FLOOD HAVOC

Manawatu Standard, Volume LX, Issue 136, 9 May 1940, Page 8

FLOOD HAVOC

SOUTHERN INUNDATION. FARMERS’ PLIGHT. Per Press Association DUNEDIN, May 8. One of the worst floods in the history of the Taieri district Las caused crippling loss to many farmers on these fertile plains and sweep away the results -of. A 3 ■ hard effort for many otheis._ The. ra has inundated not acres but;- SQuaiP miles of farming country - adjacent to Dunedin and has created a scene ol desolation which has to be seen to be believed. „„ ,'j. - For twenty miles there • was not -a souare yard of dry land to be seen this afternoon. In that -'watery waste it was impossible to estimate, the ptoc v losses or the homes that have vntuall been washed away. The rising, tide tins afternoon banked the flood waters oil the Taieri higher and higher, but the incessant downpour was more relentless in the back, country and raised possibilities at a late hour to night that are incalculable. , The actual material losses, to say nothing of the winter feed destroyed, are inconsiderable when placed beside the devastation of rural homesteads evacuated throughout the day, mostly ' Jy in ) °the citv itself, though tlia Leith, is still running high, there is no cause for anxiety. All exits from Dunedin l,v road and rail, except those to the north, were, however, blocked to-dav and there are reports of flooding from many country districts. AMBULANCES READY. Late this afternoon boats were conveyed to the flooded areas by motor lorry and 20 men with specially equipped ambulances .stood by to assist in the evacuation of the marooned settlers and their families.The value of radio in an emergency was demonstrated in a manner which can be realised only by those who were able to profit by its warnings. Early in the day word was broadcast that the Taieri River at Middlemarcli was higher than it had been lor 20 years. This information was telephoned to Dunedin and given out over the . air. As a result thousands of sheep and cattle were liioved to higher country and inestimable loss avoided. Nevertheless, horses suffered severely in some areas, and hundreds of sheep have perished- Cattle, on the other hand, appear to have fared much better. South and West Taieri have suffered most from the flooding and the settlers are convinced that it. is the _ worst visitation of the kind the district has ever known. At Otokia bridge the river lias risen 14ft 9in, which is higher than the last big flood in 1923. Road traffic south is impossible, and the township of- Henley is completely marooned from the north and south. The full extent of the devastation cannot he known for several days as it is impossible to approach nearer than five or six miles to the parts most severely affected and, therefore, impossible at present to. obtain any accurate details of the damage.