Schools forced to close as deluge blocks bus routes
Students stuck at home and cattle left stranded as low dumps on North
Hundreds of children missed out on school, commuters were left stranded and a herd of cows was left in a spot of bother yesterday as a deluge hit the north of the country.
A low pressure system brought heavy rain to Northland, flooding roads in Kaeo, Taipa and Kaitaia. Power was cut in some areas.
In Hokianga, rain and the high tide sent cows scrambling for higher ground, forcing them to huddle on an island in the middle of floodwaters near Opononi. They have since escaped unscathed.
The deluge forced Kaeo School and Peria School to close after bus routes were blocked by water. Creative Minds Early Learning Centre was cut off after Omauna Rd was inundated.
The Waihou River breached its banks west of Rangiahua Rd just before midday, making the road impassable till late afternoon.
Dairy owner Beryle Panther thought she would need a tractor to get through rising waters to reach her shop near Kaitaia but in the end got a lift in her husband’s 4WD. The region had 54mm in 10 hours — more rain than the entire month of June, according to Niwa.
Swollen rivers dropped by the afternoon, Northland Civil Defence spokesman Murray Soljak said.
Many of the worst-affected areas such as Kaeo and Rangiahua were known trouble spots that were adversely affected by tides, he said.
The low was moving down the country last night, with severe weather warnings for the Bay of Plenty.
The Bay of Plenty and northern Gisborne were bracing for heavy rain and possible thunderstorms.
MetService said the Bay could expect 80mm to 110mm over a 15 to 18-hour period, with rain continuing through till 10pm this evening.
Strong winds were also causing swells of up to 6.6m off the coast of Tauranga, combining with high tide to close coastal walking routes.
Auckland and the Coromandel Peninsula were set to miss out on the worst rain although thunderstorms were possible around the Coromandel.
MetService meteorologist Brian Mercer said the East Cape and eastern Bay of Plenty would be worst affected.
The low pressure system continues to move over the island today, with rain easing to showers. Coromandel, the Bay of Plenty and the eastern ranges could still see thunderstorms before dawn this morning, Mercer said.
“Later in the afternoon and evening there’s another system of showers and there could also be thunderstorms associated with that.”
Wellington was still due for rain from late afternoon, possibly heavy.
The South Island was due for a cold few days, with snow reported on the top of the Crown Range and ski fields as far as Mt Hutt.
WeatherWatch said snow flurries could fall to about 500m this morning about South Canterbury and down to 800m for North Canterbury.