THE STORM.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 293, 3 May 1913, Page 5

THE STORM.

WILD AND WET NIGHT. SHIPPING MUCH DELAYED. Per Press Association. Wellington, Friday. Yesterday afternoon a heavy gale sprang up from the south-east, and Wellington experienced an unusually heavy downpour of rain. During the night the wind chopped round to the south-west and rain came down in torrents for hours. It was tlie wildest and wettest night in Wellington for years. Fences and chimneys were blown down, and some low-lying land in the suburbs was Hooded, and land-slips are reported from various parts of the district. The llutt river rose between ten and eleven feet, but no damage so far is reported. The tramway traffic was dislocated for a short time between seven and eight. This morning shipping was at &. standstill. Last night the M:imik.>. Sydney, bound for Lyttelton, started at. five o'clock, but was unable to face thestorm, and came to an anchorage in the stream, where she remained until 8.40 this morning, when she resumed her voyage. The ferry steamer Mararoa also could not look at the weather, and will not leave for the south until to-morrow night. Passengers who were to have gone in her last night will be taken by the Maori to-night. None of the small coasters have got in or out since yesterday, and several are reported to be sheltering. The Moeraki, from Lyttelton to Sydney, arrived at 7.45 a.m. to-day, a quarter of an hour after the Maori, also from Lyttelton. The Pateena, from Picton and Nelson, and the Wimmera, from Sydney, via northern ports, came in at . 9 and 11 a.m. respectively. All reporf bad passages. . The storm tapered off early this morning, but a good deal of rain has fallen since daylight. The rainfall for twentyfour hours was nearly 5% inches.

THE WIMMERA'S EXPERIENCE. Wellington, Last Night. ♦Che Wimmera, which arrived from northern ports to-day, met the full force of the storm. She reached Wellington with a list to starboard, due to her cargo having shifted. She shipped large quantities of water. Three members of the crew were injured. One had a thumb burst open, another his ribs bruised, and a third a leg hurt. TERRITORIAL CAMPS POSTPONED. Wellington, Last Night. The casual camps for Territorials were postponed to-dny, owing to the heavy C«.in. 1 COLD IN CANTERBURY. ■' : Christehureh, Last Night. '' The southerly gale which began yesterday increased in intensity during the night, and when day broke the weather in Canterbury was cold and squally, with occasional showers of rain. Heavy snow was reported yesterday from the Mackenzie Country. A bad break occurred in the telegraph lines twelve miles north of Kaikoura this morning. Telegraphic communication' with the North Island, via the east coast, was interrupted, but by 11.30 one shaky wire was working through to Blenheim.