASTROPHE IN SOUTH.

LAWRENCE TRADESPEOPLE IN SAD PLIGHT. Dunedin, September 8. Tho catastrophe at Lawrence has had far more serious results than were at first noticeable. It was not a mere flood, but an overwhelming washout, which has resulted in damage to the extent of several thousands of pounds, and one or two tradespeople in the township are faced with complete ruin. The waters, which rose to a height of six feet, had completely disappeared this morning, and it was only then that t*he full extent of the damage could be realised. Mr. W. Winmill, a draper, estimates his loss at between £2OOO and £3OOO, which represents his entire new season’s stock; Herbert and Co., general merchants, lost stock to the value of £1000; and 12 to 15 other business people will have to bear the loss of sums ranging from £IOO to £SOO.

Lawrence’s palmy days are long since past, and this visitation will be felt for a very long time to come. The main street presented a desolate yet ludicrous spectacle today. Merchandise, household furniture, great sheets of linoleum, and shirt-sleeved men turned the usually “sleepy-hollow” aspect of the place into a scene of indescribable confusion. The surface of the road was submerged beneath a two-foot layer of silt and mud, and in and out among the piles of soaked debris a road-grader was busily engaged in bringing some semblance of order out of chaos. It will be at least a week before the ordinary life of the community will be resumed. Railway communication between Lawrence and Dunedin was re-es-tablished to-day.