Weekend rain bursts inflict widespread damage in Tairāwhiti

Following cyclone Gabrielle, and before this latest rain event Gisborne District Council had posted this list of roading damage to be tackled. Image supplied

More rain, more flooding, more damage . . . the latest rain has inflicted more of everything the district does not want.

The Gisborne-East Coast roading network now could hardly be called that as a monumental amount of damage has made road travel for many of the region’s residents an impossibility.

By this morning, Gisborne District council’s list of roading damage had reached a staggering 240 roading restrictions of which 84 were complete closures.

Only a few days ago the road restrictions list had been brought down to numbering in the 60s.

Many roads have multiple listings with damage of various sorts along their length and access across the region is virtually non-existent with other roads cut off because of damage elsewhere.

Two bursts of heavy rain over Saturday and Sunday caused widespread surface flooding and land movement everywhere as a result of soils being saturated from cyclones Hale and Gabrielle, and other lesser rain events.

The list of problems to be tackled range from bridge washouts, trees down, landslides and danger from falling debris to slips, subsidences and other forms of obstruction.

MetService’s orange heavy rain warning was lifted and the forecast is for the weather to slowly clear away to the east, but persistent rain through Sunday night and into Monday meant the saturated land has been unable to drain quickly.

Rainfall measurements for the period show the steep ranges at either end of the district have had the biggest totals, with the lower hill country and Gisborne having at least 70 to 100 millimetres or more.

The Wharerata range south of the city had had around 250mm by midday yesterday, but the Wairoa district escaped the heavy falls further north.

Inland from Tolaga Bay, Mangaheia had over 120mm to mid-yesterday morning, while Te Puia township and the Waikura Valley at the top of East Cape had similar amounts.

During the heaviest downpours, the district council gauge in the Whareratas recorded 26.6 mm in just one hour — between 1pm and 2pm — on Saturday afternoon.

Rivers around the region all rose but did not reach alert levels.

However, the flood-prone Hikuwai River at Tolaga Bay did get to a peak of just over 6.5 metres — its third highest peak this year.