High tide parking and hazardous roads
Ripples from heavy rain and a king tide were felt across the region, but it escaped the damaging effects of the storm causing havoc further north.
Nelson city’s Wakatu Square was shin-deep in seawater yesterday and areas around the marina were partially flooded during a king tide.
The steady, at times heavy rain yesterday, also caused problems on the roads with a spate of crashes.
Nelson man Adam James was one of the motorists who had to wade from his car in Wakatu Square.
‘‘It’s normal, it happens on a king tide, but it’s incredible,’’ he said.
The high tide at 1.06pm yesterday afternoon was 4.5 metres, which is 0.7 metres higher than the average afternoon high tide for the month of January. Parts of the marina and coastal roads, such as Point Rd on Monaco, also had minor flooding.
A MetService spokeswoman said the rain was unlikely to be exacerbating the tidal problem.
‘‘The whole country is in king tide right now . . . rain shouldn’t really affect it, the only way for the weather to exacerbate that is what’s happening in Bay of Plenty right now, which is onshore wind.’’
AA spokesman Philip Collings said the best thing to do if you have driven through saltwater or found your car partially submerged in it, is to hose the underside of the car down thoroughly as soon as possible.
‘‘Saltwater is highly corrosive, so any untreated metals are going to be affected by it unless they’re washed down in the very near future,’’ he said.
Police are warning motorists to take care on the wet roads after a spate of crashes in the region.
Senior Sergeant Blair Hall said police attended six crashes from 7.30pm on Thursday until 11.30am yesterday. None involved serious injury. A vehicle hit a bank during the first incident on Waiwhero Rd at Ngatimoti about 7.30pm on Thursday. An hour later, a car hit a barrier at St Arnaud. The occupants were not injured in those crashes, Hall said.
About 9pm on Thursday, police were notified of a crash along Tarrant Rd in Upper Moutere.
St John Ambulance shift manager Anne-Marie Harris said two people suffered minor injuries when the car they were in crashed into a ditch and landed on its roof.
The 33-year-old female driver and a 10-year-old boy were taken by ambulance to Nelson Hospital.
Hall said at 2am yesterday morning a vehicle slid off the road near Murchison and then at 9.40am, another rolled at the bottom of Takaka Hill, on the Motueka side.
Less than two hours later, a vehicle slid off the road, hit a bank and rolled on its side along Neudorf Rd in Upper Moutere.
Hall said the previously hot weather had caused some seal bleed on the roads, which could became slippery quickly when it rained. Oil on the roads could also cause problems in wet weather.
‘‘People just need to drive to the conditions and reduce their speed,’’ he said.
A woman was flown by helicopter to Nelson after she slipped on wet steps at Marahau, fracturing and possibly dislocating an ankle.
Nelson Marlborough Rescue Helicopter pilot Barry McAuliffe said the call came just before 7am yesterday.
The woman was flown by helicopter to Nelson Airport before being taken by ambulance to Nelson Hospital.
McAuliffe was back in the air at 11.30am to pick up another woman with a suspected fractured/dislocated ankle near Totaranui. The woman, 34, slipped and fell as she was walking on Gibbs Hill Track.