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house. ‘‘[On Wednesday] night, there were patches of grass that looked like islands. I woke up [on Thursday] and it was full.’’
Mcniall counted herself lucky the flooding hadn’t reached the house, as it had in 2015, when it was almost a metre deep in water.
‘‘We are preparing and waiting and seeing. We can’t really do much. We are just going to play it by ear.’’
Mcniall said in 2015, her home didn’t flood until a few days after the heavy rain, and she feared that would happen again.
Rangiotu resident Mary Dorn was also worried about a repeat of the 2015 flooding, when the bank broke and her house was surrounded by water.
‘‘Two years ago, I lost all my garden. You wouldn’t have been able to get near the house.’’
Horizons Regional Council controller Craig Grant said the worst of the weather had passed by Thursday. ‘‘However, surface flooding, slips and road closures could still be an issue as we have seen a lot of water in a very short time. Rivers across the region are full, but falling, and continue to remain within their channels.’’
Horizons controller Ged Shirley said they would continue to monitor river levels, which continued to recede. ‘‘There is still a lot of water moving through the Manawatu River and the Moutoa floodgates will remain open until sometime in the early hours of [Friday] morning.’’
The state of emergency declarations in the Whanganui and Rangitikei districts have both now been lifted and evacuated residents have been allowed to return to their homes.
River levels at the Whanganui Town Bridge peaked about 6am on Thursday, at 7.4m, but there was no concern about any continuing high river peaks.
Sandbags have been removed from central Marton and all cordons were now clear.
Rangitikei mayor Andy Watson said council staff had put in long hours, as well as volunteers, helping with sandbagging and knocking on doors to alert people to the looming threat of flooding.
In Horowhenua, firefighters responded to calls for help after gale-force winds damaged power lines and property on Thursday. Callers reported incidents in Levin, Waitarere Beach and Foxton Beach between 5.15 and 6.50am.
Metservice meteorologist Andy Best said gusts of up to 98kmh hit Levin in that time.
Power outages were still affecting residents in Otaki Beach, Levin, Waitarere Beach, Foxton Beach and Tokomaru late on Thursday, the Electra lines company website said.
The threat of the Manawatu River flooding forced Awatapu College in Palmerston North to close on Thursday, but it was to reopen on Friday.
The Pahiatua Track, blocked by a landslide, is expected to remain closed for at least two to three days. State Highway 56 was closed at Opiki due to flooding on Thursday.
All but one Palmerston North sports ground was expected to be open on Saturday, but a final decision was to be made at 10am on Friday.
Vautier Park, which was submerged by the floodwaters, would take longer to reopen, due to damage to equipment.