Flooding, slips hit as 'river of rain' spreads over Tasman
Wednesday, 17 August 2022
- A State of Emergency has been declared in Nelson Tasman
70 homes are being evacuated in the Maitai Valley north of the Nile St bridge towards the golf club
A welfare centre has been set up at Saxton Field
Heavy rain from an ‘atmospheric river’ has been falling in Nelson-Tasman and will continue until Thursday evening
Some residents at Paines Ford in Golden Bay have been evacuated
Nelson Tasman Civil Defence Emergency Management activated its Emergency Operations Centre at Richmond on Wednesday morning to monitor and manage the response to the event
There are slips, road closures and surface flooding in Golden Bay, Richmond and SH6 from Rai Valley to Hira
The MetService has issued orange warnings for Nelson and Tasman, and red warnings for Buller and Westland
Residents should avoid unnecessary travel
A State of Emergency has been declared in Nelson Tasman and homes are being evacuated as a raging Maitai River has breached its banks.
Nelson Tasman Civil Defence Emergency Management at 3.30pm on Wednesday were asking people who live near the river from the Nile St Bridge to the Golf Course to evacuate.
People are being asked to stay with friends and family if they could.
Those with nowhere to stay should head to Saxton Stadium.
Mayor Reese said preparations were underway to look after people who needed to leave their homes.
People were being asked to take pets, essential medications and warm clothing.
Civil Defence is asking people to avoid bridges and rivers.
Roads have closed across Te Tauihu (the top of the south) as heavy rain brings slips, flooding and road closures – and there’s more to come.
In Golden Bay some residents at Paines Ford have been evacuated as river levels rise.
Boulders have fallen from the cliff on Wakefield Quay in central Nelson, rivers are breaking their banks and roads are closing as driving conditions across the region become treacherous.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, a regional state of emergency was declared on the West Coast after a day of heavy rain and rising rivers. A red warning for heavy rain has been issued by MetService for the area.
**READ MORE:
* Weather: West Coasters on high alert for flooding as heavy rain red warning sits over area
* Nelson-Tasman braces for three-day downpour on already sodden ground
* State of emergency declared as West Coast prepares for flooding under red warning
**
Shortly after 1pm on Wednesday, the MetService reported 200-350mm recorded about the ranges of north-west Tasman, 100mm about Rai Valley, 230mm at Franz Josef, and 125mm at Hokitika.
Tasman District Council communications manager Chris Choat said things were remaining steady and the weather was following the forecast.
“People are managing the situation very well.”
However, the weather event was still only half-way through, and things could “dramatically change” within two or three bursts of 25mm.
What you need to know: road closures
Golden Bay:
Tākaka-Collingwood Main Road SH60 is now closed at Waitapu Bridge
Pupu Valley Road closed
Golden Hills Road closed
Abel Tasman Drive closed
Pōhara Valley Road closed
One Spec Road closed
Collingwood Puponga Road closed by Whites Bridge.
We have reported slips above Pohutukawa Place, Pōhara
There is also extensive flooding reported along low reaches of Bartlett Creek and Ellis Creek, Abel Tasman Drive, Pōhara.
Wainui Hill is closed just north of Tata Beach due to slips.
Nelson-Tasman:
There is flooding on SH6 from Rai Valley to Hira, with drivers advised to take care
Rocks Rd is closed and there are boulders on the road from a slip on Wakefield Quay
Atawhai Drive is closed
At 12pm, Nelson City Council said Main Road Stoke (Saxton to Sailsbury) and Maitai Road will close soon
Surface flooding at Appleby Bridge to Three Brothers Corner, Three Brothers Corner to Ranzau Road and Whakatu Drive
Drivers are asked to avoid the Maitai River where flooding has been reported
There are reports of slips on roads in North Nelson that run near the Wakapuaka River
The Montgomery Square carpark entrance from Bridge St is also closed due to flooding.
Reports of stormwater overflow and surface flooding have been received near Nelson Intermediate, Tipahi, Tukuka and Kawai Street South.
Marlborough:
- SH63 at Renwick, between Anglesea St and Alma St is closed due to flooding
Schools sending students home early
Some schools are starting to send students home early.
Nelson College for Girls posted on Facebook that it was starting to send pupils home from 1.15pm “because of the wet weather, adverse road conditions, and rising river levels”.
Victory Primary School also said on its Facebook page that parents could pick up pupils early.
Landslide sends ‘river’ down residential street
A landslide has blocked a culvert at the top of a hill, sending a river of water down Devenish Place in Atawhai.
Terra Firma engineering geologist Rob Hunter lives nearby and said it took just 20 minutes to go from a relatively normal street to a major flood.
'The next minute I heard this rumble and looked outside, and it was just a river.'
He said a landslide up the hill appeared to have blocked a culvert, diverting water onto the road, but the design of the suburb the houses were safe and dry, but until the culvert was cleared anyone not at home would have trouble returning.
Nelson City Council said the situation was “orsening with boulders and rocks sliding down”.
“Staff are on site with a digger.”
Flooding in Nelson
Riverside Pool is closed due to flooding.
Sewage overflow Gloucester St. Staff have been alerted.
Flooding Frenchay Drive Atawhai. Staff have been alerted. Contractors are responding.
Parkers Rd pump station down. Staff have been alerted.
Hanby Park starting to flood. Staff have been alerted.
Evacuations
Erica van Sint Annaland, who lives near Paines Ford outside Tākaka, said she was preparing to leave her property about 9am when police arrived and advised her to go.
Located between the Tākaka and Waingaro rivers, her property had flooded previously.
'We've been there long enough, and with the forecast, we were already prepared [to evacuate] over the last couple of days.'
The Tākaka River had started to break its banks near Paines Ford and the concern was that if nearby residents did not leave now, they might not be able to evacuate easily later, she said.
On the other side of the Paines Ford bridge, towards Tākaka, Tasman District Council Golden Bay ward councillor Celia Butler said her home was elevated and she would be surprised if she was advised to leave.
Butler said she was taken aback by how much water was around, including a stream on her property that had never been so high in the 20-30 years she had lived there.
'Might be because the ground's already soaked,' she said.
Stream breaches its banks
By about 1pm on Wednesday, the Little Sydney Stream had started breaching its banks at multiple spots over Factory Rd near Riwaka, but homes in the area were still dry.
Paddocks on the north side of State Highway 60 on the western outskirts of Riwaka were flooded, almost to the top of fence posts in places, but homes in the area appeared unaffected.
The Motueka River was high where it flowed under the SH60 bridge but had plenty of capacity within its stop banks.
Further west, the Riuwaka River was also running high but not yet breaching its banks.
Property flooding
Waimea Rd resident Simone Thomson has had to sit and watch a foot of water rise up around her home, with no way to prevent it coming into the house if it gets any deeper.
She has recorded 'at least two feet' of water around the house with a 'river' coming down Waimea Rd, and despite the council sending out Nelmac workers she said no one was able to help.
There was a hole about 2 metres deep outside her home thanks to roadworks, which was almost full.
“That’s gone up at least 30cm in the last … maybe 15 minutes,” she said.
“As soon as that hole out road fills the water coming down Waimea Road will flow into our property and I think it will [come into the house] this time.”
Thomson said they had made attempts to drain their yard space and stop water coming into the house, but if those measures didn't help there was nothing much they could do.
“This is meant to go for the next 24 hours. Our whole house will be underwater, because ours is the lowest point and the council doesn’t have sumps or anything down here.
“We get flooded. This is the worst we’ve ever had, and we’re only a few hours in.”
Sewage overflows
People are being urged to steer clear of floodwaters which could be contaminated with raw sewage.
“Severe weather and heavy rain are putting pressure on our wastewater networks across the region,” the Tasman District Council tweeted.
“As a precaution, please treat all surface water as potentially being contaminated with sewage and avoid contact with the immediate areas around pump sites.”
Drive to the conditions
A police spokesperson said there had been a two-car crash reported about 7.30am at the Brightwater Deviation on SH6, near Lord Rutherford Rd. It was unclear if there were any injuries and the southbound lane was blocked, with diversions in place.
People should drive to the conditions, she said.
Tasman District Council spokesman Chris Choat said the situation in Golden Bay was changing rapidly and anyone who didn’t have to travel should stay home.
“The road conditions are so dynamic that surface flooding is beginning to appear everywhere.”
While the rain was focussed on Golden Bay on Wednesday morning it would start spreading over the rest of the region, so people who had to travel should check road conditions before setting off, he said.
Kate Flewellen was driving on Rocks Rd when suddenly the traffic came to a standstill, but it wasn't until a few cars in front of her turned around that she got a clearer view of what was happening.
“I thought it was for water on the road or something but when one of [the cars] turned around it gave me a better view of what was happening. No one wanted to drive through it.”
She said there were trucks stuck on the road when she was there, unable to turn around.
“I was worried about how far along it would extend.”
She said there weren't any other slips or flooding on the alternate routes she took, but she worried how the network would cope with major roadworks on one arterial route and the other one closed.
Aorere River expected to flood
About 9am on Wednesday Nelson Tasman Civil Defence said the forecast rain was “coming to fruition across the Nelson Tasman region”.
“Steady rain is setting in across Golden Bay, particularly in the Aorere Valley where between 22 and 29mm has fallen overnight, and more than 240mm in the last 30 hours.”
The Aorere River had reached a level where Ferntown Rd, near Collingwood, would be flooded this morning.
The Riuwaka River was expected to reach “significantly high levels today”, peaking around 3pm.
The Nelson Tasman CDEM Emergency Operations Centre has been set up in monitoring mode.
“We would like to reiterate that the weather is expected to get worse in the next 24 hours. Please ensure you take all the necessary precautions to prepare for potential hazards to keep your property, yourself and your loved ones safe.”
Overflows from the Tākaka sewage pump stations containing raw sewage should be avoided, they warned.
Golden Bay residents preparing
Chair of the Golden Bay Community Board Abbie Langford said properties in the Tākaka Valley were affected by flooding and some homes east of Tākaka township were cut off by slips.
Most of the paddocks on Langford's Kotinga farm, between the Tākaka River and Anatoki River had water flowing through them, she said.
Water was flowing quite quickly over a road on the property 'at quite a decent depth', Langord said.
'Most properties in the Valley will be affected by this [flooding].'
The coastal settlement of Wainui Bay east of Tākaka, where there were 'quite a few' residences, was 'shut off' after a slip, she said.
'Pohara Creek, I've just had a friend message to say it was almost ready to burst its banks, so that would cut Pohara off if it does that.
'High tide is midday and the rain is forecast for the next, obviously this heavy stuff is forecast for the next two days, so midday will be interesting - and then again I think the next one [high tide] is due about midnight.'
Golden Bay dairy farmer Deborah Rhodes said half the farm's paddocks in Collingwood were underwater.
The farm sits along the Aorere River, which was at six metres at 6am on Wednesday and rising.
The flooding was not expected to be as bad as in 2010 when the river reached 10 metres and water got into the farm's sleepout, but the situation was unpredictable, she said.
“We're expecting that the water is going to cover the whole farm.
“Hopefully it won't come in the house. But we just don't know with this flood because of the intensity of the rainfall over a long period of time.”
The farm on one side of the road was flooded, Rhodes said.
“It [the water] is flowing … so you don't want to ride a quad bike through it because it will take you out.'
“There's a lot of surface water this time because it's driving in from the north, so there's been a lot of rain landed at Collingwood, so all our ditches are full.”
Rhodes had moved cattle to the dairy shed on the highest point on farm, cut fences, sealed low-lying buildings, and secured objects like tables outside.
Golden Bay community board member Grant Knowles said it had been raining steadily all night.
Cars had been passing his home, near Onekaka, on State Highway 60 steadily, a sign that surface flooding hadn't yet closed roads, he said.
However, at high tide things might change: flooding at the Waitapu splash would sever the road connection, cutting off residents from Takaka.
“If this rain continues like it is, there's going to be a problem.”
In Tākaka just before 9am, long-time Golden Bay resident Paul Sangster said there was no wind and the rain, while heavy, was intermittent.
“It's patchy,” Sangster said of the rain. “We'll probably be OK while it's doing that. It's amazing the amount of water that flows down the river.”
Pauses in the rain would help the rivers cope.
‘Atmospheric river’ of rain
On Tuesday the MetService issued an orange warning for parts of Nelson and Tasman, with heavy rain from an “atmospheric river” forecast to steadily fall until about 6pm on Thursday. Parts of Buller and the West Coast have a red warning in place.
On Wednesday morning MetService meteorologist David Miller said the north-west part of the region was being hit hard, with about 130mm of rain having already fallen in Tākaka and Collingwood – most of it in the six hours until 7.45am on Wednesday.
“There’s been some pretty heavy rain overnight and actually in the last few hours … It’s tracking along pretty well at this stage.”
But, while the rain had been falling “steadily” for the past 12 to 18 hours, it wasn’t letting up any time soon, he said.
Get prepared: What you need to know
Plan travel carefully, allow extra time and work from home if you can
Drive to the conditions, or avoid travel
Secure outdoor furniture
Check drains/gutters are clear
Consider filling and placing sandbags – sandbags are not available from councils
If you’re near water or in a low-lying area prepare for flooding
What the MetService forecast says
Tasman west of Motueka: an orange warning until 6pm Thursday. Expect a further 400 to 600 mm of rain to accumulate about the ranges in addition to what has already fallen, and 150 to 250 mm about low-lying areas. Peak rates of 15 to 25 mm/h about the ranges.
Nelson region, including Bryant Range, Richmond Ranges, the Marlborough Sounds and Rai Valley: an orange warning until 9pm Thursday, with 300mm to 500mm expected in the ranges and peak rates of 10mm/h to 20mm/h.
Buller: a red warning until 5pm Thursday. A further 280 to 400mm of rain to accumulate about the ranges south of Little Wanganui on top of what has already fallen, and 150 to 250mm elsewhere. Peak rates of 15 to 20mm/h about the ranges on Wednesday.
Tasman district from Motueka eastwards: a heavy rain watch in place from 1until 6pm Thursday.
Nelson, Tasman and Buller: Wind watch in place until 6am Thursday: northeast winds which could approach severe gale at times.