Whanganui, Rangitīkei, Ruapehu and South Taranaki dodge worst of expected heavy rain

Whanganui and its neighbouring regions avoided the worst of what was expected to be a night of heavy rain. Photo / Bevan Conley

Residents of the Whanganui, Rangitīkei, Ruapehu and South Taranaki areas were spared the worst of what was expected to be a night of heavy rainfall.

On Thursday MetService issued a heavy rainfall watch for South Taranaki, North Whanganui, North Rangitīkei and Ruapehu, prompting Civil Defence in Taranaki and Manawatū-Whanganui to advise people to avoid flood-prone areas overnight.

However, MetService meteorologist Andrew James said the rain watch was lifted on Friday morning for all of the North Island except Mt Taranaki and Northland, for which the warning was extended until 9am Saturday.

“There is still rain about but the focus now mainly shifts to the top of the South Island,” he said.

The rain mostly came from the north, he said, which meant Whanganui was mostly shielded due to its hilly northern terrain.

Across the districts, MetService’s weather station at the Mataimoana Trig, north of Whanganui, recorded the most rain between Thursday and Friday with 44.5mm.

With this rainfall north of Whanganui, river catchment data from Horizons Regional Council showed the Whanganui River at Te Rewa rising from around 5200mm to 8900mm between 2.30am Thursday and 2pm Friday when it reached its peak.

However, Civil Defence personnel said for the river to flood downstream, the height at Te Rewa would have to reach at least 12000mm.

In other areas, Hāwera recorded 29mm of rain, Ōhakea 18.7mm and only 4.6mm of rainfall was recorded at Whanganui Airport.

The Whanganui and Rangitīkei district councils said they had not responded to any weather-related incidents during the warning period.

Horizons Regional Council said there had been no need to install flood precautions overnight and it did not expect to need them over the weekend.

South Taranaki District Council’s communications manager Gerard Langford said the district had dodged a bullet overnight Thursday, receiving less than the expected amount of rain and with most of the rain falling over the coast.

“River levels are steady or falling for the moment but the soil is saturated so there remains a risk of rising again if there is further rain,” he said.

The district was largely unscathed, save for surface flooding at Maata Rd and on the corner of Rowen Rd and Skeet Rd and a fallen tree on Ararata Rd which had been cleared by council staff.

However, Langford said with storms like this likely to become more common, it was important to remain prepared.

“Taranaki Civil Defence Emergency Management and our council will continue to monitor the situation into the weekend as renewed heavy rain may cause streams and rivers to rise rapidly.

“Surface flooding and slips are also possible and driving conditions may be hazardous.”

He thanked the South Taranaki community, who had stayed informed, got prepared and listened to official advice.

Looking to the weekend, MetService’s James said he expected the rain which hung over the Whanganui region for much of the week to clear.

Saturday would be mainly fine followed by a bit of cloud on Sunday.