Deluge damage to driveway put at $20,000
AFTER a month’s worth of rain fell in the space of 24 hours, the weather should clear to a fine afternoon today – though it is likely to be little comfort to many after Monday’s deluge.
The heavy rain caused surface flooding across the Wellington region, cutting off residents, flooding houses and damaging property.
The driveway of Akatarawa couple Bill and Jane Tito was torn up during the ‘‘monsoon-like’’ downpour, when the culverts gave way, causing an estimated $20,000 of damage.
‘‘We’ve been here 34 years and this is the worst rain we’ve ever experienced,’’ said Mr Tito, a book repairer.
‘‘The water ripped the foundations out from underneath the tarseal driveway.’’
About seven homes in Waitangirua, Porirua, were blocked off yesterday by a small lake that formed at the bottom of Pukaki Grove. Jaymie Baker, who lives in the cul de sac, could not take his children to school or get to work in his truck.
However, he was able to take his four-wheel-drive motorbike to the shops to pick up some food for his children.
Leonard Hilton, whose home was lowest among the Pukaki Grove properties, said the problem had been around for 14 years and the council still had not fixed it.
Wife Maggie said the entire section was under water yesterday morning, though it had subsided by about midday.
‘‘It is heartbreaking, year after year, to see the section turning into a literal river. We have to open gates to let the water through or risk further damage.’’
MetService said 48 millimetres of rain fell at the airport overnight on Monday. February’s average monthly rainfall at the airport was about 50mm, duty forecaster Brooke Lockhart said. In the wider region, between 50mm and 100mm fell between Monday and 6am yesterday.
From this afternoon, a high is forecast to move over the country, and the sunshine should remain through to the end of the week.
The downpour was a combination of two fronts, one from the south and the other from the west, combining over Wellington, Ms Lockhart said.
The heavy rain may also have contributed to a spate of accidents during yesterday’s morning commute into the city. Two crashes, one in Hutt Rd, Pipitea, and the other in Riddiford St, Newtown, resulted in two people suffering minor injuries.