Tuesday 15 November 2016

Floods in Wellington after 7.5 earthquake


Just 24 hours after a 7.5 earthquake the top of the South Island and the capital city experienced major flooding
Evacuations in Hutt Valley as stream floods

People in the Hutt Valley are being evacuated as the Waiwhetu Stream floods.

15 November, 2016

Wellington is also being badly affected, with roads closing, rivers swelling, and winds buffeting a capital dealing with loosened glass from the quake.



Twelve schools, four libraries and two clubhouses are also shut.

Wellington, still being rattled by aftershocks last night, has faced rain for 24 hours.
New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) said several roads in the region had been closed.

SH1 between Mackays Crossing and Paremata

SH2 between Ngauranga and Petone closed northbound

SH58 from Paremata to Haywards Interchange at SH2

Grey Road

Paekakariki Hill Road

Rail services between Wellington and Petone have been suspended until further notice due to the flooding.

While rain was beginning to ease, the MetService said, Wellington was only 11mm off its monthly record.

Traffic was backing up around Petone, Ngauranga and Paremata.

In Hutt City, civil defence told people to prepare to evacuate their homes due to flooding of Waiwhetu Stream.

Flooding of Waiwhetu Stream, Hutt City. Residents should prepare to evacuate or evacuate now to friends or family or Walter Nash Stadium.


The agency advised road users to avoid the Mana/Paremata areas north of Wellington due to slips and flooding.

Police said motorists from Porirua and Kapiti Coast were asked to avoid any unnecessary travel and motorists from the Hutt Valley should take extreme care.
The road policing manager for Wellington, Mike Wright, said motorists should avoid any unnecessary travel.

Goodbye footpath and driveway, nice knowing you 👍🏽


"If you're at work, stay at work, if you're home- stay home.

"Please, just exercise tolerance and patience and take your directions from the staff that are at respective road closure sites, trying to turn people around."

The Plimmerton roundabout was under water but some motorists were making their way through.

Grays Road and Paekakariki Hill Road in Porirua and State Highway 58 over the Haywards Hill have been closed until further notice.

Police said contractors in the worse affected areas were managing traffic and motorists should follow their instructions.

Train services in the Wellington region have also been disrupted due to flooding and slips.

Kapiti Line trains between Plimmerton and Waikanae were cancelled, with no services available.

Kenepuru Station in Porirua and Taita Station in Lower Hutt were closed due to flooding.

Petone Working Men's Club flooded out, Udy St also blocked off

A heavy rainfall warning is also still in place in the region, with the Hutt Valley bearing the brunt of that overnight.

In the Hutt Valley, 68.3mm of rain fell in 24 hours - almost twice as much as was recorded there over the weekend.


The rain is expected to ease off around the middle of the day, but heavy falls may continue slightly longer on the Kapiti Coast.

Fire Service Wellington shift manager Mike Wanoa said they had received weather related calls from as far north as Taranaki since midnight.

He said several houses have been flooded in the Hutt Valley, Porirua, Plimmerton and Paremata.

"Numerous houses have been flooded, basements, water rising around the streams in the Hutt Valley, which are threatening properties. Several houses have been evacuated as a result of that. There's surface flooding in many of the areas."
Mike Wanoa said in the Hutt Valley, the flooding is mostly concentrated around the Naenae, central Hutt area.

First alarms have been triggered for the Hutt River and Porirua Stream indicating water levels are rising, but the Wellington Region Emergency Management team said it was not too significant.

Wellington Civil Defence controller Bruce Pepperell said there were three levels of alarms, and first alarms happened several times a year.

The Lower Hutt Riverbank car park closed due to flooding, which Mr Pepperell said was what usually happened in these situations.

Mr Pepperell said emergency centres were on stand by.

across the Haywards is closed now, but here's a photo from a friend who tried to get across a little while ago.

Wind gusts up to 130km/h were recorded on the Rimutaka Hill Road at 6am.
NIWA said it was likely gale-force winds in Wellington could be strong enough to do damage to things already shaken loose by the earthquakes.

Some of the capital's central city streets are shut due to fears the gales could further damage buildings and send glass flying, and NIWA forecaster Chris Brandolino said with winds in excess of 110km/h, that was a distinct possibility.
Both the rain and wind were expected to ease in Wellington later in the day.
Marlborough

Wet conditions are also making life more difficult in Marlborough, which was badly hit by the 7.5 magnitude earthquake that struck near Hanmer Springs at 12.02am on Monday.

Marlborough Civil Defence Controller Richard McNamara told Morning Report flooding was possible between Blenheim and Nelson, and people may need to be evacuated this morning if sandbags proved to be inadequate.

The highway between Blenheim and Nelson has closed due to flooding in Canvastown.

Emergency services reported earlier that the Pelorus River had breached its banks and evacuations were planned in the Canvastown area.

A cordon has been placed on State Highway 6 at the Wairau Bridge and traffic heading to Nelson is being diverted through State Highway 63 through the Wairau Valley to St Arnaud.

The area is also at the mercy of severe northwest gales, gusting at up to 130km/h.

Kaikoura, which is cut off from the rest of the country by major landslides, was likely to have clear weather later today, MetService forecasts.
Otago

Steady rain in Otago has triggered flood alerts.

Pomahaka River in South Otago triggered two flood warnings this morning, though seems to have peaked.

The Otago regional council said rivers had also risen in North Otago.

It said heavy rain was forecast for tomorrow and Thursday, and would fall on sodden ground, so there was a risk of flooding later in the week.
Forecasts elsewhere

Severe gale northwest winds were also expected in exposed parts of Taranaki and Wairarapa.

Heavy rain is also expected in the eastern ranges of Bay of Plenty, where MetService expects 120mm of rain to fall from this afternoon and through the night.

MetService warned that people in Bay of Plenty, as well as Wellington to Horowhenua and the central North Island hill country, should watch for rivers and streams that may rise rapidly and could cause slips and surface flooding.

Heavy rain in northwest Nelson, Buller, Westland and the Bryant and Richmond Ranges has eaed.

Christchurch, which was also shaken by yesterday's quake, is likely to escape the bad weather, with dry conditions expected.


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