Downpour swamps river valley
Police and firefighters used a jetboat to evacuate residents from houses near the Esk Valley, north of Napier, after a deluge yesterday.
The valley was hit hard by severe rainfall and thunderstorms over 24 hours.
Heavy rain fell elsewhere in Hawke’s Bay, but not to the extent it did in the Esk Valley and Rissington areas.
More than 27 centimetres of rain fell in Rissington, 25km inland of Napier, between midnight Wednesday and midday Thursday, causing the Mangaone River to flood and damage at least one house.
Fifty campers were evacuated from the Eskdale holiday park, alongside the Esk River and Hawke’s Bay Regional Council spokesman Drew Broadley said water levels in the river were the highest since 2010.
Students at the nearby Hukarere School Girls’ School also evacuated their campus yesterday morning.
Intense rain
Regional council data showed the heaviest rain had been falling to the northwest and west of Napier. At peak intensity – between 5am and 6am – more than
55mm fell in one hour at Glengarry, with 50mm the hour before that, about 35mm the hour after, and more than 50mm from
7-8am. ‘‘Basically they’ve sat under a thunderstorm all morning,’’ MetService meteorologist Tom Adams said.
‘‘There’s been falls of up to
50mm an hour under that cell.’’ The cell was moving around a little, but the rain was very localised. For example, not far away in Napier, 16mm fell between midnight and noon.
By about noon, 229 lightning strikes had been recorded in the region during the morning.
In one 15-minute period at Glengarry – from 5.30am-5.45am –
27mm fell.
Another 50mm to 60mm of rain was expected to fall last night but would be spread over a longer period of time.
Roads closed
Police closed the Napier-Taupo Rd, State Highway 5, and the Napier-Wairoa road, SH2, but reopened them by late afternoon.
SH45 between New Plymouth and Omata was closed due to a fallen tree. The road was expected to open on Thursday afternoon, NZTA advised.
SH43 between Taumarunui and Whangamomona was closed due to slips, with a detour via SH3 and 4, the agency said. It was not yet known when that road would open but crews were working on it.
Rivers rise
Meanwhile, officials in Manawatu¯ -Whanganui region were monitoring swollen rivers, saying it was possible roads may be closed and flood barriers installed as water levels rise.
Horizons Regional Council emergency management staff were keeping an eye on Whanganui River levels, and rivers in Manawatu¯ and Rangitı¯kei.
Horizons’ river management group manager Ramon Strong said the Manawatu¯ River was expected to peak at 4.2 metres on Thursday.
Strong said rain in the upper Whanganui catchment overnight had seen river levels rise and predictions signalled flood barriers may be installed in Kowhai Park, Whanganui.
River levels were predicted to exceed 11 metres at Pipiriki at
8.45am and continued to rise. The Whanganui River was expected to peak at 7.9m at the town bridge at 5pm on Thursday.