Floodwaters on Te Kawa Rd, near Ōtorohanga, on Saturday. Photo / Mike Scott
Ōtorohanga and Waipā Districts, like other areas in the central and lower North Island, continue to battle the impact of the wild weather.
Ōtorohanga Mayor Rodney Dow told the Waikato Herald there were still a few isolated communities but the district had started “getting stuck into” its clean-up.
“We are usually one of those lucky districts... but this will be talked about for generations,” Dow said.
“Many people are talking about how bad and how fast [the weather] came.
“Some of the older generation [living in the district] say it’s worse than the flood in 1958.”
Dow said the weather’s long-term impact was going to be “quite substantial”.
“The roading’s not going to be fixed in five minutes... and there are quite a lot of displaced people.
“I really feel for the people. But it makes me really proud to be the mayor of this district, because everybody is coming together... helping each other out.”
Dow said as of last night, 60 properties in his district had been impacted.
“Only a couple are red-stickered, but [there are] quite a lot of yellow-stickered homes.”
Waipā Mayor Mike Pettit said he had been visiting communities and talking to affected residents.
He said teams were “making a little bit of progress” but work was continuing to assess “what infrastructure is left and what isn’t”.
Waipā and Ōtorohanga are working together from a shared emergency operations centre based at Ōtorohanga District Council building.
The centre said the focus of the emergency response in southwest Waikato was reaching isolated communities and properties, assessing and addressing damage, and maintaining safe drinking water supply to Pirongia.
Across Waipā and Ōtorohanga, 120 people have been evacuated, Civil Defence controller Wayne Allan said.
“The focus for the response teams is on Wharepapa South, Kāwhia, Aotea and Corcoran Rd, as well as assisting with clean-up efforts underway in the Ōtorohanga township,” he said in a statement.
“We are contacting and visiting properties individually and have support from multiple agencies. Some 120 people have been evacuated and are safe.”
Across both districts, two properties have been red-stickered.
Allan said some parts of the districts had gone back to business as usual.
“This weather event was short, sharp and with intensity which varied significantly across the region,” he said.
“We’re already seeing some areas returning to business as usual, while just a few kilometres away we have communities isolated, roads severed and bridges, pipes and culverts still at risk.”
A helicopter looked at infrastructure, carried out property checks and provided welfare support in Wharepapa South today.
The water supply to Pirongia remained a significant concern and the teams’ primary focus, Allan said.
Flooding demolished the water treatment station on Te Tahi Rd, which usually supplies the area.
While alternative emergency supply is being piped from Te Awamutu, tankered water remains a contingency, Allan said.
Wastewater networks are not affected.
“The [water] supply is fragile and relies on a single pipe to support an entire community,” he said.
“We have seen an increase in water use in the last 24 hours and we’re monitoring it – we urge the community to keep the savings going.
“Short showers, reduced flushing of toilets, no outside watering – every drop saved buys us time to build some resilience into our network.
“We drained the reservoir to inspect it this morning, and experts are building a picture of what future works may be required... [There’s] no quick fix.”
Allan also urged people to respect safety signs.
“We have received reports of people driving through roadblocks, which is not only dangerous for the individuals, it can impact and slow response teams.”
Allan thanked the community for standing together.
“This is also locals helping locals. It’s a joint effort from not just Waipā and Ōtorohanga councils but also neighbouring councils and Civil Defence teams to support our people,” he said.
“We thank the mayors and councillors, our mana whenua partners and our community.
“Many of the people working on this response are doing so while their own homes, friends and family have been impacted.”
While State Highway 31 to Kāwhia from SH39 is set to open from 8pm today, several roads remain closed because of flooding, slips and damage.
New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi said a full replacement of the Mangati Bridge was necessary.
Installing a single-lane temporary bridge is being considered to span the stream and reconnect locals while a permanent solution is built, NZTA said.
Corcoran Rd at Te Pahu is closed beyond house No 238 because of a serious risk of road collapse. Access to the end of the road is likely to be several days away.
Whatauri Rd at Wharepapa South is closed beyond the 1.8km mark after a culvert failure.
Wharepapa South Rd and Waikoha Rd are both closed.
A Civil Defence Centre has been made available at Pirongia Rugby Sports Club, 2 Kane St, for those who need to evacuate.
Waipa District Council have set up a mayoral disaster relief fund.
Civil Defence welfare requests are co-ordinated through Here to Help U.
People can contact 0800 568 273 and leave a callback request.
States of emergency for Waipā and Ōtorohanga districts remain in place but MetService said heavy rain and strong winds were expected to ease in the central North Island this afternoon.
The storm’s death toll stands at one after “loving father” Brent Knowles' vehicle became submerged in floodwaters while travelling on SH39 on Friday.
The deluge comes weeks after deadly storms killed nine and left a trail of destruction.
Danielle Zollickhofer is the Waikato news director and a multimedia journalist at the Waikato Herald. She joined NZME in 2021 and is based in Hamilton.