RECORD RAINS

Shannon News, 27 July 1926, Page 4

RECORD RAINS

Continuous During WeekEnd, < 1 LOW-LYING COUNTRY FLOODED. 1 1 COMMUNICATIONS INTERRUPTED. : ' Levin seldom experiences such u ]; steady downpour of rain as that i which took place during the week end. j' Commencing in the early hours of j :Sunday morning the rain fell ail day j yesterday, last, night and continued 1 this morning practically without in- 1 terinission. I The record taken by Mr Sharpe, of tiie Central Development Farm, for 30 hours up to 0 a.m. to-day, showed that 378. points, or nearly four inches fell in that period, which is i nearly a record for this district. Telegraphic reports to-day show that the rain was general on this coast. HEAVY FLOODS. ROAD SLIPS AWAY AT BUCKLEY. The immediate result of the rain has been that the lower country north of Levin is inundated. The swampy area between Koputaroa and ihakara resembles a muddy sea and even the fences are hidden from view while the roads, both Tavistock and Arapaepae, are covered with water two to three feet deep in places. At the Buckley Hill, about half a chain of the road fell away, leaving barely enough room for traffic to pass. The Manawatu. river is rising rapidly and farmers with! stock grazing near this river are engaged this morning in shifting them to higher levels. - The road on the other side of the Wirokino bridge was clear this morning, but was expected to become impassable during the day. The service cars have bten a little diso'rganised, tlie Highways Transport car having to come through -Levin via Foxton, instead of by way of Shannon,.The C.P.R. bus service got as far as the Kara Road between Shannon and Makerua, but had to turn hack owing to the state of the road. MOUTOA COUNTRY SUFFERS. Reports from Shannon this afternoon indicate that the biggest hood for fifteen years was in evidence. The water from the Manawatu was further up the Foxton road than it had been for many years. The Moutoa bank had broken near Mr Smith’s residence and let the water through. Mr Tregill, manager 1 for Carter Bros., had had to vacate his house owing to it being flooded. THE MANAWATU RISING.

Advice from Woodville at 9 o’clock this morning stated that the Manawatu was 13 feet above normal level, indicating that Hawkes Bay had had its share of the rainfall and would add its quota to the inundation.

OTAKI’S EXPERIENCE. OTAKI,, July 26. During the last two. days over three inches of rain fell, while flye inches fell in Hie O’taki Gorge. The rivers are in flood. The roadS in places are under water and the low-lying lands inundated.

WANGANUI FEARS RECORD FLOOD WANGANUI, July '26. Heavy rain is falling in Wanganui to-day“ and reports from the back countrv indicate a heavy downpour since ‘'Thursday. The Wanganui river rose rapidly and is still rising ait Pipiriki. Settlers there fear a record flood. MARTON STREETS UNDER WATER. BUSINESS AREA FLOODED. MARTON, July 26. Following -a continuous rain, the fall for the 32 hours till 9 this morning being 2.76 inches, Mart-on is experiencing almost unprecedented floods. - . The main business thoroughfare is covered to a depth of four inches and many cellars are flooded 1 . The streams surrounding the town overflowed this morning and there is no outlet" for the storm water drains. It is feared serious damage will result.

The rain still continues and the waters are rising rapidly. The whole Rangitikei district is inundated and several parts of the main highways are covered. Outside work is practically at- a standstill. MAN DROWNED IN FLOODED STREAM. FATALITY NEAR PALMERSTON. PALMERSTON N., July 26. While attempting to cross the Kahuterawa stream at Fitzberbert with a horse and trap yesterday, a young man who resided in Palmerston N., Frederick Brown, was drowned. Deceased and a companion had a camp in the Ka.huterawa Valley, where they were trapping opossums. The lieavy rain washed out the camp and they decided to return to Palmerston. On reaching the flooded stream, .the other man, William Doyle, was not in favour of crossing, hut Brown decided to do so. Doyle left the horse and

trap in charge of Brown, went up stream and crossed on some suspension wires. Meanwhile Brown tried to ford the stream. The vehicle was washed downstream. - Brown clung to the mane of the horse, hut was soon washed away by the strong current. After unavailing search Doyle returned to Palmerston. HEAVY RAIN AT PALMERSTON. MAIN ROADS FLOODED. PALMERSTON N., July 26. Heavy rain during the week-end caused the rivers in the district to rise rapidly and a large area of country is under water, necessitating the removal of stock to higher levels. Rain is still falling. ' The main roads are also flooded in many places.