THE WEATHER.—THE FLOODS.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 4954, 7 February 1877, Page 2

THE WEATHER.—THE FLOODS.

The heavy and continuous rain, while it has done ■ away with the inconvenience of a short supply of water in the reservoir, has" created a great many more inconveniences in the country districts. All the rivers are in a swollen state, and although no specific information of damage beyond that which appeared, in yesterday's issue respecting the Waimate Plains has been ' received, we have no doubt that reports of injury sustained will'come in to-day. Last evening we heard that the Hutt township was a good deal flooded, but cannot vouch for the truth of the report. In the city .there is. plenty of mud, many of the streets being almost a foot deep in slush. Other provinces appear to have been more severely visited than Wellington, as will be seen by the annexed items : CANTERBURY. Monday's Press says : —The unlucky February 4th of nine years ,'ago and the incidents of that day to many districts were' forcibly brought to mind by the rain and the sudden flooding of the rivers on Saturday. The erratic Waimakariri, which stands chief on the list in the northern district, was' reported in a telegram from the Bealey at 11.20 to be in heavy flood. The telegraphist also staled that the rain was continuing, and 3Jin. had fallen within the last twenty-four hours. Steps were immediately taken by the works committee of the Borough Council to get a gangof men, and provide shovels and other requisites in case of flood to dam up' the openings of the Ohoka drain and Eeldwick's cutting should it be necessary, as the' flood-gates recently put in these outlets are "ineffective. Near Birch and. Co.'s wharf at 3.30 p.m. the back-water rose four 'inches in twenty-five minutes, but at 5 p.m.," although, there,was a vast accumulation Of rubbish backed up, and affairs were thought to be looking serious, th« river was not higher than during an ordinary tide! At high tide on Saturday night, and, Sunday morning the flood did not get beyond the wharves in the town. During Sunday afternoon the river rose steadily from the flood in the North as : well as the South branch. The former branch is .greatly flooded by the. drainage from the Rangiora swamp. At Chaney's, on the South branch, the country and crops are under water, the overflow being dammed by the railway line, which has been raised twenty inches since last flood." This overflow is sent into the river again at the railway bridge, where with the combined pressure of the stream, which has not room to escape by its proper channel, the water has been sent over the farms of Messrs. Stanton, Baker, Burgess, and others, on the North-road, doing a "considerable amount of damage. The Nortfi-rosfd is impassable. It is expected that' at ten p.m. the flood will nearly reach the top pf the embankments. The country near Church Bush is inundated with the overflow sent back into the Cam. At low water the river is at present up to the capsils of the bridges. The Ashley wag rising all day on Saturday, and at six o'clock there was every prospect of a flood on Saturday night. The rivers and streams further north were all much swollen, but no damage had been reported. Information was received in" town last evening that a portion of theSouth line had been washed away near the Rangitata, but tke extent of the damage waa not Btated. The railway engineer and traffic manager will proceed down this morning by first train, and passengers going-south will-be-booked only on the condition that the line is found sufficiently safe to forward them through.

BY TELEGRAPH. Nelson; Tuesday. [ Heavy floods are reported in the Motueka District, where people are being removed from their houses in boats. Christchurch, Tuesday. It is raining heavily again. All the rivers are in flood. '-'""' Timaru, Tuesday. The heavy rain all last week has done great damage to the crops. The weather is better to-day. . Dunbdin, Tuesday. : The fall of rain which set in on Sundaynight continues unabated. McLaggan and Rattray streets are completely flooded, torrents of water are pouring down them. The damage to property will be considerable, as all the low-lying portion of the city" is under water, as also is South Dunedin and St. Kilda. The municipalities are at work opening the town creeks, the water being very high. The water

in the Leith is running level with its banks. Telegrams from up country districts give sad accounts of injury to crops. Traffic was suspended on the Port Chalmers and Clutha lines. Later. The rain continues to fall heavily, and the weather shows no sign of clearing. St.Kilda presents the appearance of a floating island, and many of the inhabitants have constructed rafts a 3 a means of conveyance, while one family brought a boat into requisition. The immigration barracks at Caversham have been placed at the disposal of those who have been flooded out in the low-lying parts of the city. The railway and coach traffic are almost completely suspended throughout Otago. In Rat-tray-street the earth has given way for a considerable distance from the street line, and Pritchard's shop, which was knocked down a short time ago by a landslip, will probably soon share the same fate again. Port Chalmers, Tuesday. A land slip took place last night at two places on the railway line. The incessant rain and flood carried away part of the railway bridge at Sawyer's Bay, and traffic is likely to be suspended for two or three days. A heavy slip occurred on the Moeraki line over Banehop's sawmills, and it is estimated about 4000 tons fell. The benches, engine, shaft, and tunnel are completely covered. Great fears are entertained for the safety of the mill. It is still raining hard. Barometer, 2978 ; dense fog to seaward. Balclutha, Tuesday. The river is still pretty much confined within the banks—just beginning to overflow in some, places. The township is dry as yet, but fears are entertained for to-night. No train arrived from Dunedin to-day. 7.40 p.m. The river is still rising, and is breaking into the township in several places. The lower end 3 of Charlotte and Renfew streets are flooded, and several inhabitants are removing furniture and goods.