THE FLOOD.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume V, Issue 304, 26 December 1874, Page 3

THE FLOOD.

Saturday last was a close, sultry day—thunderstorms hanging about all the forenoon—one breaking very heavily on the racecourse beyond Naseby in the afternoon, but was not felt in the township. About 8 p.m., when numbers were in the town for marketing and electioneering purposes, an unusually dense cloud suddenly burst, as it were, and water streamed down, in a few minutes completely flushing the street gutters. In about half an hour the water began to collect in the gully, and in less than an hour it was a sea of water, tailings, bushes, and boxes—the channel of the Dead Level being obliterated with the giving way of the byewashes and tailingbeds. The main bridge coming iuto the town very soon burst, and all communication was for an hour or two cut off from the opposite side. About ten the water subsided, and wo were able to take stock of the damage done. The Dead Level Company are the chief sufferers, though many other parties that discharge tailings into their race have.suffered through the falling in of their races; We have no accurate estimate of the company's/damage, but it ,cannot be far short of £IOOO. The Sludge Channel has also suffered heavily. No rain fell at the works. The men had knocked off at the usual hours. One of the contractors was coming up to Naseby when he heard the waters rushing down I the gully. :He conjectured a dam had burst at Naseby, galloped down ahead of the flood, and turned out his men to try and divert the coming waters from the head of the Channel, which was open, to take in the gully water. All that could be done was useless. A bank was hastily thrown up, which was hoped would be sufficient; but, an eye-witness says, with thirty men on it, it fairly swayed to the flood, which came down about five feet high. . -The damage was principally done by the breaking in on the top of the sides, and is estimated at £6OO. The work dama.gcd has been passed by the engineers, but, in actual fact, the contractors are re-, sponsible until the whole-works are finished. Nevertheless, in equity they will, it is hoped, be protected against loss from a casuality that could not be anticipated. ~.....-. •;.. Tho accumulated tailings at the back of the town—as might have been, expected in a much less flood—broke at the back of the Victoria Hotel —tailings and water flooding Mr. George's buildings, the stables of Mr. Packman, and the stores of Mr. Glenn and Mr: Stephens, the Bank" of New Zealand not escaping. If the Municipal authorities allow miners in the gully to stack tailings in such a way as to

throw flood water into the town, and lead them to believe, by an occasional expenditure, that they (the Municipality)'are obliged to wall of such tailings and water, they ought to be taught better, and sued for the damage they have rendered themselves responsible for. It would be no hardship to make parties constructing tail races down the gully extend them to a safe distance, or protect the town by a good bank from damages likely to result from their own action. So far the damage has not been great, although the inconvenience has been considerable. If we should have another March flood—which appears not unlikely—it is very doubtful, in the present state of the gully, whether the corner block of buildings would not be destroyed. On Monday evening, about 5 p.m., there was a repitition of the story. A rainstorm suddenly fell, in about a quarter of an hour carrying tailings and water wholesale into the -town, in spite of the efforts made bj volunteers to cut a channel in the gully. Fortunately the storm ceased, giving way to a steady rain, which the ground easily absorbed.