Whanganui River full after heavy rain but no flooding risk to city

Kowhai Park. Photo / Bevan Conley.

Councils and emergency management staff are keeping a close eye on rivers around the Horizons region after heavy rain on Thursday.

Horizons Regional Council has been monitoring all river levels across the region throughout the day.

At 5pm Thursday the Whanganui River had reached 8m at Pipiriki and, while it was expected to continue to rise for a while, Horizons did not expect it to go over 9m.

This means although the river system is full, there is no flooding risk posed to the city of Whanganui downstream at this stage. Horizons' duty officers will continue to monitor river levels and keep the community informed if the situation changes.

Photo / Bevan Conley.

Whanganui District Council emergency manager Tim Crowe said his team was in communication with the regional hydrology staff and Civil Defence Emergency Management (CDEM) and would also continue to monitor the situation.

The council said with any heavy rain or adverse weather it advised people to look out for surface flooding and rapidly rising local streams.

• If residents need to report an issue with street, surface or road flooding, they can call the council 24/7 on 06 349 0001.

Photo / Bevan Conley.