Date: October 13, 1934

Location: St. John’s

Easting: 370000

Northing: 5266500

Latitude: 47° 34′ 00″ N

Longitude: 52° 44′ 00″ W

Fatalities: 0

Injuries: 0

Source: Western Star Oct 17, 1934, Evening Telegram

On October 12th 1934, a heavy rainstorm struck St. John’s, with rain falling continuously from Friday evening through to Saturday night (the 13th). The “Southside Hill” area was worst affected, and in the words of the Evening Telegram reporter “several families on the Southside Road near the junction with Blackhead Road were in terror and had to leave their houses”. Large quantities of soil, including large boulders were washed downslope. The houses of Mrs. Burridge and Mrs. Pittman were badly affected by the material washed downslope, but fortunately the only fatalities were several of Mrs. Pittman’s chickens when her chicken coop was washed into the Waterford River (the exact location of these houses is unknown at present). The train tracks were blocked by landslides over at least 40 m, and passengers arriving in St. John’s had to detrain at Waterford Bridge, and were conveyed to town by taxi. In the Quarry Bridge area (near Bowring Park), the road was washed out, and a 15 ton boulder was dislodged, and rolled down hill, fortunately with no damage caused.