Evacuations and roads closed to slips as heavy rain hits top of the South Island

About 20 homes in the Rīwaka area were evacuated overnight as heavy rain continues to hit Tasman and Marlborough.

A heavy rain warning from MetService for the region began at 8pm on Friday evening and by 9.30pm evacuations were taking place in the Brooklands and Rīwaka area.

Tasman district mayor Tim King said the Motueka Recreation Centre was opened for evacuees but everyone had been able to stay with friends and family as the situation continued to deteriorate.

“Roads are closed to slips in the Brooklands and Rīwaka area and slips have cut off Mārahau. Crews are out working on roads and stormwater has caused some issues behind Richmond. The Maitai river is rising quite rapidly. The rain is still coming,” he said.

READ MORE:
* Roofs lift off homes as tornado and thunderstorms tear through Tasman region
* Slips and evacuations as parts of Wellington mark second-wettest day on record
* Hundreds evacuated, roads flooded and communities cut off on West Coast after days of torrential rain

The Nelson Tasman Civil Defence posted on Facebook alerting locals that by 9.54pm multiple roads had been closed in the area, including Cooks Corner and Umukuri, Brooklyn Valley, Motueka West Bank and Rīwaka-Sandy Bay roads.

It said bad weather continued to affect the top of the South Island, with heavy rain warnings in place until Saturday evening.

State Highway 60 in Tākaka was closed by flooding at the Waitapu Bridge and with no detours available, this means there is no access between Tākaka and Collingwood.

Also on State Highway 60, there is localised flooding at the intersection of Riwaka-Kaiteriteri Road. A 30 km/h speed limit is in place.

“Contractors have been dealing with slips and rockfalls across the region’s highways overnight. These, along with localised flooding, are expected to remain a risk as the wet weather continues,” it said.

Fire and Emergency Southern shift manager Blair Walklin previously said residents were evacuated from Factory, Old Mill and Swamp roads in Rīwaka to the Nelson Tasman Civil Defence evacuation area at the Motueka Recreation Centre as a precaution.

“They had some flash-flooding, lots of rain all at once, but it’s to be expected with the current forecast,” he said.

Those with concerns for their welfare were urged to head to the evacuation centre and firefighters were out and about to help anyone evacuate if needed.

“We’re just going around and knocking on doors and doing welfare checks.”

Firefighters were also checking the condition of bridges, roads that could be effected, Walklin said.

MetService cautioned that streams and rivers may rise rapidly due to the heavy rain, and surface flooding and slips were also possible, making driving conditions hazardous.

Tasman police released a statement urging motorists to stay off the roads.

“Police have received a number of reports of flooding, trees down and slips from across the region.”

“A number of roads are reported to be impassable, especially in the Rīwaka area.”

A spokesperson said police assisted with a small number of weather-related calls in the greater Nelson area on Friday night and Saturday morning.

“This involved assistance with flooding, slips and road blockages. Police are continuing to advise motorists to drive with caution as heavy rain continues,” she said.

MetService said the orange heavy rain warning would remain over Tasman from Motueka westwards until 11pm Saturday with up to 170mm expected about the ranges and up to 100mm near the coast. The rain would ease for a time on Saturday morning, it said.

The warning would remain in place for Marlborough about and north of the Awatere Valley, also Nelson and Tasman south and east of Motueka until 9pm Saturday. Up to a further 180 mm was expected about the ranges, and up to 100 mm elsewhere.

The weather would then move to Buller where a heavy rain watch was in place until 3pm Sunday.