Highway reopening

Mcanulty announced on that trip Marlborough was getting a mayoral relief fund of $100,000. He topped Nelson’s relief fund up to $200,000.

Yesterday, he said he wanted to acknowledge the work from Marlburians and other workers and volunteers that had gone into the response.

The two main roads connecting Blenheim and Nelson were badly damaged by flooding last week. Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency said it would give an update on State Highway 6 and 63 on Monday, meaning both roads would be closed this weekend.

Residents in Rai Valley, on SH6, are trapped, with slips on either side of the township.

Meanwhile, isolated communities in the outer Marlborough Sounds are relying on boats and barges to get essential supplies. The stretch of SH6 from Renwick to Havelock has reopened to the public, but drivers have been told to expect delays.

Waka Kotahi maintenance and operations acting national manager Mark Owen said people had anecdotally said this rain event was bigger than last July’s floods.

‘‘Particularly for the local Marlborough District Council network, and where we see two major highways closed, that is significant,’’ Owen said.

He said the ‘‘telling stat’’ for him was that the Rai Valley had received more than 1m of rain over four days.

‘‘It’s on the back of three other significant events in the last 13 months, and it was over three or four days when we just kept getting waves of bad weather coming in, causing significant damage.’’ He said Fulton Hogan, the main roading contractor in Marlborough, had pulled in workers from outside the region.