200 homes were evacuated overnight across Hawke’s Bay and the East Coast. Four hundred homes have been impacted by flooding in Wairoa.
Minister for Emergency Management and Recovery Mark Mitchell spoke to media from Haumoana today, calling the scale of the floods ‘catastrophic’.
The Government is making a contribution of $300,000 to Mayoral Relief Funds to help communities in Hastings, Wairoa and Tairāwhiti.
Waipaoa and Wairoa Rivers surged past danger levels, leading to widespread flood warnings, including emergency mobile alerts.
Roads, including State Highway 35, closed due to flooding and slips.
Heavy rain warnings remain in place until 9pm with more rain expected tomorrow.
A storm-hit East Coast is beginning to emerge from heavy rain and flooding that’s forced hundreds of evacuations and left hundreds of homes without power.
Minister for Emergency Management and Recovery Mark Mitchell was assessing damage in Hawke’s Bay, Wairoa and Tairāwhiti – where more than 200mm of rain has fallen within 24 hours in some places.
Mitchell reported today that 200 homes were evacuated by police overnight in the regions.
“What aggravated the rain was that there was a six-metre swell,” he said.
“The communities of Wairoa, Hastings and Tairāwhiti affected by the weather events of the last 24 hours will need both local and central government support to recover,” Belich said.
“There will also need to be an ongoing commitment to greater resilience in these areas – we must protect these communities as the frequency and severity of events is only set to increase as the climate changes.”
State highways on the North Island’s east coast are this afternoon blocked by flooding and slips leaving coastal communities isolated.
More than two months’ worth of rain has fallen in parts of Tairāwhiti over the past 24 hours with more forecast in coming hours. River flows are forecast to remain extremely high through tonight for many eastern North Island rivers and streams.
In Wairoa, the risk of flooding from a swollen and rising river prompted local officials to order the evacuation of more than 100 people and shut down the town’s sub-stations.
Sandbags have been put in place and residents asked to stay home if they can, with the potential for further flooding throughout the day.
“Crews are out around the region assessing damage to roads, checking river levels and bridges, so please be patient while this is done,” Tairāwhiti Civil Defence told its followers on Facebook.
“If you don’t need to be on the roads, please just stay home.”
Fire and Emergency New Zealand said urban search and rescue teams were travelling to Bridge Pā and then onto Wairoa later today.
As at late morning, nearly 50 people evacuated from Haumoana were sheltering in the seaside Hawke’s Bay settlement’s school hall.
The Wairoa River rose to near Cyclone Bola levels. Photo / Wairoa Incorporated WInc
That followed earlier evacuations across the Tairāwhiti region, where woody debris has piled up at some local bridges.
Gisborne’s Gladstone Rd Bridge remained closed, as was SH38 between Frasertown and Lake Waikaremoana and several other sections of SH2.
Further south, NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) ordered the closure of the State Highway 51 Waitangi Bridge near Awatoto, between Napier and Clive, although there were no concerns about its stability.
As at mid-morning, around 1400 homes across the East Coast were without power, while St John crews had deployed extra resources to hardest-hit areas – particularly around Wairoa and Gisborne.
Debris across the roads of Wairoa. Photo / Wairoa Incorporated WInc
“Safety measures for our staff and the communities we serve remain our highest priority,” St John’s national ambulance operations manager Rosanne Shaw said.
MetService said heavy rain warnings would remain in force along the East Coast today.
