Ceilings collapse amid downpour
Flash flooding in Pahiatua amid a violent thunderstorm saw roofs collapse under the water’s weight, while a supermarket became water-logged.
Tuesday’s sudden storm left chaos in its wake. Water flooded the streets, the wind tore down street signs and lightning split a tree on the Tararua town’s Main St.
The deluge brought traffic to a halt and ceilings collapsed at five stores. Meanwhile, the New World supermarket was flooded as water flowed through the roof.
Motorcycles HQ owner Simon Windelborn said the business had been closed for weeks for earthquake strengthening and was getting ready for a re-opening when the storm hit.
Windelborn had just told his brother how great it felt to have the work finished when ceiling panels started falling, letting in cascades of water.
The store’s computer systems were fried and there were several large holes in the ceiling. It took large dieselpowered heaters all night to dry the store out and water was still leaking from the ceiling in a back office the next day.
‘‘I just about sat in the corner and cried. It’s so frustrating. Luckily, I’ve got great staff and good friends helping me clean up, so we can still open [in time].’’
Pahiatua resident Hannah Gear said the storm had caused utter chaos around town.
‘‘We went to New World to get spuds and it was hectic. The rain was so hard.’’
Even inside there was no escaping it. New World had water coming through the roof and flooding the aisles.
MetService severe weather forecaster Sarah Garlick said people living close to the Tararua Range were warned to expect more of the same yesterday.
Its station in the range recorded 13.5 millimetres of rain between 3pm and 4pm on Tuesday, and the station in Mangaone Valley, between Eketahuna and Pahiatua, collected 7.8mm in an hour.
Garlick said the MetService didn’t have data on how much more rain hit Pahiatua.
‘‘The storms aren’t moving much. They’ve tended to dump all their rain at once.
‘‘Two kilometres either way is the difference between being completely dry and very, very wet.’’
Tararua councillor Alison Franklin lives on a hill above Pahiatua, and her rain meter recorded 45mm of rain in an hour, she said
‘‘[I’ve] never seen a storm like it. It didn’t move at all, it just hung over the town for an hour then disappeared.’’
Franklin said the downpour caused what was probably the worst flooding the town has seen in 30 years.