Winds down trees and block roads in Whanganui after bout of heavy rain

A car versus a fallen tree on No 3 Line by Okia School. Photo / Bevan Conley

Winds as fast as 80km/h caused trees to be blown over in what was a wild Wednesday of Whanganui weather.

There was a large pine which collapsed onto a road that goes around Pukenamu Queens Park and connects with the corner of Watts St and Drews Ave.

Following that, a willow tree came down on No 3 Line in Okoia, where a car collided with it.

A police spokesperson said they responded to the incident around 12.45pm, and the road was reopened once the tree and car were cleared. There were no injuries to report.

Fire Emergency New Zealand said one truck attended the incident and departed the scene at 1.12pm.

Hato Hone St John said they were notified of the incident, but the ambulance crew were stood down.

A pine tree fell over in Pukenamu Queens Park. Photo / Bevan Conley.

Aside from the wind, Whanganui had an exceptionally wet 24 hours between Tuesday and Wednesday, with 53mm of rain falling since Tuesday morning.

MetService meteorologist John Law said the amount was measured at the weather station at Whanganui Airport.

“It’s been an incredibly wet story, if you think about how much rainfall we’ve seen in the last 24 hours,” he said.

Whanganui normally had an average of 71mm of rain across the month of November, so having so much over such a short time was extraordinary.

The rain had come in heavy bursts, with 16mm falling during one hour, which Law said was a huge amount.

“Normally, heavy rainfall is about 6mm in an hour, so 16 is a fairly substantial amount of rainfall to come through in a very short space of time.”

Across the month, Whanganui has recorded 127mm of rain, with most of it falling since last Thursday.

Peat Park is waterlogged after an extraordinary amount of rain. Photo / Bevan Conley

A Whanganui District Council spokesperson said although the rain had been heavy in places across the region, it was less than what had been forecast.

There had been some minor flooding over Tuesday night in urban areas, but there were no reports of slips or road closures.

The council said the Whanganui River would be high over the next few days and would likely cover some of the Moutoa Quay boardwalk and the riverside road at Kowhai Park during high tides.

The council said the riverside road would be closed while the river is high.

Waka Kotahi New Zealand Transport Agency said State Highway 1 between Calico Line and Wings Line had been closed due to flooding until midday on Wednesday, when the road was reopened.

A Horizons Regional Council spokesperson said staff had been monitoring river levels since Tuesday afternoon and no flooding issues were expected.

Law said across the rest of the week, more rain should come through from Thursday to Saturday before finally starting to ease on Sunday, although strong northwesterly winds would persist.