Flooding closes roads, schools
Wild weather closed State Highway 2 from Opotiki to Gisborne yesterday after heavy rains submerged the road in the East Coast settlement of Te Karaka.
Civil Defence authorities were considering evacuating residents, with fears the situation may worsen with more rain expected.
Delays of up to four hours were expected as the Waipaoa River rose, with levels expected to hit 8 metres at 11pm. Another 50mm to 70mm of rain was expected in the ranges last night with 20mm to 40mm elsewhere.
Flooding forced the closure of roads and schools in the Gisborne region, and Civil Defence warned motorists to take extra care, with rain continuing to fall and rivers north and west of the city rising.
State Highway 35 was closed north of Wainui Beach, about 8km east of Gisborne, just before 9am.
Gladstone Road Bridge is also closed, with a detour in place.
Gisborne resident Rebecca Houia said it was the worst deluge she had seen in the nine years she had lived there.
She had gone to work yesterday then received a call from a neighbour that one of her kayaks was floating down the Taruheru River.
She arrived home to find the river had burst its banks and the water level had risen up to her laundry on the washing line.
Houia said she did not use the kayak to get to it – instead braving the ‘‘freezing’’ thigh-deep water and wading in to retrieve her laundry.
Gisborne’s Kaiti School was closed because of to flooding at the back of the school, and Tolaga Bay Area School, about 55km up the coast from Gisborne, was also closed after 17 staff were unable to get to work through floodwaters.
Te Karaka Area School, about 30km north of the city, remained open but was encouraging parents to keep students at home. ‘‘It is extremely wet, there is surface flooding everywhere and we feel students would be safer at home for the day,’’ Te Karaka School said on its Facebook page.
Civil Defence said surface flooding had been reported across wide areas of the district, with trees down in many places.
Speed restrictions were put in place at Makorori on Sunday night because of surface flooding, and roading crews were out around the district keeping an eye on the situation.
Yesterday morning a car was swamped by floodwaters at Rototahi, south of Tolaga Bay, and a bus, with no children on board, was stuck at the top of the Waimata Valley.
The Hikuwai River north of Tolaga Bay was close to 8 metres at 8am and rising at one metre an hour. SH35 becomes flooded when the river reaches 12m.