Flooding, slips and fallen trees: Contractors battle impact of foul weather across Wellington

The slip this morning. Photo / Nick James

Most residents evacuated from The Terrace in Wellington are allowed to return to their homes today after a large slip tumbled onto the road beneath their properties.

However, two houses directly above the landslide are still not allowed to be occupied, Wellington City Council spokesman Richard MacLean said this afternoon.

One of them will be issued with an insanitary notice because its sewer connection has been broken.

The other will be issued with a dangerous notice as its foundations have been compromised.

"The respective owners of these houses have engaged their insurers, who will progress resolving the issues long-term with them," MacLean said.

"The council will assist owners where possible through that process."

Wellington City Council chief infrastructure officer Siobhan Procter said about 50 cubic metres of earth fell onto the southern end of The Terrace in wet weather yesterday, breaching the concrete retaining wall.

Twelve houses were evacuated, she said.

Several of these properties were evacuated because of concerns at least one large tree would fall from the slope affected by the slip.

But staff and geotech engineers have subsequently said the trees were not in danger of falling.

Procter said there have been 11 slips so far today - but this one was by far the worst.

Seatoun Tunnel has closed due to a fallen tree, and motorists are asked to avoid the area. A police spokesperson said they were notified of the issues at 12.40pm, and the tunnel will be closed until further notice.

Earlier this morning, Wellington City Council spokesman Richard Maclean told the Herald there was a large slip in Horokiwi which blocked two lanes and threatened to cut the suburb off from the rest of the city.

There has been a large slip near 350 The Terrace between Buller Street and Ghuznee Street and this section of the road is closed.

Please take care when traveling home tonight as there are several slips currently being responded to around the city due to the heavy rain. pic.twitter.com/ryLB3bMSar

— Wellington City Council (@WgtnCC) August 8, 2022

Luckily, motorists were able to get through this morning.

There is traffic management on State Highway 2 Remutaka Hill Rd as contractors work to clear slips. Motorists are asked to take extra care, and expect delays.

A slip has also impacted trains, with services between Wellington and Johnsonville being replaced by buses on a half-hourly basis.

Greater Wellington Regional councillor Thomas Nash told the Herald he thinks the council needs to update its repair and maintenance schedule to ensure the city's ageing retaining walls are up to scratch for the incoming severe weather.

"With climate change we will see more extreme weather events - heavy rain and droughts, and with that will come slips."

"We have a city built around steep gullies, valleys and hills, so by necessity many key services run through areas which have been retained with walls, so we are going to need to scale up our repair and maintenance schedule to protect our key services if we want to be ready for the climate change that's coming our way."

Wadestown, Wilton and Karori have also suffered slips and fallen trees, while Aro Valley and Northland are also impacted.

There is flooding in Seatoun and Karaka Bays, while further north in Lower Hutt several roads have been threatened by slips.

IMPORTANT WEATHER UPDATES
The severe weather has impacted roads around Lower Hutt:
A tree has come down on Mulberry Street in Maungaraki.
There are multiple slips on London Road.

— Hutt City Council (@HuttCityCouncil) August 8, 2022

London Rd has multiple slips and a tree has fallen on Mulberry St.