Drivers towed from flooding
A man who towed nine motorists trapped in floodwaters to safety in a rural area south of Auckland says ‘‘it’s just what we do out here’’.
Heavy rain yesterday caused havoc, particularly south of Auckland in the Franklin district, with locals forced into impromptu rescues as floodwaters rose rapidly.
Ramarama’s Cameron Vernon came to the rescue of motorists stuck in their cars on Davies Rd, Quarry Rd and Ramarama Rd as floodwaters rose to about ‘‘1 metre’’ in height.
He drove his four-wheel-drive Nissan Safari through the murky water and got to work towing nine vehicles back to safety in two hours.
‘‘It was just basically a bit of shock that all the water had come up,’’ Vernon said.
‘‘I was just going from one place to another so gave them a hand.
‘‘There’s always flooding out our way so we’re used to it.’’
Vernon was quickly fixing a hose connection on a digger at his Drury workshop, so he could go out and help people clear floodwaters.
He said he didn’t see his act as anything special: ’’It’s just what we do out here.’’
In Pukekohe, a person driving a tractor came to the rescue of a flood-trapped driver on semi-rural Foy Rd.
The fire service rushed to the scene to extract the person but a tractor beat them to it, a spokesman said.
It took the tractor a ‘‘matter of minutes’’ to rescue the unhurt driver, a fire communications spokesman said.
Meanwhile, Ormiston Hospital in Flat Bush was hit by ‘‘severe flooding’’ of its basement carpark.
Three fire service vehicles, including a pump-equipped salvage tender, went to the private hospital to pump-out the carpark.
A hospital staff member said ‘‘everything was under control’’ and the flooding did not have an impact on scheduled surgeries or appointments.
Bruce Owen took photos of flooding at properties and farmland on Ramarama Rd and Davies Rd in Ramarama, south of Auckland.
Owen said the Maketu Stream often flooded and had been hit hard by heavy rain in recent weeks.