Several roads in Taranaki remain closed after the region was hit by “high-intensity” rainfall yesterday.
The region experienced multiple severe thunderstorm warnings yesterday, with a deluge of rainfall causing surface flooding. According to MetService, some parts of the region experienced 280mm of rain near Taranaki Maunga.
The forecaster expected rain to continue, with morning showers becoming widespread and severe, likely accompanied by hail, from this afternoon. A few thunderstorms were possible about and north of Taranaki.
The southbound lane on SH3 at Mt Messenger, SH3 Awakino Gorge between Oha St and Papakauri Rd, SH43 Forgotten World Highway between Whangamomona and Taumarunui, and SH4 Whanganui to Raetihi were all closed as of 12.45pm.
Crews were on site at SH43 and at Awakino Gorge, working to clear slips and debris.
The southbound lane of SH3 at Mt Messenger would be closed over the weekend as geotechnical experts examined the slip below the road.
NZTA said it was aware of potholes caused by the rain, and crews were monitoring all sites to assess and look for further damage.
“Please drive carefully if you must travel. NZTA is reminding people to take care and be alert for other areas with flooding or debris,” the agency said.
Watch on TVNZ+: Hail risk as thunderstorms forecast for most of the North Island
Rain gauge overwhelmed by deluge — Mayor
On Breakfast this morning, New Plymouth District Mayor Neil Holdom described yesterday as “really wet”. He said that one rain gauge, on Vickers Rd, stopped reading the levels because it was underwater.
He described the rainfall as being “short duration, high intensity”, which hadn’t been highly disruptive, with flooding on the roads trapping a few people. Nobody needed to be rehomed because of the weather.
“We’re fortunate the rain has now dissipated, and it’s just waiting for the sun to come up and look to clean up the mess.”
Holdom said he had not heard any reports of further damage overnight, but was preparing for more rain today and tomorrow.
“We’re just waiting to see what life throws at us this morning.”
He said the region was used to rain, and flooding cleared out reasonably quickly. He expected the most damage to be slips, meaning a significant clean up would be necessary to clear the roads.
“I think there will be a few days of significant work, but we’re fortunate in that the region is well used to rain, and generally it dissipates pretty quickly.”
He asked locals to travel only when necessary and drive to the conditions.
Wairoa district was under a heavy rain watch for 12 hours between 4pm today and 4am tomorrow.
A previous watch for the top of the South Island had since been lifted.
SH6 Rocks Rd in Nelson was closed on Friday morning to all vehicles, cyclists, and pedestrians between Bisley Ave and Richardson Ave due to a slip.
Who got the most rain yesterday?
MetService’s head of weather news, Heather Keats, told Breakfast yesterday that rain was mostly in the ranges, and was not as bad as what the top of the South Island experienced last week.
She said Taranaki got the most rain, with Dawson Falls receiving 280mm of rain.
“That’s a lot of rain.”
Eastern Bay of Plenty received an “absolute hammering”. Raukumara got 164mm, Waikura got 120mm, and the Coromandel Ranges up at the pinnacles received 119mm of rain.
“And look, that rain has got to go somewhere, right? It falls and it comes out to the sea eventually, it’s got to go through those catchments, it’s got to go through those rivers.”
MetService’s Heather Keats joined Breakfast to run through how much rain New Zealand was hit by yesterday. (Source: 1News)
She said there was “quite a bit” of rain but the totals over the north-west of the South Island, which was hit hard by storms and floods last week, were not as bad.
“But, because that environment is still vulnerable, it has had an impact.”
She said things looked to improve for the rest of the day, as the front weakened.
She said there was still a risk of thunderstorms for a “massive part” of the North Island, including Taranaki, Auckland, the Coromandel, Waikato, Northland and the top of the South Island.
The main risk this afternoon and evening would be thunderstorms likely to produce hail.
A few showers were expected tomorrow, but Sunday looked “much better”.
Govt to assist worst-hit regions
Emergency Management Minister Mark Mitchell said he would soon travel to the Nelson Tasman region to assess damage after two bouts of heavy rain in a week. (Source: 1News)
Emergency Management Minister Mark Mitchell said he would visit Nelson-Tasman today or within the next couple of days to assess the impact of the weather on the region.
He said Nelson, Tasman, and Marlborough were transitioning out of their local states of emergency today.
“The worst of the weather has come through, and of course, fully engages in a recovery phase now”.
Central Government would assist in the recovery in the worst-hit regions, Mitchell said.
How does the weather look for the weekend?
Looking to tomorrow, the North Island was likely to experience showers for most, with some possibly being heavy. It would ease in the west later.
The South Island would be mostly cloudy with occasional showers becoming fine in Fordland and Westland later.
On Sunday, the North Island was expected to see showers becoming confined to the east and south, clearing elsewhere.
In the South Island, showers were expected from Buller to northern Westland, with cloudy periods elsewhere and isolated showers gradually clearing.
