A CLOUDBURST.

Taranaki Daily News, 16 January 1922, Page 5

A CLOUDBURST.

DAMAGE IN ELTHAM COUNTY. WORST IN TWENTY YEARS. DISASTER TO SETTLERS. GOVERNMENT HELP WANTED. A good idea of the great damage which has been suffered in the Omona district of the Eltham County through the exceptionally heavy rainfall experienced there last week, was given at the meeting of the Eltham County Council on Saturday. In a special report the engineer (Mr. Fitzgerald) detailed some of the damage done, and a councillor who resides in the afflicted area, Mr. A. McWilliam, described in a letter to the council the sad plight into which the settlers there have been thrown.

Photographs taken along the Omona and Mataiwhetu roads by Mr. Fitzgerald during an inspection of the damaged roads were graphic proof of the havoc which has been wrought. Softie photographs show the road suddenly ending in a broken morass of mud and debris where the flood has swept over it. In others great slips of earth are seen to be completely blocking the whole roadway. Cr. McWilliam, in a letter asking for leave of absence wrote:—“l write to ask leave of absence from to-morrow’s meeting of the council. I am shut in by a vast quantity of slips, through which it is impossible to get a horse, and I would be away from home three days if I attempted to walk all the. way to the Patea River. Mr. Fitzgerald walked through from there to my house yesterday inspecting the damage and organising work on it. I admire his conscientious promptness. He will give you all details of the havoc wrought by the cloudburst. Before it came, the settlers of this riding were as near insolvency in a great many cases as they could be, and now, of course, no one can say where he stands, with loss of stock and damage to fences, and with a greatly reduced grazing area. In my 20 years’ experience of this district nothing so disastrous has before happened to it. As far as repairing road damage goes, I consider it a genuine case for a straight out compassionate grant from the Government, as the riding cannot meet auy more indebtedness. Would the council move very strongly in this direction at to-morrow’s meeting ? I submit that it.is a matter that could fittingly be laid before the Prime Minister. When Minister of Public Works, he paid a visit to this locality and was at my house, so he may remember the district.”

ROADS IMPASSABLE. The engineer’s special report was as follows:—“The Omona end of the county was visited by an exceptionally heavy fall of rain last Wednesday afternoon and there is little doubt that the visitation amounted in some places to a cloudburst. I inspected the roads as far in as two miles beyond Omona Post Office on Thursday and Friday, returning to Eltham last night. At Matemateonga there is definite evidence of at least 7 inches of rainfall in about 2 hours, and near Omona I saw evidence of approximately 12 inches in the same time. ‘The Mangamingi ridge was not effected. At Mangamingi village the rain was sufficiently heavy to fill culverts, pour over the road and scour the metal, but no serious trouble was met with until Mr. Hardwick Smith’s farm, on the far side of Mangamingi was reached. At this point two road fillings were threatened with extinction. One is now safe and. the other has half gone. The small ridge between Mangamingi and the Patea River had numerous overslips on it. The Patea River was iq flood, but not exceptionally ho, and the bridge was safe. The slope from Patea River up to Matemateonga had small overslips on it. From here on to the Mangatoromiro River the road is badly blocked by several large slips. “The Mangatoromiro River has been in very high flood. It has been over the bridge and left some large logs on the road. The bridge must have had a terrific pounding, but appears undamaged, though one approach is badly scoured. The road from the Mangatoromiro for some three miles in is very bad, being completely blocked by numerous over-slips and four large washouts. The river flats at the side of the road have been submerged and are now strewn with mud and logs whilst where the road crosses the stream, at the foot of the Omona hill, all forms of traffic were blocked. The long climb up to Omona was blocked by a few slips, but is now passable to vehicles. DEPUTATION TO PREMIER. “The main working parties consist of Eltham men batching at the Matemateonga school, a party from Omona which will take up quarters near the washouts previously referred to and srpaller parties of roadmen and settlers are' working at all bad places. By to-night (Saturday) the road from Eltham to Omona should be fit for vehicular traffic except for the length round about the Mangatoromiro. In the course of a few days this length will be passable by horses and then the two main working parties will clear the road for vehicular traffic, working from pach end so as to reduce the length of the gap to half a mile where the three worst washouts occurred. This half mile will be impracticable for vehicles for some weeks. The work will be far from finished when the road is opened. There is loose ground below and above the road which is going to give rise to under and over-slips for some long time to come. Watertables and culverts are blocked in every direction and a good deal of road metal has been swept away. Travellers must not consider the road safe as soon as it is opened, but must exercise caution.

“The first mile of the Moeroa Road is open, but after that the road is blocked and I was informed that in the valleys the road is blotted out. The Whenuakura River was certainly in very high flood, but I was informed that the bridges were still holding. The first mile of the Mataiwhetu Road, where it follows the top of the ridges, is clear. The next mile is blocked by many slips and 1 was informed that this state of things gets worse and worse as thp road descends into the valley, where several large road fillings have been washed out. Settlers on this road were informed by me that it would be impossible to send them any county employees at present and they were asked to put any labo.r they had available on to the road. I understand that Waitiri Road is not very seriously eilected. No reliable information is available about other parts of the effected area. The chairman said that he thought the Government should come to the assistance of the Omona district. It was probably one of the worst cloudbursts that had ever taken place, and was undoubtedly the cause of the Whenuakura bridge giving Cr. Knucky moved that a letter should be sent to Mr. Massey and that the chairman and Cr. McWilliam be appointed a committee to interview Mr. Massey as soon as possible.—Carried. The chairman said he was gomg to do SI. for tbo of tto

There was never a case which needed sympathy so much. The settlers did not knov what they had lost. OMONA ROAD OPEN. Advice was received from Omon* yesterday morning that the road is open for vehicular traffic sixteen miles out. It is stated, however, that ft will be weeks before vehicles of any kind will be able to negotiate the * next two miles. The county engineer (Mr. M. FitzGerald) remained at Mangamingi oi Thursday night, and a lorry load ol men and materials went out on TN-iday morning. The latest advice received if to the effect that the road will probably be open as far as the Patea River brkUo on Friday night.—Argus.