Double strike as flooding hits Kāpiti Coast
Weeks after former Cyclone Gita wreaked havoc on the Ka¯piti Coast, residents faced another deluge that flooded their homes and closed schools.
Heavy rain hammered the region, north of Wellington, for much of yesterday leaving some residents with a soggy sense of deja vu.
Dave Goldsack stood calf-deep in water at the Paraparaumu Beach house he was fixing for his son.
‘‘I haven’t even finished the job from last time and now we’re hit again.’’
The retired builder had still been repairing the damage done during the cyclone on February 21, when the low-lying house in Nathan Ave was flooded again.
MetService duty forecaster Ravi Kandula said 63 millimetres of rain fell near Paraparaumu between 6am and 6pm yesterday.
Ka¯ piti Coast District Council warned residents to sandbag flood-prone properties and clear drains.
Council infrastructure services group manager Sean Mallon said there would be no quick fix to the district’s flooding issue.
While council staff had provided sandbags and helped residents pump water from properties, the district’s ageing stormwater infrastructure needed work.
‘‘There’s in excess of $200 million worth of work in the LongTerm Plan to address it.’’
About 900 properties in the region were affected by some sort of flooding issue, he said.
‘‘It’s not something we can just solve immediately.’’
The rising water saw Paraparaumu Beach and Raumati Beach schools close for the day. Staff said neither had suffered much damage and would be open today.
The rain was expected to clear from the north this morning, be clear mid to late morning in Ka¯ piti. and from around noon in Wellington and Hutt Valley, Kandula said.