in the City of Melbourne. 5 



alone. The quantity of water that then fell, as indicated 

 by the rain-gauge, was 3 "42 inches in 17 hours ; but it is not 

 the rainfalls of long continuance that are so likely to be 

 mischievous in their effects as the sudden heavy ones, such 

 as that of the 23rd September, 1856, when '92 inches fell 

 in twenty minutes. 



On the 18th February last, a rainfall of *90 inches in two 

 hours did more damage than any other storm that has 

 occurred for many years. From the appearance of the 

 streets I am of opinion that the greater portion of the '90 

 inches fell in a very short period, for on the 16th of the 

 same month 53 inches fell in one hour, without doing much 

 damage, showing that in the latter case the rainfall had 

 been more regular during the one hour. If we may judge 

 by results, the rainfall of the 18th, though distributed over 

 two hours, must have been abnormally heavy during a 

 a portion of that time, as from a return 1 had made for the 

 City Council, I find that the officers of the City Surveyors 

 department reported that damage to the extent of over 

 ^1,100 was done to fourteen miles of streets, exclusive of 

 the injury to private property; and that Swanston and 

 Elizabeth-streets were damaged to the extent of £398. The 

 whole width of Elizabeth-street was covered from Latrobe- 

 street southward, the footpath in some places to a depth of 

 fourteen inches of a swiftly running stream. 



Some idea of fche depth of water in the street-channels in 

 Elizabeth-street may be formed from the fact that the level 

 of the centre of Elizabeth -street opposite the centre of 

 Bourke-street is nearly two feet (1*97) higher than the 

 bottom of the channel, and yet the centre of Elizabeth- 

 street was covered to a varying depth of from two to nine 

 inches. 



At the Post Office Hotel, corner of Little Bourke and 

 Elizabeth-streets the water ran in at the front door, filled 

 the cellar, and ran out at the side doors in Little Bourke- 

 street ; in the hotel it attained the level of the first step of 

 the stair leading to the first floor. 



The damage done by these heavy floods in Elizabeth- 

 street is greatly augmented by the overflow from Swanston- 

 street, the whole of which enters the Elizabeth -street 

 channels at rio-ht angles, and the swift current in Elizabeth- 

 street has the effect of ponding back the water, and thus 

 further increasing the damage. On the 18th February, the 

 water on the north side of Collins-street (as surveyed by 



