A woman swept away in flood waters after plunging into a chasm on the washed-out Ngapouri Rd south of Rotorua now counts every day as a bonus.
“Today is bonus day 13,” her husband said on Tuesday.
That’s how the couple view life after her miraculous
Rotorua Ngapouri Rd washout: Plunge survivor grateful; road repairs ‘a big job’
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Various services could not reach them, meaning one family’s dwindling gas supply could not be refilled, and a dairy farmer had to dry off his cows early.
The Rotorua Lakes Council has the unenviable task of fixing the road – something it concedes is a “big job”.
The woman swept away in her car and her husband, who spoke on the condition they were not named, had been travelling home in separate cars after dining with friends.
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The husband had not realised he was behind his wife because she was using their son’s vehicle.
As they rounded a bend on Ngapouri Rd and went down a hill, her car disappeared, plummeting off the edge of the gulf that had opened in the road and down into the swollen waters.
The man saw it happen and managed to stop before he too careered off the edge.
He called 111, unaware it was his wife in the upturned car 80m down the stream.
She prayed and sang hymns to calm herself and eventually managed to wriggle out of the car.
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Neighbours took her to an ambulance waiting on the road.
The man said his wife was released from hospital just over a week ago but was still in a lot of pain.
He said they were still “amazed and thankful”.
“We had dinner Sunday night with the kids and grandkids, and there was a moment there she broke down in tears, tears of happiness though, that she was able to enjoy that moment with them.”
He said 16 residents in five homes were affected by the washout, including a pregnant woman, two teenagers and four children under 10.
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They have been using 4WD vehicles on muddy farm tracks to reach the road. Once the weather cleared up, he said, they hoped to get everyone’s usual vehicles to the road so they could be used again.
He said issues cropped up, such as a gas company being unable to access their daughter and son-in-law’s house to change the gas bottles.
“They haven’t run out yet, but they are getting close.”
He said he and his wife had also put their renovation plans on hold because it would be too difficult for builders to get in and out.
Neighbouring dairy farmer Laurence Groot said he had dried off his cows three weeks early because the milk tankers could not reach his farm.
Insurance covered what he described as a “small loss”.
He said the blocked road was a “nuisance”, but they were not too worried.
“Every now and then, you remember you can’t get out. The council is doing pretty well … so we are pretty happy with the response.”
Council infrastructure and assets group manager Stavros Michael said it was investigating options for reinstating the culvert and road.
He said the council couldn’t predict at this early stage what would be involved and how long the repairs could take.
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“It will be a big job that may also require geotechnical work.”
He said concrete barriers were now set up at the road closure.
Michael said the council managed a network of more than 1000km of local roads and about 4000 culverts.
Contractors routinely inspected culverts and drainage systems to clear and maintain them.
He said severe, high-intensity rainfall events were happening more frequently. These were unpredictable and often caused localised damage to roads and drainage systems.
The council would review what happened to understand what might be done to minimise the chances of it happening again.
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Kelly Makiha is a senior journalist who has reported for the Rotorua Daily Post for more than 25 years, covering mainly police, court, human interest and social issues.