A slip in Newtown has occurred and Owhiro Bay is flooding in Wellington.
Chickens have been swept away, bridges have been destroyed, gardens damaged, and homes flooded in Wellington's Owhiro Bay.
Workers at the Owhiro Community Garden were this morning counting their losses after the Owhiro Stream burst its banks last night.
"Everyone calls it a stream, but when it's like this, it'sa river," volunteer worker Rangi Wickliffe said.
Rangi Wickliffe stands by the swollen Owhiro Stream, which last night flooded homes, destroyed gardens, and killed chickens. Photo/Melissa Nightingale
Wickliffe was suffering the guilt this morning of locking up the chickens in their pen overnight, only to discover the next day that only three of the 12 chooks were still alive.
"I actually locked them in there because the neighbours complain about the noise," he said.
"I was so sad when I saw it . . . I felt a little bit guilty."
Wickliffe has seen some of the chickens' bodies float past in the swollen stream today.
The normally docile waterway was gushing today, about three metres wider than usual after the flood broke away a metre and a half of the bank on either side in some places.
Wickliffe pointed out a line of dirt and muck about two feet up the outer wall of a nearby flat. Some of the buildings by the stream have been flooded. Residents were evacuated overnight for their safety.
A slip has brought debris down into the front yard of a Newtown flat. Photo/Melissa Nightingale
Elsewhere, gardens have been wrecked by the water washing through.
The community garden is a space for anyone to come and set up a garden of their own.
"The lady that owns this garden came down this morning, she burst into tears," he said, pointing to one small patch covered in silt.
"They put a lot of love and care into their gardens."
Wickliffe knows the feeling - in November's weather bomb, six tonnes of dirt slipped down onto a lawn area he was in charge of maintaining.
"It had green grass, rose bushes, fairy lights up there."
Skye Fazakerley and Onyx Fazakerley were at home when the slip came down at the flat next door. Photo/Melissa Nightingale
All his hard work to make a beautiful spot for people to enjoy was destroyed when the slip came down, so he can understand the feelings of those who have put so much work into their "artistic" gardens only to have them flooded.
Most of the patches escaped damage, but a bridge leading across to them was washed away when a tree came rushing down the stream.
The bridge has been there for 15-20 years, he said.
It is now a long trek for people to get around to the other side, where most of the gardens are kept.
Nine people have already visited the garden this morning to see how their patches had fared.
"We will rebuild," Wickliffe said.
"Perseverance pays off, especially in this environment, with the weather how it is."
Gardens CEO Mark Forsyth said about 250 people use the community gardens, and he would now have to petition council to replace the bridge urgently, or at least put a temporary replacement in.
