STORM DAMAGE

Wairarapa Times-Age, 4 October 1941, Page 5

STORM DAMAGE

A HEAVY REPAIR BILL REMARKABLE SEQUENCE OF DISRUPTIONS. DIFFICULT PROBLEMS AHEAD. (By Telegraph—Press Association.) WELLINGTON, This Day. After two days of transport dislocation and disorganisation caused by unprecedented storm damage in the metropolitan area and adjacent districts, Wellington was last night returning to normal conditions. Faced with difficult problems, municipal administration executives met the position very efficiently, and the emergency measures they adopted gteatly minimised the situation, but there are difficult problems ahead. * Damage has occurred through every suburb, up the Hutt' Valley, and as far as Paekakariki, not in major occurrences, but a remarkable sequence of disruptions brought about my hundreds of slips and minor blockages. Tramway services on routes which had been blocked were restored to normal schedule early last night, but fears entertained of the possibility of more interruptions occurring owing to the continued rain, the saturated state of the countryside and the instability of cuttings, were fulfilled before 10 p.m., when partial blockages occurred again at Seatoun and Wadestown. Though small slips were continuing to fall, the Wellington-Paekakariki Road remained open. The Paekakariki Hill road is closed, as is the Pukerua Beach road. The Ngaio Gorge road is closed—a most unusual occurrence—but traffic can reach Ngaio via Onslow Road and Khandallah. The Ma-kara-Wellington road is open again. The Western Hutt Road, after being opened at 5 p.m., was completely blocked by a large slip a mile north of Belmont some hours later. The Ngaio-Johnsonville railway line may remain closed till Monday. Consequent upon the enormous amount of work which will be necessary to make existing routes safe from blockages, protect essential transport services, and to build new battens and retaining walls, a loan may be necessary. It was stated that the phenomenal conditions now ruling, following upon those of the last three months, had created an unprecedented position.