Slips and evacuations as parts of Wellington mark second-wettest day on record
Sunday, 13 February 2022
Wellington has recorded its wettest-ever February day – and second-wettest day on record – as torrential rain brings down slips, floods areas, and brings trees down.
A large slip on State Highway 2 near Melling in Lower Hutt has blocked the north-bound lane of the highway with diversions in place and a home above now near to the slip’s edge.
All Cook Strait ferry sailings have been cancelled on the back of forecasts indicating that winds could exceed 100 kmh and swells of 5 metres.
At Holloway Rd – a narrow valley road at the top of Aro Valley near central Wellington – a large slip is blocking the road and Russell Taylor, who had lived there since 1979, had not seen rain nor damage like it.
**READ MORE:
* Weather live: Wet weather expected around the country as brunt of Cyclone Dovi rolls in
* Severe rain, wind and wave warnings in place as Cyclone Dovi approaches
**
Residents were up sandbagging a house in the middle of the night, while another Holloway Rd home was flooded and one nearby had a slip come down behind it, he said.
Another large slip was brought down at Cluny Rd in Plimmerton trapping a vehicle beneath. Four houses above were evacuated, Porirua Mayor Anita Baker said.
The remnants of Cyclone Dovi were moving across the central North Island on Sunday morning and afternoon, then away to the southeast, MetService said. The weather system is causing troubles around the country, including Auckland, Taranaki, and Northland.
MetService meteorologist Peter Little said Kelburn in Wellington recorded its second-wettest day in the 24 hours to 9am Sunday. This station has been in operation for nearly a century. Wellington Airport also recorded its second-wettest day (116.1 mm) since records began there in 1960.
It was also the wettest-ever-February day since records began.
Mt Kaukau above Wellington recorded a wind gust of 148kmh shortly before midday on Sunday, while Karori Rock next to the Cook Strait recorded 120kmh, and Kelburn recorded a 111kmh gust.
Wellington City Council spokesman Richard Maclean said a slip had come down into an Evans Bay home and a tree had gone through the rear of the house.
Barnard St in Wadestown had a slip with a retaining wall leaning on a house, while a house in Houghton Bay on the south coast was evacuated due to a slip.There were also slips in Hornsey and Melrose.
The Southern Landfill was now closed due to slips and flooding, and there were reports that roads in Makara and Ohariu Valley were blocked by flooding.
MacLean said the council’s contractors were “racing from one job to another” and the best advice would be that people should stay at home unless they absolutely had to travel.
MetService issued updated severe weather warnings at 9.31am Sunday. The heavy rain and strong wind warnings and watches are extensive, but a heavy rain watch has been lifted for Waitomo and Taumarunui, as rain is no longer expected to approach warning amounts in those areas.
Warnings and watches for heavy rain and severe gales are in force for many places.
A Houghton Bay home has also been damaged by a landslide this morning.
About 3.30am in the Wairarapa, a man was rescued after his vehicle became trapped in deep water flooding on Kokotau Rd in Carterton.
He was able to get out of the vehicle and was not injured, police said.
Fire and Emergency shift manager Jill Webley said at least two homes were evacuated overnight due to a slip in Plimmerton.
What you need to know / Kia mōhio mai koe:
The remnants of Tropical Cyclone Dovi are crossing the North Island on Sunday.
The Auckland Harbour Bridge was closed about 9.30am Sunday due to heavy winds.
Weather watches and warnings are in place for severe gales and heavy rain which is expected across many northern and central areas during Sunday.
State Highway 1 is closed between Kaikōura to Waipara due to slips. A detour is in place.* Several homes in Plimmerton have been evacuated in Wellington due to slips overnight.
Northbound lanes on SH2 in Lower Hutt are blocked after a slip in the area.
Northland police are urging people to stay home today after winds brought down trees throughout the region.