THE OHINEMURI FLOODS.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 2649, 4 July 1889, Page 2

THE OHINEMURI FLOODS.

The sole and only topic of the week has been the tremendous fresh —one could almost say Hood—which Ohinemuri has experienced during the past week. It is quite unprecedented in the annals of the district, and at one time created quite a panic among the settlers on the river bunk. The steady rains of the past week or two, laid a very solid foundation for a good flood, and wore crowned by a very heavy day and night's rain on Friday, followed by a heavier one on Saturday. This brought the river tearing down, and as it lifted foot by foot, and the rain showed no signs of abatiug, many of the river-side people —men, women, and children, hoof and horn—made for Paeroa. By this time the river had risen about 20 feet above the normal level, and was about three times its ordinary width. About 3 o'clock on Saturday the cry was raised, " Here comes the Paeroa wliart." Down it came, merrily, freighted with several tons of carrots, coal, &c., at the rate of about 20 miles an hour. This was scarcely out of sight when the Ohinemuri County wharf which cost £200 to build about six years ago. and is a massive structure, showed signs of damage. The piles being driven in the bed for over 12 feet, however, no fears were entertained. But, a few minutes of the tremendous torrent was all it could stand, C-r-r-r-a-c-lc !! Bang ! ami up jumped the piles ninny feet in the air, and away went about one-half of the wharf down the current A lot of damage to riverside houses and store?, etc., is reported, and a quantity of timber and valuable material, belonging to the various gold-mining companies, have also boen lost. The Paeroa-Owharoa road is totally impassable for slips and lost culverts, etc., and a lot of minor damage is reported in the back country. I should say £1000 would not cover the damage suhtained in the county.—(Own correspondent.) __