HEAVY GALE AND FLOODS IN OTAGO.

Southland Times, Issue 897, 10 February 1868, Page 3

HEAVY GALE AND FLOODS IN OTAGO.

(From the Otago Daily Times) The very heavy rain during Monday evening and night, caused severe floods throughout the whole Province, apparently. The particulars of damage done as yet received, are most meagre ; but they are enough to prove that the whole catalogue will be a terrible one. Close to Dunedin, bridges have been washed away ; the same has been the case both north and south ; and the crops must have suffered almost total destruction in many cases and over large arreas. There were many rumors in town yesterday, to the effect that the Star of Tasmania, which was — we hope is — loading wool at Oamaru, had been driven ashore, but at least there is for the present, the certainty that the fact of the loss of that fine ship is not yet known in Dunedin. Messrs Hoyt, Chaplain, and Co,'s coach which left town yesterday morning, returned again between six and seven o'clock hist evening ; Mr F. Eutherford the driver, finding the road absolutely blocked, through a land-slip about six miles this side of Waikouati. Nothing is known as to how far south the coach from Oamaru was got yesterday by Mr E. Devine. The telegraph wires north, were " down" throughout yesterday ; the cause being no doubt the washing away of posts by the flood ; but the point at which the damage has been done not being known, thus, no information of accidents at Oamaru, if there have been any, was received in town up to midnight. What is known of the Star of Tasmania was conveyed by a telegraphic message, which was received here on Monday evening, and which has been shown to us. The message states, " The Star has parted from -the Government moorings;; The Water Nymph is still holding. Imminent danger." This would be enough as a basis for all the rumors of the wreck which were to be heard yesterday ; but while there is no certainty that wreck has occurred, there is room for hope that the two ships rode out the heavy gale safely. DTJNEDIN AND THE NEIGHBORHOOD. We described briefly yesterday the principal effects of the rain in Dunedin. In M-aclaggan street, yesterday, there were hundreds of cart-loads of gravel, metal, and boulders heaped on the westerly side of the street ; but the debris left in Eattray-street was less than was left by any of the now numerous recent floodings there. The enforced preparations which the residents have now " on hand," so to speak, for blocking, back flood water from their houses and shops, caused the damages done on Monday night to be less than appeared inevitable, ; but the los 3 must have been considerable, and the inconvenience very great. In George-street, and the streets which cros3 it, there were large bodies of water throughout the night ; and much damafge and trouble resulted.

The Water of Leith, from- the point at • which it is intersected by the Nort-East Valley road to its overflow at Pelichet ' Bay, did a considerable amount of damage to surrounding property, auJ either swept away or partially destroyed three bridges. The bridge on the Valley road has for some time been very deficient, in eondiaa well as dimensions, for the amount of traffic it has to bear, but by this flood it has, in reality and appearance, been reduced to a very dilapidated state ; and for the present it has been closed, being unsafe for anything more than foot-pas-senger traffic. For some time past it had been sustained by extra manuka props. On Monday night these were washed away. The flood also made a breach into the road at the north end of the bridge, and the structure became " hogged," and canted over to one side, hanging in such a position that, had the flood continued, it would probably have gone bodily down the stream. The morning .coach from Cobb's office had to * ford the stream at the old crossing-place below the bridge ; and, in consequence of the altered bottom had considerable difficulty in doing so. The next damage done by the stream below the bridge was an , encroachment upon the grounds attached to the Water of Leith Hotel, and the destruction of a considerable length of the fencing of the Acclimatisation Ground. Further down, the stream spread considerably over its banks, where it has left traces of its flooded state in numerous snags and up-rooted trees ; and the compression of this expanded body of water at one pomt — the bridge in Dundas-street — resulted in the washing away of a considerable portion of the left .bank. The supports of the bridge went with the bank, and -the bridge itself, which was a strong erection broke in the middle, and all traffic*in that direction became impossible, except by some planks which were temporarily placed there during the day. Below that bridge, the overflow betook itself to an old bed of the river, and in its course swe pt one or two gardens, before it effected the most serious damage done in this direction — the destruction of a large portion of the area of the Botanical Gardens. The Botanical Gardens have on several occasions suffered from floods, and various expedients have been adopted to prevent a repetition of the damage ; but the injury done on this occasion has been by far the most serious, and it is obvious that, next to working with Nature rather than against it, nothing but a very strong and well-designed breastwork will prevent the greater part of the gardens from being swept away. The damage done on this occasion includes the removal of nearly an acre of the cultivated ground, the destruction of a breastwork which was all but completed and the washing away of the wooden bridge by which the stream was crossed between the flower garden and the arbor. The bridge was completely carried away, and floated right out into the bay. The breast work was about sixty -two yards in length; and was just about being finished bj the contractor, Mr Baird, who, with the disappearance of his work, lost all his tools and his barrows. Besides the breastwork, the stream demolished the footpath and the fence for an equal distance, . and up-rooted more than thirty thriving gum trees which occupied the cultivated border which was parallel to the stream. The large slice of the flower garden which was removed, contained eleven beds of shrubs and flowers. Two of the large plots of ground next the stream have, in fact, almost entirely disappeared, besides a considerable breadth of footway. The more | direct cause of this extensive damage was the closing up of the channel which was cut some years ago as a means of diverting the body of the stream. When the gardener, Mr M'Gruer, visited the gardens at sundown, there was a considerable stream flowing down this channel; but before midnight it had become dammed by the accumulation of Btones across its entrance, and the full force of the stream was thrown against the loose material of which the garden-ground is formed. The bridge immediately below the Gardens, in Clyde-street, was unaffected ; but at the mouth of the river some damage vras done at Mr Constable's flax-mill, and at Messrs Driver and M' Lean's fellmongery. At the fellmongery there is a strong amd across the stream, consisting of casks filled with boulders. These were nearly i all swept away, and with them portions [ of the race leading to the washing-place, which was filled with debris several feet deep. The iellmongery was also flooded, and the work of a number of hands will be impeded for some days ; but there was, fortunately, no great damage done to the stock on the premises. Beyond the mouth of the river, and out into the bay, large banks were formed of gravel and snags ; and there is little doubt that, on Monday night alone, the Water of Leith deposited, of itself, as much debris as the steamdredge would remove in a week. THE NOETH ROAD. Mr F. Eutherford, who drove the north coach out of town yesterday morning, and brought it back last evening, informs us that, after getting clear of the Northeast Valley, the first serious obstacle met with was at Dods', on this side of Blue- ! akin. There the water, which rushed down a blind gully, not only swept away a substantial culvert, but cut a chasm fifteen feet wide right across the road. This difficulty was got over by leaving the road, and keeping down on the beach for a short distance. The Blueskin Bridge (over the Waitati) has about six or eight feet, washed away at one end. There is a land slip not far beyond Blueskin, but its extent is comparatively Bmall ; and there are a good many bits of damage which, fortunately, are only comparatively small. At Merton, within six miles of Waikouaiti, Mr Itutherford found that he could get no further. The roadway is there through a. cutting ; and a slip of one of the banks has, for a length of nearly eighty yards, covered the road to a depth of from Bft to 10ft. There were men at work, cutting through the mass of gravelly mud, when the coach reached the

spot; but we are told that fifty men would find it hard work for several days to make anything like a fair way foi* vehicles. Mr Eutherford was informed that about half of the bridge at Ywdkouaiti had been carried away ; but there is no information as to what has happened north of that township. Particulars as to the damage of farms must be waited for ; but Cherry Earm. is already stated, to have suffered very greatly. THE SOUTH ROAD. The nearest serious damage on the south road, is to the wood bridge over Abbot's Creek, G-reen Island. If not wholly washed away, that bridge has been practically destroyed. Mr Oliver was lespatched by the Government, as soon is the news was received yesterday morning ; and Mr Howlison, the G-overnment Inspector of "Works, was instructed to - procure and send out timber, so that a temporary passible bridge may be got up without delay. Large tracts of the Taieri Plain, near the river, are under water ; and the approaches to the bridge have suffered somewhat. At Tokomairiro, there is again a great deal of country flooded. A young man named Draper, a butcher, is said to have lost his life, in attempting to cross the river; the horse which he was riding being washed away, as well as himself. A horse belonging to Mr Gilt was drowned; and a good many cattle and pigs have been destroyed. The bridge at the junction of the Tuapeaka road with the main road, was completely covered with water during Monday evening. The Tokomairiro river, and various creeks in the district, are said to have risen and overflowed, with terrible rapidity. LAWERENCB. Our correspondent telegraphs—" There are great floods here. Lawrence is partly under warter The Waitahuna Flat is covered. Haystacks and dead cattle are floating down The approaches to the bridge have been washed away. The coach, with the mails south, has returned here. The roads and bridges throughout the district are much damaged. The flood is the highest that has beeen known here." CLYDE. Our Clyde correspondent sent us the following telegram yesterday afternoon : — " There has been continuous rain since six o'clock on Sunday evening. The Molyneux is rising rapidly, and there is imminent danger of a great flood. The road between Clyde and Cromwell has already been washed away in severel places ; and the Manuherikia river is impassable." Later accounts of the disastrous results of the flood will be found in our telegraphic correspondence columns.