Hawke's Bay deluge lets Hastings off lightly

Below Chesterhope bridge the floodwaters had expanded out over walking tracks. Photo / Paul Tayor

It was a mixed bag of calamity and little mercy late last week for Hawke's Bay as it counted the costs of one of its biggest March rainfalls - and looked forward to possibly another week of it.

With 200mm-plus, three- to four-day downpours common throughout the length and breadth of Hawke's Bay, and more than 300mm in Urewera country and in the foothills of the Ruahine range, the biggest impacts were being felt in northern and Central Hawke's Bay.

The Ngaruroro River in full flood at Chesterhope Bridge. Photo / Paul Taylor

Heavy rain warnings were still in place for much of Hawke's Bay through the weekend and localised longer-range forecasts for most of Hawke's Bay were for rain through the week to at least next Saturday.

The impact on Hastings varied across the district – on average we had about 100mm of rain in the city area over the two days, but some of our rural areas had up to 240mm.

Hastings District mayor Sandra Hazlehurst said "Our growers have felt the effect of the rain on their crops.

Heavy swells were smashing the shoreline at Te Awanga.

"We are in the middle of our harvest in Hastings. I have heard from our growers a large volume of squash is underwater and ruined and the strawberry season finished early as crops are underwater. Our thoughts go out to them dealing with this event in the middle of a challenging season for our horticulture sector with labour shortages, shipping, floods and Covid affecting international markets."

Rural roads suffered more than urban areas, with slips and trees causing roads to be closed in various areas such as Waipatiki and Taihape Roads. Council crews were out clearing these roads and inspecting others as the time and weather allowed.

Hawke's Bay Today reporter James Pocock, about to get dampened by a Te Awanga wave. Photo / Warren Buckland

"The weather also had an impact on our wastewater and stormwater networks, which required careful management by our teams to ensure they continued operating," mayor Hazlehurst said. "Fortunately for Hastings, this weather passed through without the terrible consequences we've seen for the Tairāwhiti region, but it's a reminder that these kind of events are likely to become more frequent and with increasing severity.

Water on Hastings' Caroline Rd had little way of escaping. Photo / Loret Reeves

"It reinforces the importance of keeping up with the work we do in preparation, from regular cleaning and maintenance of drainage and guttering to the bigger issues of working with Civil Defence to empower the community to respond and manage their way through such events. Climate change is very real with the frequency of these big storm events. We all need to do our bit to mitigate our impact on climate change."

Rowing skiffs afloat, where they're meant to be on dry land beside the Clive River.

According to Hawke's Bay Regional Council rain station figures, the most rain in Hawke's Bay for the week was at Moorcock in the Ruahine Range, where there had been 342mm by mid-afternoon Friday and still counting, with over 20mm during the day.

In Urewera country in the inland extremities of Northern Hawke's Bay, there had been just under 300mm at Aniwaniwa. It was about the same closer to Wairoa at Ruakituri, impacting the Wairoa River, while there had been 245mm at Glengarry, west of Napier, and 200mm or more at several sites as far south as Pōrangahau and Mangaorapa.

Council workers clearing a ford on Soldiers Settlement Rd in Rissington.

Central Napier had 122mm in five days, and 131mm fell at Bridge Pa, near Hastings.

Heavy seas had come from the east, hitting areas normally sheltered from the more common southerly swells and also the more commonly pounded coast between Haumoana and Clifton, on the bay side of Cape Kidnappers.