HOMES ABANDONED

Wairarapa Times-Age, 27 April 1938, Page 4

HOMES ABANDONED

SERIOUS PROPERTY DAMAGE ON FARMS. MAIN HIGHWAYS IMPASSABLE By Telegraph—Press Association. HASTINGS, This Day. In the early hours of yesterday morning Hastings and Napier and the surrounding districts were inundated by a grave flooding. Whipped into fury by the worst gales of recent years the sea came piling up the Ngaruroro Estuary and caused perilous floodings for miles back. At an early hour in the forenoon the main highways between Hastings and Napier were impassable. Roads were inundated to a depth in some places of over four feet. Communication, except by telephone, is completely disorganised between any towns of central Hawkes Bay. Many families in the vicinity of rivers were forced to abandon their homes. Rescue parties were out all day evacuating more people as the flood waters rose and entered their homes. The police worked into the night transporting families to safety. Ample warning was given to the settlers, as the rain commenced on Saturday and Sunday saw the majority of farmers move their stock out of the danger zones. It is understood that the stock losses will not be unduly heavy, even in the aggregate. Property, however, was considerably damaged. Miles of fencing have been washed away and haystacks and supplies of winter food lost. Orchardisls suffered a severe setback. The fear is expressed that the fruit might be affected by brown rot. The townspeople of Hastings did not escape the deluge. Many homes were completely surrounded by water, which entered several homes in lowlying parts.