FLOODS IN MARLBOROUGH.

North Otago Times, Volume CVII, Issue 17167, 25 March 1927, Page 5

FLOODS IN MARLBOROUGH.

Press Association.)

9 GREAT DAMAGE TO THE POWER DAM. j

(Per

BLENHEIM, Marcn Rain in the back country, accompanied by heavy snow, which thawed rapidly, brought down the Wairau river in high flood. Portions of Spring Creek .arid Tuamarina areas were under water. The recently re-instated railway hridge was badly huckled and the rails twisted out of line, and railway traffic held up. To-day a big gang was engaged in clearing away the debris at the bridge, but it is expected it will he a day or two before normal traffic is resumed. Had not the river begun to fall the bridge must have been washed j away again. _ ; A phenoinenal flood in the Waiko- j pai river last night caused enorm- i ous damage at the headworks of ; the Marlborough electric power | scheme, which was within measur- ' able distance of completion. It will necessitate an expenditure of many thousands of pounds to restore the works, and it will almost certainly delay for months the bringing of the scheme to completion. The river has been in a state of flood for some days, but it rose very rapidly 'xehind the dam late yesterday afteraoon and in the evening a rise 4xf xver 20 feet was noted. By 7 p.m'. *he lalce impounded hy the hig near*y completed dam, was full and at 7.30 the s'pill-ways were running iight feet deep, pouring two great orrents into the canyon on either dde of the dam. All hands were at vprk throughout the evening sal•aging as much gear as possible, uid they did their work so well hat comparatively little was lost. The river apparently reached its naximum height about 10 p.m., /hen it was estimated that . the pillw.ay traversing the flat on- the lenopai side of the dam was fully en feet under water and carrying a raging, boiling torrent, against which nothing could stand. A car- . penter's shop belonging to the head- | works contractor (Mr W. WilliamI son, Christchurch), was swept 1 away bodily, but fortunately .all the tools and other gear had been removed from it. The pretty scrub and bush facing the Benopai side of the canyon was torn away like so much paper, as was the whole of 'he soil, leaving an exposed, jag•°d reef of rock. About 11 p.m. the torrent in the xillw.ay deflected itself towards the oad, and, tearing away suhsoil, •ass and other growth, exposed an ncient shingle-filled chasm in /hich the river must have run ages •go. The masnitude of the -disaster vas not realised until later in the norning when it. became obvious hat» the river was opening up its •d channel, and that the engineers •ould be faced with the pvoblem of •ecting a retaining wall of herdean nroportions in order to con/rve the power scheme.