Two Eastern Bay of Plenty townships are isolated and several roads are closed due to flooding and slips this morning.
State Highway 2 between Tāneatua and Nukuhou is closed due to multiple slips with authorities warning people to stay off the roads in the area if possible.
“There are multiple slips and areas of surface flooding and we simply do not have enough signage available to alert you to these areas,” Whakatane District Council said.
A Northland Civil Defence Emergency Management Group spokesperson told the Herald yesterday afternoon they met with all four of Northland’s councils, local emergency services and other key stakeholders and are all preparing to respond if need be.
“This is looking to be a long slow weather system and with it coming on top of already wet conditions, we may see streams and rivers rise rapidly as well as surface flooding and slips, which may impact driving conditions and lead to road closures.”
Tāneatua and Rūātoki are isolated with the council working on reinstating access.
A Uzabus spokesman said Te Wharekura Te Wharekura o Ruatoki, a rural school in Ruatoki, was closed again due to flooding on the roads.
Nukuhou North School outside Whakatāne, was also closed.
The spokesman said the bus couldn’t run between Ōpōtiki and Whakatāne due to flooding on Wainui Rd.
The council has also issued water usage warnings with those in central Whakatāne, particularly from north of Domain Rd in the Pohutu catchment, asked to limit the use of wastewater if possible as the system is overloaded with rainwater.
Ruatoki residents are advised to boil their water until further notice.
“This means don’t flush your toilets, limit shower use and let the dishes and washing pile up til further notice.”
The Whakatāne River has reached its second warning level which meant the river was rising but was still contained within its banks.
”There is no immediate concern and the Bay of Plenty Regional Council is monitoring this and all rivers across the district closely,” the council said.
Several roads in the district are closed including Awahou and Reid Rd and Valley Rd, between Alexander Ave and Arawa St, after a slip took out power lines causing power outages to a number of households.
Horizon Energy said 674 customers were affected.
There is no access into or out of White Pine Bush Rd. Stanley Rd is closed due to slips, and Galatea Rd is closed due to multiple slips around the Waihou area which are impassable.
Wainui Rd remains open as a detour, but has stop/go in parts.
A Metservice spokesman said the Bay of Plenty, from Rotorua to Te Kaha, still has a heavy rain watch until 5pm tonight.
The Whakatāne District had 29.8mm of rain fall across three hours overnight - from 11pm to 2am.
He said while the rain would continue to fall, it would not be at the levels it has been and the heavy rain was shifting to the west of the country.
He said while the heaviest of the rain has happened, the weather was still forecast to be a mix of rain and showers until Sunday across the region, with a risk of being heavy at times.
MetService meteorologist Jessie Owen said in the 36 hours to 11am Tuesday, up to 80mm of rain had been recorded in the Bay of Plenty.
An atmospheric river as seen from above 🛰️.
— NIWA Weather (@NiwaWeather) May 2, 2023
This is the fuel for heavy rain that will impact parts of the motu. pic.twitter.com/ShxEopL2Oy
Whakatane recorded 79.8mm of rain, Rotorua 79.2mm, Waihi 74.8mm, Te Puke 68.8mm and Tauranga 37.7mm
In the Coromandel about 140mm was recorded in the ranges, while closer to the coast up to 90mm was recorded.
Whangamatā recorded 89.4mm and Whitianga 33.2mm.
This was on top of the 278mm already recorded at Pinnacles Hut in the Coromandel Range in the 24 hours to noon on Monday.
Bay of Plenty Regional Council duty flood manager Peter Blackwood said on Tuesday those living near the Rangitāiki River that the Matahina Dam will commence spilling over the next 24 hours, in anticipation of heavy rain forecast for later this week.
”Currently, the Lake Matahina water levels are at 74.5m and slowly rising. When this happens, and when we know rain is coming that will elevate these levels further, we work with Manawa Energy who release a controlled amount of water to lower the dam level in the upper river catchment.
“We do this to reduce the risk on communities in the lower part of the river, by allowing the water to flow through early in advance of more rain coming in.
“This also takes the pressure off the flood defences and ensures everything is working together to help protect the community.”
The dam will begin spilling in a controlled way until 2.30pm on Wednesday.
“This will result in lower parts of the Rangitāiki River running higher than usual during this period, however, the river levels will be well within the stopbank capacity of the river and are closely monitored by our duty flood manager as the situation develops.”
In 2017, heavy rain caused the Rangitaiki River to breach a stopbank next to Edgecumbe, causing widespread flooding across the township.
Blackwood said the Kaituna River had peaked, but teams would keep a close watch on the Whakatāne River, which was “still rising slowly.
”With more heavy rain expected to hit the region later in the week, it’s important that residents keep an eye on the forecast, stay up to date with any information coming from civil defence or their local council, and stay prepared.”
Meanwhile, Rotorua Lakes Council says people living near waterways such as the Ngongotahā Stream should keep an eye on water levels.
State Highway 34 reopened to one lane on Tuesday as a tropically charged weather system continued to sweep through the region.
Earlier a slip had closed the road 1km north of Valley Rd, Kawerau, Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency said.
Stop/go traffic management is in place.
Whakatane District Council also reported power outages in Awakeri, Coastlands and Poroporo.
Two schools in the Eastern Bay of Plenty closed on Tuesday.
Te Wharekura o Ruatoki, a rural school in Ruatoki, closed due to localised flooding, a staff member said.
UPDATE - 10:10AM
— Waka Kotahi NZTA Waikato/BoP (@WakaKotahiWaiBP) May 1, 2023
one lane is now OPEN with stop/go traffic management in place. Please drive with care in this area. ^CO https://t.co/9n2Pr9Gp3M
It was a health and safety precaution because the roads usually flooded with heavy downpours and the school needed to ensure the safety of all students in the area and further out, he said.
Access to and from the school may be impacted by the heavy rain and “continual rain meant the flooding and risks were unpredictable”.
A GoBus spokesman said Tāneatua School near Whakatāne was the only school in its circuit closed on Tuesday.
He said there were “issues” this morning in Stanley Rd with a tree that had come down, but the driver managed to get the kids to school by going the other way.
The spokesman said the team was concerned about high tide this afternoon in the Ruatoki area with rising river waters, and they were making a plan for getting the students home safely. Low tide is about 10.30am and high tide about 4.30pm.
He said one of the options was picking the children up earlier because drivers would not drive children through flooding.
State Highway 2 was closed through the Karangahake Gorge due to slips first reported about 12.55pm yesterday.
The gorge highway reopened under stop/go management on Monday evening.
Hipkins said Labour's next campaign will focus on jobs, health, and homes.
