STORMY WEATHER.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XXXXV, Issue 126, 29 May 1903, Page 2

STORMY WEATHER.

Pisa vsv.hu ASKOoiATtosr. Stone*, May 28. .A vary heavy se* is tunning. The baique Helen, bound from Kiipara to Lauiicoston, put into Sydney through (stress of weather. She had a rough passage nil the way, but the vessal is not damaged. Shipping at Newcastle is blocke 1, anii the bieakwaters »f some of the south coast ports are damaged. Wanganut, May 28.

An exceptionally heavy rakfall hasi taken p'ace durii.g the last 24 hours. 2.27 inches have fallen during that' period, and 7.32 for the month up to| date. This is the biggest rainfall in a aingln mouth for several years, Terrific lightning and thunder were experienced thia morning. It is still raining htavily, and the river is rising. Wellington, May 28.

It baa bien raining all the morning, but at 2 o'clock the weather showed signs of clearing. The rivers in the neighbourhood are flooded, but wel within the'r baiks. Some low lying land in the Hutt district is flooded wi'.h surface water and hill streams. The Kutt liver will probably be bjnk high at full tide tl i i afternoon. Dusedin, May 28. The rain last night was exceptionally ' heavy in the Tuapska district. In i awrecce the channels proved inadequate, and several busiaess places had stocks damaged by water. In some of the buildings the water rose to such a height that the fire-bell was rung for assistance to remove the inmates. The railway was slightly damaged.

EFFEOM OF THE STORM. To those who were out and about during Wednesday night, it was evident that the dawn would disclose the effects of considerable ravages by the immense volume of water that at times full like a veritable deluge. The town itself presented, in the small hours of Thursday morning, a memorable sight. Torlentsof rain beat with great foroa on ground and buildings, rushing like a roaring flood down the wa'er tables, leaping over blocked drains, acd forming miniature lakes on the low-lying ground. It S3emed as if the verandahs had no spouting, for tin water shot over the edges in cascades, which were scattered across >hi paths by the wiod, There whs, however, an element of grandeur in the toeae, for the lightning was at tim?s a con'inuous succession of bright shimooeriog l'gh*, intens fied every now and then with fhehes of intense brilliancy, followed by an inky darkness that was bewildering. Where th) paths from residences were on the slope to the street, the water rushed down with more or less fore, accordin| to the length and steepness of the grade. In some places, when walking along the footway ia the miin street, the water ran over the pedestrians boots, while the negotiation l of the street cross ngs dry-shod was a matter of difficulty, if not impossibility. Ail the streams in and near town ware rising rapidly, and it was evident that unless the rain abated there could be much damage by fl jo J. Although there was a la'l about 4 a.m., io was only for a while, during which the darkness and stillness were intense, and then the elements continued their mad career. It WdS a tru'y menvM-able night, and those few who were out in it will cot soon forget th;ir experiences on the occasion,

THE RAILWAY RECLAMATION. Considering the great v>iume of water in the Huatoki and Mwgotuku streams it was certain that the newlycmstructed water channel from Mr King's shed to the sea would ba severely tested. When the massive conorete walla for this witerc suras were erected, i'. seemed as if tbey could stand any teat, and doubtless they would have d )r.e so if the bsd of the stream had been concrated at the dame time, and a system uf drainage adopted on the surface cf the adjoining land. It was found on Thursday morning that considerable damage had been done to the walls, about 60 feet of the upper end of the eastern wall baing destroyed, the back of the wall having been forced outwards, until it craoked. The fljodwaters getting round behind the damaged wall soon completed the ruin, The goods offices are situated at this point, and one end overhangs the stream. The urinal fell bodily into the stream, and, damming the waters back, gave them added power to work harm to the neighbouring embankment. Further down, the lower portion of the western wall, near tha opeuiug into the sea, subsided fur a d.stance of about 30 feet. This subsidence <y«s accomplished between Sand 8.30 a.m., and about 915 the whole fed in. The tide 1 was then nearly at the full, and, as a very heavy sea was running, the meeting of the floodwaters and tie tid<<| formed a pretty considerable "bo<e" in the narrow channel. The embankment is cracked all round, and it is anticipated that more of the wall may f>.ll in yet, The damage is at present not ascertainable, The Relieving District Railway Engineer happened to be in and, with Mr Widdotfc, Assistant Engineer, at once set to work to stem the work of deatt uotion by putting down sand bags The principal dinger lies at the mouth of the stream, where, if the sea continues heavy until next tide, it is possible bo h conorete and 'rubble work may suffer further. Shortly before 10 o'clock the sea end of the concrete wall on the east side of the Huatoki collapsed, and fell in with a great noise, creatiog some consternation amongst the crowd that had ass?mbled. About twenty feet of the wall went, and a large square gap was washed out of the earthwork in a few minutes. A large squire iron tank which had been standing on the spot went out to sea with a run, and was soon lest to sight in the surf. Here, alsi, sand bags wero brought in;o requisition as a temporary expedient, buti it is evident that the repiration of the damage at this spot will necessitate extecsive woik if it is to be tffectual in tbe future. v

Just below the juootion of the two streams a subsidence took pLcs on the railway embankment, near the Taranaki Hotel, and it wis found prudent to have a man on duty there to see that all trains slowed down and went quietly over the spot,

Tint the sei wall s'ooJ the great aVuin on it shows the excellent way iu rthich it was constructed, Scarcely any evidence of d.-maga is oppuen'-, although in places ihe rubble appears to have settled. Tae only rant ii at the Uover-street end, where s.>me few feet of the wall has disappeared, but this can be set right wi nous much trouble or inconvenieuca.

DAMAGE IN TOWtf, The Mangotuku stream saems to have accumula'ed more than its share of the surplus moisture, with the result that the overflow caused consider.

iblo flamo.'!*', ewjiooialiy it- i's course through the town. At Morley-street t'ao wat/i- ioichcii tha bridge, arA spnv.d itself over tho low lying ground, i--utdUnglit'le mischief. AtthoEgmotit !>n-wt'ry,huv/tv.i', to maku matters unpleasant. It invaded 'ho main buildiDg in a volume to the extent of bptweni five Mid sis ir height, rushing against the angle of tb< adjacent wooden building and swirlim* round the aaglu with great force, wash ng away crates, barn-Is, bottles, am any other articles that were in tl>> yard. A number of men were in thi i morning briskly salvaging a quantity I of the wreck <ge which had got lodged in the framework under the Olubj room?. The cellars under the build ings from the Coffre Palace to Brougham-street were all under watei to a depth vatying from five to eight feet. The yaid at the rear of the Central Meat Bazaar was one sheet of seething water, preventing access to the butchers' carts, which were almost floating about and presented a novel appearanc >. Mr W. A. Oollis, photographer, and Messrs Teed and Go., chemists, have both lost considerably through damage to their stock.

Tho fl'od in the Huatoki also did considerable damage before crossing Devon-jtreet. It washed away the timber from the newly-erected concrete culvert on the Oarrington-road, and overflowed into the yards at the back of the shops fronting Devon-street, Mr May's bakehouse floor being covered with over a foot of water, with the result that some 20 bags of flour were damaged and a quantity of firewood washed away. All the cellars, gardens, fowl yards, etc., adjacent to the stream wore ruthlessly invaded, and no doubt there was some loss of live stook as well as damage to goods.

Id the riecreaticra Grounds the lakes are filled, and the lower lake was this morning within a few inches of the top of the embankment. The football ground was largely under water, and the flat by the dressing-shed was covered by a flood of water rushing down into the lover pond, the drain from the upper lake being quite inadequate to oarry oft' the overflow. Nearly opposite tho Boot Factory a good slice of thu footpath found its way into the lLutoki, leaving two dangerous holes, one of whioh there will ba a difficult matter to refill, as there is a sheer drop into the stream. A heavy slip on the Oarrington-road, opposite Mr. Garter's, covers two-thirds of the road. Is is to be hoped that no accident resulted last evening, as the obsti notion was devoid of a light of any kind.

Up the Victoria-road considerable dimage was done in the big cutting and filling. A slip camo down, partly covering the road, whilst the ru-h of water cut a channel "at the side so doep as to render the dr.iiuage pipes useless, with the result that the whole of its storm water had to traverse the road to the bottom of the hill. The result [is that great channels are to be found in all kinds of inconvenient places. Up Fraokley-road the water did cont'd rable damage in the cuttings and ftlliogs. At th 9 Frankley-road • Tannery the water took possession and floods J the tanks in which the hides in different stages of preparation are kept, the dam being also injured.

DAM4GE AT TE HKNUt. Tbi water table on the county road above the tannery at Te Henui became blocked early on Thursday morning, with the result that the water was turned across the road in a stream and, j nciing the volume on the other side of the. road, acted with destructive force on the corner'Qf the S/randon estate, carrying away a portion of the new road there, as well as a portion of the em ■ bankment of the main road. Oa the the opposite side of the county roid slso considerable damage was caused by subsidence, and it is feared chat the road is alf .cfctd. Steps were taken to pro ect tbe public by erecting posts and i ails to eneloao the dangerous placea, and an advertisement has beon inserted ia the Daily News notifying that pending repairs the road is dangerous for all trafije.

Reports throughout the district show that all the streams are inflooj, but no special damage has been notified beyond slight subsidences.