Heavy rain takes toll
Central Hawke’s Bay has received some final wet spring weather to welcome in summer.
Part of Central Hawke’s Bay received more than 100mm of rain in under an hour last Monday, creating localised surface flooding issues, minor slips and roadside drains inundated.
Particularly affected were the Flemington and Tikokino areas, with other parts of the district receiving little or light rain.
Road closures included Eastwood Road, Makaretu Road, Wakarara Road, Hiranui Road and Taylor’s Slab in Ongaonga.
The weather resulted mostly in surface flooding and a few minor slips.
Roading crews were busy working across the network and have been able to reopen several roads, resulting in minor disruption to road users.
CHB District Council took a proactive approach by encouraging people to report any issues affecting the roading network, and it was encouraged by the level of response.
Early reporting of issues helped roading crews and enabled them to address issues as quickly as possible.
Council crews worked through the nights of high rainfall to either have roads reopened or working to ensure disruption was minimised. “From lessons learnt in previous events our local contractors worked to ensure disruption was minimised for our community,” says Doug Tate, group manager Customer and Community Partnerships.
“A great example of this was our team working with local bus operators to pilot school buses through the alternate road routes and flood waters if required.”
The severe rainfall event was the fourth severe weather event in CHB this calendar year, with impacts on the district’s roading network.
The full extent of damage from the event is still being assessed.