We had very heavy rain the other night and the drumming on the roof reminded me of the rains in Africa. That's not to say the rains were all that remarkable, in fact here in New Zealand on the Southwest corner of the South Island (Fiordland) the annual rainfall ranks one of the highest in the world!
One evening we spent with Mo & Jo in Ilboru and we were aware that the rain was very heavy and looking outside we could see that water was rising around the house. Mo & Jo had not seen this in the five years they had lived there and I made the decision to head of the Makumira before the flooding became worse.
The water was above our ankles as we waded to the wee Maruti. The windscreen wipers had difficulty coping with the rain. We waved goodbye and headed down the Ilboru road towards the main road. Water was flowing down the road like a river, lapping the bottom of the car - flowing quite quickly because the road had a gradient [maybe 1:30].
I recalled a time when I crossed a swollen Waianakarua River in the Suzuki LJ50. A light vehicle which was picked up by the flood-waters and floated some way - all ending safely enough. The Maruti was in fact a long wheel base version of the Suzuki.
The main road had not long been upgraded and there were deep water channels built as part of the upgrade - these were full and water charged across the road.
The climb up the Sanawari road was interesting as it is much steeper [1:15] and there were rough channels each side but it was a bit like a waterfall! A dirt road but it was not muddy under the water as there was good grip. From time to time water swept over the bonnet!
We reached our home safely and we were perhaps lucky to do so.
The next day I was supposed to take Joshia and his choir to Likamba and when I drove to his house, I noticed the old house that stood at the bottom of the road to the District offices, had been swept away! I found out later that a woman and her five children died when a wall of water hit their house.
This sort of thing is mentioned in the local paper but people soon forget. It is a tragedy.
One evening we spent with Mo & Jo in Ilboru and we were aware that the rain was very heavy and looking outside we could see that water was rising around the house. Mo & Jo had not seen this in the five years they had lived there and I made the decision to head of the Makumira before the flooding became worse.
The water was above our ankles as we waded to the wee Maruti. The windscreen wipers had difficulty coping with the rain. We waved goodbye and headed down the Ilboru road towards the main road. Water was flowing down the road like a river, lapping the bottom of the car - flowing quite quickly because the road had a gradient [maybe 1:30].
I recalled a time when I crossed a swollen Waianakarua River in the Suzuki LJ50. A light vehicle which was picked up by the flood-waters and floated some way - all ending safely enough. The Maruti was in fact a long wheel base version of the Suzuki.
The main road had not long been upgraded and there were deep water channels built as part of the upgrade - these were full and water charged across the road.
The climb up the Sanawari road was interesting as it is much steeper [1:15] and there were rough channels each side but it was a bit like a waterfall! A dirt road but it was not muddy under the water as there was good grip. From time to time water swept over the bonnet!
We reached our home safely and we were perhaps lucky to do so.
The next day I was supposed to take Joshia and his choir to Likamba and when I drove to his house, I noticed the old house that stood at the bottom of the road to the District offices, had been swept away! I found out later that a woman and her five children died when a wall of water hit their house.
This sort of thing is mentioned in the local paper but people soon forget. It is a tragedy.
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