Kindergarten considers sand investment after downpour

‘‘We had been looking at [the floodwaters], and decided that we thought it would be OK. And then suddenly, the teachers saw that it was rising really quickly, so we had to make the call pretty quickly,’’ Naus said.

The 22 children attending a holiday programme run by three teachers were sent home around 11.30am.

‘‘It didn’t come in, but we had water all through our verandah and the back area,’’ Naus said.

‘‘It was just really flooded . . . on that Hale St corner [with Redwood St], the water doesn’t seem to drain away when there is a big deluge.

‘‘The water does come up quite often, not as bad as this, but it does seem to be a bit of a problem area. When we get those high levels of rain, the drains just can’t cope.

‘‘I think it is a bit of an ongoing problem. I was actually thinking about getting some sandbags,’’

Naus said.

Further down Redwood St, another daycare had to have an emergency closure around 1pm on Tuesday. Parents were asked to collect their children from

Active Explorers due to blocked toilets and surface flooding.

The heavy rain meant the sewerage systems in Blenheim and Seddon were at full capacity. By noon, residents were being asked not to flush toilets in Blenheim and Seddon.

State Highway 1 between Blenheim and Seddon was closed by about 11am on Tuesday due to flooding. More than 100 stranded drivers found shelter at the Awatere Memorial Hall in Seddon.

The Marlborough District Council’s daily rain report, at 3pm on Tuesday, showed there had been more than 65.4mm in Blenheim Central, 107.5mm in Flaxbourne, 108mm in Onamalutu, and 77mm in Rarangi.