A flash flood on the Waiau Stream at Kopuawhara in New Zealand on 19 February 1938 destroyed a railway construction workers camp killing 20 men and one woman, Martha Quinn. [1] [2]
A flash flood on the Waiau Stream at Kopuawhara in New Zealand on 19 February 1938 destroyed a railway construction workers camp killing 20 men and one woman, Martha Quinn. [1] [2]
During the construction of the Napier-Gisborne Railway line a workers camp (Camp no. 4) had been established on the banks of the Waiau Stream (also known as Kopuawhara Stream) in the Kopuawhara Valley at Kaiangapiri near Mahia. Houses had been built for married men on higher ground and the 47 single men's huts and cookhouse were built lower down closer to the stream. [1] [3]
The Waiau Stream had been at flood level on 19 February when a 5 metres (16 ft) high wall of water caused by a cloudburst surged down the stream hitting the camp at 3:00 am. A workman saw the flood waters pouring into the camp site and attempted to raise the alarm before being swept away. Those who did wake attempted to take refuge on the roofs of their huts but most of the huts were destroyed by the floodwater. Those who climbed onto the roof of the cookhouse survived even though it partially collapsed. About 11 men took refuge in one of the work trucks but the waters overturned it and they were swept away. One bonnet of a vehicle was eventually found 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) downstream. [1] [4]
No. 2 camp was about 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) further downstream where 47 more workers were staying. Fortunately, the alarm was raised early enough for them to reach higher ground. The only other casualty in the area was a man at Boyd's Camp by the Maraetaha Stream at the Gisborne end of the railway line. [4]
The rain gauges in the Kopuawhara area had registered 8 inches of rain the day before the disaster and 20 inches within 10 hours prior to the flash flood. [5] The flow in the Waiau stream was calculated as having reached 33,900 cusecs. A fortnight later the stream had a flow of 22 cusecs. [6] This event exceeded the 150-year rainfall return period. [7]
An inquest was held into the disaster. At the inquest John Victor Haskell, a railways construction engineer said he had selected the camp site after a year's observation and on-site inspections. He had found that there was no evidence of flood waters ever being less than 6 feet below the lowest areas of the site. Onslow Garth Thornton, District Engineer of the Public Works Department told the inquest that the normal flow for the stream was 27 cusecs, and the stream channel had a capacity of 13,728 cusecs. The catchment area for the stream was 12.64 square miles. At a one-foot flood level it would have a flow of 16,932 cusecs. He described the flow of the flash flood as unprecedented and well beyond the worst he had seen in the area even at times with heavier rainfall. [8]
After an extensive search, only two bodies remained missing, Ivan Martinac and Roderick Douglas Neish. [9] [10]
Compensation was paid by the Government to the families of those who lost their lives. [11]
A mass grave for 11 of those killed is in the Wairoa cemetery, with the remaining workers being buried in their respective hometowns. [2]
In 1942, a monument to the flood victims was put up on the high ground above the river. [4]
A flood is an overflow of water that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrology and are of significant concern in agriculture, civil engineering and public health. Human changes to the environment often increase the intensity and frequency of flooding, for example land use changes such as deforestation and removal of wetlands, changes in waterway course or flood controls such as with levees, and larger environmental issues such as climate change and sea level rise. In particular climate change's increased rainfall and extreme weather events increases the severity of other causes for flooding, resulting in more intense floods and increased flood risk.
A cloudburst is an extreme amount of precipitation in a short period of time, sometimes accompanied by hail and thunder, which is capable of creating flood conditions. Cloudbursts can quickly dump large amounts of water, e.g. 25 mm of the precipitation corresponds to 25,000 metric tons per square kilometre. However, cloudbursts are infrequent as they occur only via the orographic lift or occasionally when a warm air parcel mixes with cooler air, resulting in sudden condensation. At times, a large amount of runoff from higher elevations is mistakenly conflated with a cloudburst. The term "cloudburst" arose from the notion that clouds were akin to water balloons and could burst, resulting in rapid precipitation. Though this idea has since been disproven, the term remains in use.
The Clarence River is a major river which flows through the Kaikōura Ranges in the northeast of New Zealand's South Island. At roughly 209 kilometres (130 mi) long, it is the longest river in Canterbury and the eighth longest in New Zealand.
The 1938 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament's 26th term. It resulted in the governing Labour Party being re-elected, although the newly founded National Party gained a certain amount of ground.
The following lists events that happened during 1938 in New Zealand.
A flash flood warning is a severe weather warning product of the National Weather Service that is issued by national weather forecasting agencies throughout the world to alert the public that a flash flood is imminent or occurring in the warned area. A flash flood is a sudden, violent flood after a heavy rain, or occasionally after a dam break. Rainfall intensity and duration, topography, soil conditions, and ground cover contribute to flash flooding.
The Auckland Rugby League competition has been competed for since 1909 when the first organised match was played between North Shore and City Rovers. The following year an official champion was crowned for the first time, namely the City Rovers club who won the 1910 1st Grade title and were one of the 4 original teams at that time. Over the following 110 years many team and individual trophies have been awarded. The following is a list of the clubs and individuals that they have been awarded to at the premier-grade level.
The Monowai Power Station, fed by the Monowai River from Lake Monowai in Southland, New Zealand, was one of the earliest hydroelectric power stations in the country. Originally commissioned in 1925, it was refurbished between 2005 and 2007 and now contains modern turbines and plant, though the original buildings are still in use.
The Ūawa River is a river in the Gisborne Region of New Zealand. The river drains an area of consisting of predominately managed forestry land northwest of Tolaga Bay. The river flows out into the Pacific at Tolaga Bay. The river is prone to flooding and has had significant issues with forestry slash.
The 2010 Ladakh floods occurred on 6 August 2010 across a large part of Ladakh, then part of the state of Jammu and Kashmir. 71 towns and villages were damaged, including the main town in the area, Leh. At least 255 people are reported to have died, six of whom were foreign tourists, after a cloudburst and heavy overnight rains triggered flash floods, mudflows, and debris flows. 200 people were reported missing in the initial aftermath of the storm, and thousands more were rendered homeless after the flooding caused extensive damage to property and infrastructure. Overall, 9000 people were directly affected by the event.
On 23 July 2001, Islamabad experienced a record breaking 620 millimetres (24 in) of rainfall, which was the 24 hours heaviest rainfall in Pakistan during the past 100 years. Continuous downpour lasted for about 10 hours from 0600 to 1600 PST in Islamabad and Rawalpindi, caused the worst ever Flash flood in the local stream called Nulla Lai and its tributaries of Rawalpindi, which not only flood the low-lying areas of the twin cities but swept away the banks of the stream and buildings built in the encroachments. Islamabad's twin city, Rawalpindi experienced 335 millimetres (13.2 in) of rain during this event.
The 26th New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand Parliament. It was elected at the 1938 general election in October of that year.
The flash flood guidance system (FFGS) was designed and developed by the Hydrologic Research Center, a non-profit public-benefit corporation located in San Diego, CA, US, for use by meteorological and hydrologic forecasters throughout the world. The primary purpose of the FFGS is to provide operational forecasters and disaster management agencies with real-time information pertaining to the threat of small-scale flash flooding throughout a specified region.
The 1920 Louth flood was a severe flash flooding event in the Lincolnshire market town of Louth which occurred 29 May 1920, resulting in 23 fatalities in 20 minutes. It has been described as one of the most significant flood disasters in Britain and Ireland during the 20th century.
Floods in Colorado include the flood of 1844 which filled the South Platte valley from "bluff to bluff" to the recent Denver floods of 1965 and the 2013 Colorado floods.
Raymond Victor Lawless was a rugby league player who represented New Zealand in 2 tests in 1932 and 1 test in 1935 against England and Australia respectively. In the process he became the 222nd New Zealand representative.
Dick Smith was a rugby league player who represented New Zealand in one test match in 1932 against England on the wing. In the process he became the 218th player to represent New Zealand. He also played rugby league for Auckland. He was a member of the North Shore Albions, and the Newton Rangers clubs. His brother was Jack Smith, the New Zealand rugby league representative of the late 1930s, they were both the nephews of the well known sportsman of the 1890s-1910s George Smith.
Rangitāwhana Chase was a rugby league player. He represented the New Zealand rugby league team in 10 matches from 1937 to 1938. In the process he became the 248th player to represent New Zealand. He also represented New Zealand Māori against Australia, as well as the North Island and Auckland. He played his club rugby league in Auckland for the Manukau side. He also represented Whanganui in rugby union and played for the Huia club, as well as making representative appearances for several sub union sides.
