Emergency scours were closed again yesterday and a five-day health warning was put in place to not swim in the rivers or at the beaches, or eat shellfish taken from the bay.
Warning signs were put back up across the region’s coastline to warn beach users about the extremely dangerous nature of woody debris washing up after the heavy rain.
“It is expected to be weeks, not days, for the remainder of the wood floating in the sea to come ashore,” Gisborne District Council said.
The highest rainfall in the 24 hours to 7am Sunday was 135 millimetres recorded at Waimata at Monowai Bridge .
In the past seven days, 246mm has fallen at Waimata. Of the other seven-day figures from the council’s rain gauges that stand out — 336mm fell at Wharerata at Radio Track Road, Te Puia received 287mm, Hikuwai No 4 Bridge 243mm, Hikuwai Willowflat 209mm, Mangaheia 203mm, Panikau 293mm, Puketoro 246mm and Mangapoike 198mm.
At Gisborne Airport, 152 millimetres was recorded in the past week — well over double the airport’s November average of 64mm.
The Waipaoa River reached seven metres on Saturday night. Evacuation alerts were issued to residents but the river stabilised and it was reported no evacuations were necessary.
Heavy falls in the Waimata catchment had the river in full flow on Sunday, bringing down thousands of tonnes of debris. The William Pettie and Gladstone Road bridges were badly clogged with debris.
Contractors were on the job on Sunday. Two large machines from ISO shifted much of the debris downstream firstly on the William Pettie before shifting to Gladstone Road Bridge.
Around 65 staff from Fulton Hogan, ISO, Downer and Gisborne District Council helped in the removal. High stacker machines were used to dislodge the material.
Witnesses said among the debris were some huge trees that took some shifting.
Debris remained under the bridges yesterday but most of it had been moved downstream, where it built up dramatically under the Railway Bridge.
“A drone was flown over the site yesterday to show the volume and composition of the wood,” Mayor Stoltz said.
“We will be using boats to help dislodge the debris from this bridge, as it cannot hold the weight of the machines.
“This does have the effect of pushing the debris out to sea, and it will wash up on our beaches over the next couple of weeks.”
Waka Kotahi/NZTA said approximately 200 square metres of wood debris was cleared from underneath Gladstone Road Bridge.
The bridge was closed for up to six hours Sunday afternoon while contractors worked to clear the debris.
“There are no concerns about the structural integrity or safety of the bridge,” a spokesman said. “It was crucial contractors cleared the debris from both bridges as quickly as possible to prevent any damage to the bridges and minimise the risk of flooding further upsream.”
Mayor Stoltz said the council had already done a lot of work removing 22,366 m3 woody debris from the Waimata catchment area.
“Yet we saw over the weekend just how much wood still came down the Waimata River and wrapped around and dammed up against three city bridges.
“We learned so much from last time and knew for our community’s peace of mind we had to quickly mobilise the woody debris off our two main traffic bridges as soon as possible,” she said. “We thank everyone who gave up their Sunday to do this.”
Debris that got past the bridges has made its way onto the city beaches, which have been transformed again into massive driftwood fields.
“We’d already planned to do a final sweep of our beaches around December 10. This will go ahead, and talks are underway with Eastland Wood Council as to what their contribution might be,” the Mayor said.
* Crews from Firstlight Network were out in the weather Saturday and Sunday dealing with power outages at Tauwhareparae/Arakihi, Hicks Bay, Matokitoki Valley, Tiniroto, Waikura Valley, Cricklewood Road, Ruakituri/Te Reinga and Bushy Knoll, among others.
“Our teams worked hard all weekend and made steady progress, but unfortunately there were a few challenging faults that they were not be able to fix by Sunday night,” a network spokesman said.
“A total of 37 customers were still off overnight Sunday across Tiniroto, Bushy Knoll, Waikura, Cricklewood and Poututu. Thanks everyone for your patience.”
The network’s faults crews were out again yesterday at first light to restore power to the remaining areas.
“Please keep clear of all lines and treat them as live at all times. To report any issues, or for updates, call our 24/7 faults number on 0800 206 207.”
* The council has again pointed to the need for residents to watch out for land instability.
“Tairāwhiti is fragile,” the council said at the weekend. “There is risk of land movement as there is also the likelihood of slips and drop outs on the roading network.
“Watch out for movement around your homes and report any issues to Council on 0800 653 800 27/4.”
* The region’s Civil Defence teams were mobilised at the weekend.
“A huge thank you to all our Community Links Civil Defence volunteer groups, emergency services and roading contractors who operated around the clock with our TEMO (Tairawhiti Emergency Management Office) team to monitor and connect our communities,” Civil Defence said in a social media post.
“It is a big ask for all the often unseen people to leave their families to head out to support the safety of others and we really appreciate all you do.”
* Harbourmaster Peter Buell asks anyone out on the water over the next few weeks to travel at a safe speed and keep a good lookout for floating logs and debris, as they can sometimes be just under the water.
* District council staff were up in a helicopter yesterday to see the damage from the air and what woody debris has mobilised.
Council principal scientist Dr Murry Cave said the landslide dam at Tauwhareparae breached over the weekend and water was flowing freely through it.
Dr Cave said large logs covered in sediment were still under Gladstone Road Bridge from Cyclone Gabrielle.
“Specialist divers from the Bay of Plenty will assist us remove these by attaching a chain in order to haul them out.”
It was estimated that $117m was still needed to remove woody debris from up in the hills and around the region’s road and bridge network, he said.
“The council doesn’t have these funds and we’ve asked the Government to help us be proactive around future risks and ensure we protect our vital infrastructure.”
