THE WEATHER.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXX, Issue 8432, 2 May 1907, Page 5

THE WEATHER.

HEAVY DOWNPOUR OF RAIN,

FLOODS IN THE RIVERS. WATER ENTERS SHOPS IN LOWER QUEEN STREET,

] - ->t upon the phenomenally L Ccnd'ctf**" 1 -. -of rain during Tues'h\v« im-*U ™ artd y6b \ n rapidly,* and sw -d 8 ta " C r e o P ertie 9 . Tha? w« s I aiSPjflJJMffiHfc -,e of water in the a tfbllk -. Early last evenYV.Hin&awat Sim. i reached the top I ing the" wat<tf' Mu " was percolating of the stop'batik"yJiW* Under the through on to 1 I>h<£ «k of water bridge a foamittg i&te». \e decking rushed almost toti'oMlgr V " ain con " of the structure. M s!# \ ">at the tinued it was consiidbftelfl K e bridge would be in dtagfcE. ad " water had spread itself'' «vw tflte , joining properties. ISlo' dfetffu around the Waiohine JftiVfeß' was practically ail submersedi- Tfe fiuamahanga River was hiietier Uliaw it has been for a consider ablatfeje:. It overflowed its banks, ash d : near the'bridge on the Te Ore the watdr spread itself over th'e road. The paddocks at Lansdowne wteKß all under-' water, and in some cassia theflood water, had almost reache& tbe back doors of several residences.- The Waipoua. River, was'not so higfras •the other rivers, though it is'feared-j that if the'heavy rain continues there j will be several wash-outs along its I banks. The- Trueru River was tn | heavy flood,

Up till: Me- yesterday afternoon,. tto>reporfe off any bridges being damaged had; reached the County Engineer. A portion, of the road on the Mangapakeha; Flat, near the man's Bridge, on > tire East Coast: ;Rbad,. has been away.- One of the most serious 2 aspects of the floods was the interruption of the mail l service to and' from ; , the East Coast. Owing to the state of the roads, the maili coach from* Tinuv could not go past Garswell's yesterday. The mails will be taken onito<-day jif possible. The coach- carrying mails from Homewood to- Masterton was' compelled to remain at Waikaraka' yesterdy; owing to-the Fatanui River being impassable. The' mails will bebrought on to Masterton to-day. In Masterton, residents were put to a considerable amount of inconvenience in reaching their homes owing to the flooded state of- the streets. Essex Street was literally a Sea of water. A stream of water poured down that'street in to Chapel Street and into Lower Queen Street. The water was a foot deep in some parts of Dixon Street and Worksop Road. ' -

j Last evening, at about seven . o'clock,, a representative.of the Age,, protected from the weather by mackintosh,., umbrella and gum boots, visited the portion of Queen Street most affected by the flood water, viz., the lower part of the street by Pragnell's Buildings. From Mr Candy's shop to the Queen's Hotel was one sheet of water. A stream was flowing over the road from Renall Street People-who-desired- totraverse this portion of the street in most cases thought it best to remove their boots and, stockings and wade through the flood water. The shops "from Mr Candy's as far- as. Messrs Hendry and Buxton *'s were not much, affected,, as they are on a higher level- than the footpath. 'ln the main part of Messrs Hendry and Buxton's draper's shop, there was about two inches of water, and in the back portion the water was four or five in«hes deep. Mr Hendry stated that the water first entered the shop from Chapel Street through Messrs Gardner and Sons' timber yard. One of the young ladies in the dressmaking room informed Mr Hendry that the water was entering the building, but as a little water had entered before during rain he i did not take much notice of it. A short time after, however, he went to ] investigate, and found about an inch of water on the floor. Any of the stock that was on the floor and was likely to be damaged was at once removed. Mr Hendry stated that if the water did not rise any higher but very little of the goods would be damaged. The- water would cause the fittings in the shop to warp, however, and some damage would be caused in that direction. Mr T. McCracken's furniture ' shop was next visited 1 . The propriej tor was standing at the door woefully ; gazing at the rising water. He stated j that the flood reminded nim of one at ! Napier some years ago when a num- ! ber of people lost their lives. When ! the water first entered his> shop he removed the mouldings, etc 1 ., which ; were on the floor, and stacked them out of harm's way as much as possible. In the work-room at the rear ! of the shop, however, several pounds' i worth of mouldings, which he could not remove, were damaged. There was about four inches of water in, this shop, and Mr McCracken stated that th 6 water was deeper in the. rear portion of the building. He said he was obliged to remain in the shop, and keep the front door open so as to let the water run through from the timber-yard into Queen Street. Neither of the shop-keepers interviewed could give an estimate of the damage done, as the water was still rising.

In the premises of Mr A. Murray, draper, considerable damage was done to the stock. The water was several inches deep in the shop. Mr Murray has been compelled to close his premises to-day on account of the- damage that has been done by the flood water. The floor at Mr Wilkes' shop was covered with several inches of water. A visit was then paid to Mrs Peters' boarding-house •, (Glencoe House), opposite Pragnell's Buildings. The water on the footpath here Was over a foot deep, and in the gutter it was knee-deep, The gate in front of thehouse was blocked with sacks v and stones to bar the progress of the water. One of the inmates stated that two of the back rooms in the house were flooded, but the front portion of the building was still free.from water. I In Chapel Street. several borough ) employees were making a barricade round a lamp-post where excavations, have been made. The holes had filled with water and were dangerous tO' traffic.

Chapel Street.between Essex Street and Renall Street, was one sea of jvaler, both the footpath and ; roajd

being covered. A channel had been Bcoured out in the footpath at-the. rear of Messrs Gardner and Son's timber-yard, and the Water was rushing into the yard ; with a roar like a river. Early in the evenihg several cylists who were riding pn the footpath' in this" street came ;to grief through runningjnto this channel. None of them Were injured, however, but they received a good "ducking." The Plat Point and TeWharau mails did not arrive in Masterton till about 7.15 p.m.; they usually arrive about 2.30 p.m. The mail-carrier, Mr Richards, experienced considerable trouble both on the roads, and in the rivers, especially the river at Flat Point, where nis vehicle capsized; but very little damage was done. ; • ■ . . Our Tinui correspondent telephoned, yesterday afternoon, thata south-east gale, accompanied by heavy rain was being experienced there. The floods in the rivers were the highest known, the water reach- | ing up to Mr Johnston's store. It was expected to reach a higher point at 7 o'clock* when the tide was ' full, and in consequence the settlers 'ere busily ; engaged in removing i . ir stock to high ground. The roads IJ. relieved to have sustained cori'Me damage, but to what- ex■arf' -ras not known, except that I f f , ash-outs had occurred on ttentitv ween Tinui an d Whakas'*P*arniU. e road between Tinui, the; road; Bfct, ' The mail coac h had takiv, and-ow*** ? jj> s and Caarawell/'sv ' "falling as we to return-to'Gassswv HeaJ/y rainwa«s3t k / went totpr-ess.. N

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