Slips block West Coast road as heavy rain, gales batter country
Slips at each end of the Lower Buller Gorge, east of Westport, closed SH6 between Inangahua and Westport yesterday as wild weather lashed the country.
New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) contractors were hoping to clear the slips yesterday afternoon if weather conditions allowed.
SH6 south of Westport to Greymouth was open, but rain continued to fall in northern Westland and Buller district yesterday.
‘‘We encourage people to avoid using the roads in these conditions and please be on the lookout for surface debris. Slow down if you do have to make a journey,’’ NZTA maintenance contract manager Moira Whinham said.
Heavy rain could cause streams and rivers to rise rapidly. Surface flooding and more slips were also possible and driving conditions could be hazardous, MetService warned.
SH67, north of Westport to Mohikinui, also had some surface flooding but remained open.
The road south of Inangahua was closed earlier yesterday due to flooding between Inangahua and Reefton. The road opened at 9.30am yesterday.
Parts of Canterbury have been buffeted by high winds, creating high waves on waterways including Lake Tekapo.
A tree smashed into a roof and a building flooded in Auckland yesterday.
Fire and Emergency NZ shift manager Craig Dally said the occupants escaped injury when a tree fell into the roof at a home in Hume Dr in Auckland’s Hillcrest about 3.30pm.
Firefighters managed to get the tree off the roof using a chainsaw, he said.
Across the city, about 20 minutes later, firefighters were deployed to a flooded building in Karangahape Rd, Dally said.
Heavy rain and gales battered both islands, closing roads, lifting roofs and causing flooding.
MetService said strong winds, rain and possible thunderstorms would hit the West Coast, Taranaki, Auckland and the wider Wellington region from yesterday through to today.
Drought-stricken Northland was expected to have periods of heavy rain from noon today.
Wellington, southern Wairarapa and Marlborough were affected by strong gusts yesterday morning, MetService said, while in Taranaki powerlines were down and at least one roof lifted off a house.