ALARMING FLOOD AT POVERTY BAY.

Maori Messenger : Te Karere Maori, Volume V, Issue 112, 7 April 1853, Page 4

ALARMING FLOOD AT POVERTY BAY.

It was only the other day that we had the misfortune to record the serious loss of life and shipping on the East Coast, in consequence of the unusual severily of the season. we lament lo he so soon again compelled to add lo our narrative of the list of casualties. Hoavv losses and inucli suffering has lieen experienced al I'ovorly Hay, especially amongst the natives of the dislriel, much of whose properly, wo grieve lo say, has heen totally ruined. The subjoined Idler presents a melancholy picture of the uiilbrliiiiale slate of affairs. "On Thursday the lOlli of March the dislricl of Poverty' Hay' was visited hy a most alarming Hood". Tor two days previous it rained almost without intermission with gales from Soulli to F.N.F..—<>n Friday morning the water was observed to rise over Iho haiiks of the river and gradually lo cover die flat land formally miles, until ahoul twelve o'clock a.m. it suddenly rose lo such a height thai the inhabitants, bolli Kuropoan and Na'ive had to retreat to the higher grounds in boats and canoes." " As many as forlv Europeans had lo occupy one house, being the only one on the plain thai could bo with any safely depended on. —Al Iwo o'clock p.m." of the same day, only die lops of houses, die forests in die "distance and Iho mountains far back could bo seen, the destruction of crops, fences, goods and live stock commenced ; grounds, which had recently borne most luxuriant.crops were Iheu under water sonic lon to twenty feet, and the whole of Iho native rood, except the "kuinera" was totally annihilated. "TheschoonersKli/.a, Dolphin, Dauntless, and Mcndloshaui, were in die river; the masters of the two latter succeeded in pulling their vessels aground high up on die bank of the river, but Iho " Eliza" was diagged Co the entrance of die harbour where she remained in die greatest jeopardy for lifty-si.x hours willi surfs on both sides and a current running al leasl ten miles per hour; had she drilled a row fathoms further she must have been capsized and dashed to pieces and all hands would have perished—The Dolphin I was more foi'liiuale, she held on and was enabled lo avoid a great portion or the logs, . wheal slacks tVe., .So., Ac. which came flying pasi every minute.—lt was most providential thai the Hood first made its appearance in day-lighl otherwise many lives would have been sacriliccd—" The amount of properly destroyed |has been great, Mr. A. Smith has been I the greatest sufferer individually, but all have .severely Mi, its ravages." | The "natives have lost a great portion of

llicir win-ill crop, ;i number nl' hordes, pigs, goals, together wild nil the crop nf ami they say Ihey uiu>l now depend mi wheal and fern-root for llie remainder of llic year." Nearly all llie Ileuses on llie north side of Poverty liny are under water and all |parlially so. If llie same <|liaulily of rain has /alien mi Ihe whole Kasl l'.nas|'al least one hall 'of llie wheal crop must he ilcMrov rd."