Weather: Te Karaka cut off as rain, flooding hits Gisborne, state of emergency in place

By RNZ

Tairāwhiti is in a state of emergency as heavy rain hits the region, and a red heavy warning is in place until Sunday.

Civil Defence has asked residents in low-lying areas not to wait for an official evacuation and leave if they feel unsafe.

It is the region’s third state of emergency this year, and the fifth in less than two years.

Civil Defence has asked residents in low-lying areas not to wait for an official evacuation and leave if they feel unsafe.

“We encourage anyone in areas prone to flooding, near a river or in a low-lying area to self-evacuate, as a precaution,” Tairāwhiti Civil Defence posted on its Facebook.

“Don’t wait for official warnings to evacuate. If in doubt – move out now before dark.”

Controller David Wilson said emergency responders were standing by to help anyone who needed to evacuate.

House of Breakthrough and Te Poho-o-Rawiri Marae are open as evacuation centres.

Civil Defence said about 30 people have taken refuge in welfare centres in town today, on top of 130 who left their Te Karaka homes before dark yesterday.

Police, St John, Fire and Emergency and other government agencies are sending extra staff to the region to bolster the emergency response.

SEVERE WEATHER - UPDATE 5:10PM, FRI 23 JUN
Due to flooding & slips, the following roads remain CLOSED:
• SH2 Matawai to Whatatutu Rd
• SH35 Okitu to Ruatori
Our post & traffic map are updated as we receive info: https://t.co/iL20c59dlW pic.twitter.com/QVa7Gjz8dd

— Waka Kotahi NZTA Central North Island (@WakaKotahiCNI) June 23, 2023

Between 200 and 250 millimetres of rain is forecast to fall north of Ūawa, near Tolaga Bay, with high tide just after 9.30pm tonight.

Landslides have already started to hit properties in the Gisborne suburb of Whataupoko.

Food provider Leaderbrands said it was reworking deliveries as it dealt with road closures.

State Highway 2 between Wairoa and Napier has reopened again, with State Highway 5 expected to do the same this afternoon. However, many other roads remain closed.

Leaderbrands chief executive Richard Burke said time was important because their products only lasted for 10 days until they went off.

There could be gaps on shelves if trucks were unable to meet their targets, he said.

Welfare checks in Hamilton

Hamilton City Council said its response teams have been doing welfare checks on people affected by flooding, including in Glenview.

Hamilton Airport received 74.8mm of rain in a 28-hour period, submerging Exeter Street in Glenview.

The council’s general manager of infrastructure, Eeva-Liisa Wright, said they were working to determine the extent of flooding in some of the city’s residential streets.

She said tap water was still safe to drink.

Meanwhile, SH1 north of Hamilton will be closed tonight for urgent repairs to potholes caused by persistent rain.

All southbound traffic will have to detour at Ngaruawahia on to the old highway between Gordonton Road and Horotiu from 7pm until 5am on Saturday.

The potholes are in an area of the Waikato Expressway where work was underway.

Traffic went down to just one lane and now that lane has potholes.

A spokesperson for Waka Kotahi said contractors have to close the southbound lane to fill and fix some areas, rather than carry on with temporary patching.

Rain eases in Bay of Plenty

The orange rain warning for the Bay of Plenty has been lifted, but residents are being warned that further weather-related problems are possible over the weekend.

Tauranga City Council said the ground could only soak up so much water and, with more rain forecast, there was an increased risk of surface flooding and landslides.

The council has taken the rare step of closing sports fields this weekend.

However, the Chatham Cup football match will go ahead on the Links Avenue field.

Sunday’s Blindzone Demonstration involving trucks and buses, has also been postponed due to the weather forecast.

Gisborne Airport is set to record a years' worth of rain in the first six months of 2023. Another burst of heavy rain is on the way tonight and Tairāwhiti remains under a Red Warning until midday Sunday. pic.twitter.com/NY12Kxuplp

— MetService (@MetService) June 23, 2023

A local state of emergency was put in place yesterday for Tairāwhiti as heavy downpours pelted the region, closing all major roads, forcing residents to evacuate, and causing rivers to burst banks.

Tairāwhiti Civil Defence said a local state of emergency was declared at 4.45pm yesterday becuase of the severe weather event.

Locals negotiate a flooded road at Te Karaka in the Gisborne region. Photo / Matawhero Lloyd

At least 130 residents have either been evacuated or have self-evacuated.

Many are from the small town of Te Karaka, authorities have told the Herald.

Tairāwhiti emergency management manager Ben Green said 130 residents had either been evacuated or had self-evacuated.

⚠🌧 Updated Severe Weather Warnings for Heavy Rain

🔴 Tairāwhiti Gisborne remains under Red Warning

🟠 Tasman Ranges upgraded to Orange Warning

🟡 Warning for Coromandel today has been lifted, but further heavy rain expected from Saturday

Details at https://t.co/qHyE5zzql5 pic.twitter.com/27tCzvTyDs

— MetService (@MetService) June 22, 2023

Because of the “high level of anxiety” in the region, many of those evacuations happened before the state of emergency was declared or before MetService upgraded the warning, Green said.

The majority of the evacuations were in Te Karaka.

People had either gone to the Te Karaka Area School or are staying with friends and family.