STORMWATER unleashed by the flooding caused spectacular damage to SH43, at the southern end of Herlihy’s Bluff. PHOTO SUPPLIED
RUAPEHU Civil Defence and contractors were kept busy over the Auckland Anniversary weekend responding to issues caused by the massive wet weather event.
Civil Defence controller Clive Manley said that in addition to the usual flood-prone areas there were numerous slips on the road network.
“The Ongarue and Ōhura rivers both reached very high levels over Saturday and Sunday but were dropping throughout Monday,” he said.
“Ruapehu Civil Defence staff have been out around the district checking on communities and infrastructure and will be keeping a close eye on the situation over the coming week with more wet weather forecast. They found local communities responding well to the situation and in good spirits.
Clive said the council staff and contractors had responded well to the road outages, which were cleared as quickly as possible.
“We urged people to stay home if they could but if they had to travel, then to take extreme care on the roads and if travelling any distance to check with the Waka Kotahi NZTA website for road information before their journey.”
Clive noted that while Ruapehu got off lightly overall compared to other districts, including Waitomo to the north where a state of emergency was declared, more bad weather forecast toward the end of the week represented continued risk.
Forgotten World Adventures general manager Kara Matheson said the company had been extremely lucky with recent weather events affecting the region, having remained relatively unscathed.
“We cancelled tours on Saturday as a safety precaution, based on the forecast. Some staff did strike blocked roads and detours on the way back to Taumarunui later in the day and SH43 was temporarily closed while Downer worked on significant washouts.”
However, Kara said one tour group booked for the Sunday had to cancel due to disruptions caused by the flooding in Auckland.
“We ran a high-rail digger along the track looking for any issues on Monday and moved carts around in preparation of tours on Tuesday. This is a standard operating procedure following any major weather event.
Apart from a few minor issues there was just one slip requiring the digger’s help outside Tunnel 24, at the Taumarunui end of the line. The line was not damaged at all,” Kara said.
Stormwater unleashed by the flooding caused spectacular damage to SH43, at the southern end of Herlihy’s Bluff, where a stream goes under the road through a large culvert.
Nearby residents said the culvert couldn’t cope with volume of water from the stream and the water backed up, increasing in depth until it was higher than the road. It then flowed down the road to a low spot where it cascaded through the fence and down into lower paddocks.
“This caused the washout to occur,” the residents said.
“Roading contractors erected safety barriers, reducing traffic to one lane and routing it over a temporary metal road along the verge.”
A summary of significant impacts in Ruapehu: – Opotiki Rd was closed due to multiple slips. – SH43 had multiple issues: SH43 to Chura was closed for a period due to multiple issues, including a significant dropout. Contractors widened the right-hand side of the road for traffic to get past. – Ōhura River flooding and slips: Ōhura River at Nihoniho reached levels where there was flooding between Matiere and Ōhura; a slip occurred on Ōhura Rd, 11km out of Matiere, local farmers had concerns initially but were able to use 4×4 and ATVs to move stock.
“People should call in to the council any road outages or other issues (on 07 895 8188), or if there is a situation threatening life or property to call emergency services on 111,” Clive said.
