A Wanganui East resident has described the threat of the Whanganui River bursting its banks as "nerve racking".
Rachel Rose, whose home overlooks James McGregor Park and has a garden next to Anzac Parade, emailed her first-hand experience to the Chronicle shortly after the river peaked yesterday morning.
"It's been a nerve racking evening, as the time of the expected peak kept getting later. The final revision pushed it back to 1am.
"At one, I went out to the front porch ... a little after one, the noise of the river increased. At 1.16am it began to roar, a distinct and frightening change in pitch and volume. The streetlights and moon clearly illuminated the park and road, and I kept waiting for water to start to spill across the road.
"After just a minute or two, the noise abated. Ten minutes later, a truck and semi-trailer headed north along Anzac Parade.
"Shortly after, I saw vehicle lights travelling through the park itself. I took those as positive signs. I started breathing again and came in from the cold."
Later yesterday morning, Ms Rose told the Chronicle she was grateful for all those people who had been working into the night, particularly the soldiers who, she said, kept cheerful and positive despite working long hours. She also had kind words for staff of the Wanganui District Council.
"The council provided updates well into the night, they provided very useful information and I'm very grateful for that.
"I'm very impressed with their response team. They were calm and everything went so smoothly."
Ms Rose said she did not have to evacuate because her house was elevated above the area that would have flooded.