logo
Residents advised to remain cautious after floods

Residents advised to remain cautious after floods

Otago Daily Times19 hours ago

Waihopai and Wairau rivers. Photo: Webcam/Marlborough District Council
A Civil Defence controller for Nelson/Tasman has urged residents to be cautious and vigilant of their surroundings after flooding this weekend.
Waters are receding, but the region remains under a state of emergency.
Controller Rob Smith advised people to be careful as they continued clearing up.
On Saturday, police said a person cleaning up died after being hit by a falling tree.
A Civil Defence information hub was open in Motueka to provide any assistance.
Civil Defence Minister Mark Mitchell will be surveying flood-affected areas today.
Meanwhile, Marlborough Emergency Management said last night it was transitioning to a recovery phase, now that the worst of the wet weather had passed.
Mayor Nadine Taylor said there was ongoing roading damage and surface flooding but that would be addressed by individual agencies.
The spring creek stop banks mostly held up and the council's flood protection team would immediately begin fixing a compromised stop bank at the Waihopai/Wairau rivers, she said.
Meanwhile, snow and heavy rain warnings for Otago, Clutha and Southland were lifted shortly after 8pm yesterday.
MetService had no weather warning or watches in place across the country this morning.

Hashtags

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

More heavy rain on the way for flooded regions
More heavy rain on the way for flooded regions

Otago Daily Times

time10 hours ago

  • Otago Daily Times

More heavy rain on the way for flooded regions

The storm-battered Tasman and Nelson area is now having to prepare for more heavy rain on Thursday and Friday. It comes as the area is cleaning up after heavy rain on Friday and Saturday. RNZ journalist Samantha Gee was part of a group - including Minister for Emergency Management Mark Mitchell - which surveyed the damage by helicopter. The worst affected area appeared to be the township of Kohatu, beside the Motueka River, and across to Quinney's Bush, she said. The flooding has left one person dead, and caused damage across the Motukea Valley, stock losses and road closures. Following the helicopter survey on Sunday afternoon, Civil Defence controller for the area Alec Louverdis told reporters staff were being prepared for another bout of rain. "Unfortunately it is not just the response but we are looking ahead to Thursday and Friday with the news that we can expect some very high rainfall. "It is the last thing we wanted to hear but something we are preparing for." The locality of Kohatu, beside the Motueka River, near Quinney's Bush, remained one of the worst hit areas. State Highway 6 through the area was closed. Two other roads had re-opened - State highway 63 in Marlborough and the Wakefield Street to St Arnaud route, Louverdis said. Parts of the area, though, were experiencing problems with cellular coverage, especially Wakefield, Street Arnaud and Richmond, after slips took out parts of the fibre optic cable. Chorus today said it had managed to restore some connections around St Arnaud, but Louverdis said other parts of the connection had been badly hit and Civil Defence was trying to get Starlink connections for some people affected. Tasman's deputy mayor Stuart Bryant - who was also present in the helicopter on Sunday - told reporters damage to the Motueka Valley was more extensive than could be seen from the ground. "Most of the damage progressively gets worse as you go up the Motueka Valley until you get the Wangapeka confluence, [there's a] severely damaged hop farm and sheep and beef farm there with lots of damaged fence, lots of gravel across the paddocks," Bryant said. Rain radar During this afternoon's press conference, Mitchell said a rain radar for the top of the South Island was a priority. Nelson's closest rain radar is in Wellington and the next is further south in Westland, limiting the region's access to accurate weather data. Mitchell said he would look at rectifying that. "Definitely we're talking about a rain radar, I'm very motivated to try and progress that as quickly as we can because it's obvious that it can provide more early warning for the decision makers," he said. "The other thing we're doing is we're bringing NIWA and MetService together and quite simply the reason we're doing that is so we can provide much better data and a much better product out to the regions, the CDEM teams and the mayors." Damage assessments are continuing across the region Anyone with any worries or issues should contact the Civil Defence community hub set up in the Motueka Rec Centre.

Tasman, Nelson to prepare for more heavy rain following flooding
Tasman, Nelson to prepare for more heavy rain following flooding

Otago Daily Times

time10 hours ago

  • Otago Daily Times

Tasman, Nelson to prepare for more heavy rain following flooding

The storm-battered Tasman and Nelson area is now having to prepare for more heavy rain on Thursday and Friday. It comes as the area is cleaning up after heavy rain on Friday and Saturday. RNZ journalist Samantha Gee was part of a group - including Minister for Emergency Management Mark Mitchell - which surveyed the damage by helicopter. The worst affected area appeared to be the township of Kohatu, beside the Motueka River, and across to Quinney's Bush, she said. The flooding has left one person dead, and caused damage across the Motukea Valley, stock losses and road closures. Following the helicopter survey on Sunday afternoon, Civil Defence controller for the area Alec Louverdis told reporters staff were being prepared for another bout of rain. "Unfortunately it is not just the response but we are looking ahead to Thursday and Friday with the news that we can expect some very high rainfall. "It is the last thing we wanted to hear but something we are preparing for." The locality of Kohatu, beside the Motueka River, near Quinney's Bush, remained one of the worst hit areas. State Highway 6 through the area was closed. Two other roads had re-opened - State highway 63 in Marlborough and the Wakefield Street to St Arnaud route, Louverdis said. Parts of the area, though, were experiencing problems with cellular coverage, especially Wakefield, Street Arnaud and Richmond, after slips took out parts of the fibre optic cable. Chorus today said it had managed to restore some connections around St Arnaud, but Louverdis said other parts of the connection had been badly hit and Civil Defence was trying to get Starlink connections for some people affected. Tasman's deputy mayor Stuart Bryant - who was also present in the helicopter on Sunday - told reporters damage to the Motueka Valley was more extensive than could be seen from the ground. "Most of the damage progressively gets worse as you go up the Motueka Valley until you get the Wangapeka confluence, [there's a] severely damaged hop farm and sheep and beef farm there with lots of damaged fence, lots of gravel across the paddocks," Bryant said. Rain radar During this afternoon's press conference, Mitchell said a rain radar for the top of the South Island was a priority. Nelson's closest rain radar is in Wellington and the next is further south in Westland, limiting the region's access to accurate weather data. Mitchell said he would look at rectifying that. "Definitely we're talking about a rain radar, I'm very motivated to try and progress that as quickly as we can because it's obvious that it can provide more early warning for the decision makers," he said. "The other thing we're doing is we're bringing NIWA and MetService together and quite simply the reason we're doing that is so we can provide much better data and a much better product out to the regions, the CDEM teams and the mayors." Damage assessments are continuing across the region Anyone with any worries or issues should contact the Civil Defence community hub set up in the Motueka Rec Centre.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store