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Horizons Regional Council staff have been inspecting the damage Cyclone Gabrielle has caused to the region’s land and waterways.
Tararua was hammered by the cyclone last week, with flooding and slips causing havoc, while parts of Manawatū were also affected.
Since then Horizons staff have been out assessing damage and collating information so they know what work is needed to improve the resilience of waterways.
While there were some areas of vulnerability, the network had avoided major damage and should be able to cope with rain forecast for this weekend.
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* ‘Absolute devastation’: Cyclone Gabrielle hammers Ākitio in coastal Tararua
A spokesman for the council said river management staff were out in the field repairing or surveying river management infrastructure.
Surveillance flights had been done to inspect infrastructure. A flight on Wednesday looked over the Pohangina, Ōroua and Rangitīkei rivers. A flight on Thursday went over Tararua.
“As water levels keep dropping we continue to expect to get a clearer picture of any damage to river management infrastructure and what repairs may be required.”
The main damage being reported to the council is erosion to riverbanks.
Some landowners have also reported damage to culverts on their properties and asked for regulatory advice about replacing them.
The council has received 29 inquiries via the rmenquiries@horizons.govt.nz email address as of Friday morning, but it had received more reports via contact with engineers or other channels.
The council has a page on its website for people needing regulatory advice as a result of the cyclone: horizons.govt.nz/news/welfare-assistance.
With predicted rain this weekend, Horizons urged people to take care.
A weather system off of the east coast of the North Island is forecast to bring rain to various areas, including the Tararua Range.
Horizons regional group controller Craig Grant said the heaviest rain in the region was forecast for the east coast and Ruahine Range on Saturday.
The headwaters of the Pohangina, Ōroua and Rangitīkei will likely receive a period of heavy rain on Saturday morning, so landowners with stock in low-lying paddocks were asked to be aware river and stream levels may rise rapidly, but not to the levels of last week.
“We do not expect to need to operate the Moutoa floodgates between Shannon and Foxton. We may need to operate the Makino floodgates near Feilding and will be keeping those who farm along the spillway up to date.”
Horizons will continue to be in contact with the region’s city and district councils.
Grant said the rain would make road conditions in Tararua slippery and possibly cause more slips, so asked people to avoid travelling to the area.
Tararua remains under the national state of emergency and the district council is still responding to the cycling.
The most recent welfare outreach convoys visited rural properties, only accessible by 4WD vehicles, in Ākitio, Pongaroa and Herbertville, delivering supplies.
Three days of non-perishable food supply were delivered to the Ākitio Community Hall in case the forecasted rainfall cuts the settlement off again.
Assistance was provided to the Herbertville campground clean up.
Council building staff conducted further building inspections resulting in one property being yellow stickered.
The council was on Friday monitoring rainfall and weather forecasts and in support of this, Horizons water teams were installing river level monitors on the Ākitio, Wainui and Owahanga rivers.
The monitors will send out cellular alerts to council and those registered of any significant level changes, which will be used for early warning purposes.
Roads to affected coastal regions are vulnerable still, especially now there is more rain. Many roads are closed to the public and are needed for the response effort.
There are 27 closed roads, which may fluctuate with the weather.
Work to reopen the stretch of Route 52 from Weber to Ākitio was expected to be completed by Wednesday. Work to clear and open Sugarloaf Rd and the Bolton Road Bridge was being done on Friday.
The Pongaroa water treatment plant is operating well, but a precautionary boil water notice for Pongaroa remains.
A 15,000-litre tank of potable water is available to draw from at the Pongaroa Community Hall. Friday was the third day of water testing and if the results were satisfactory, the notice would be lifted on Friday night.
The precautionary boil water notice for Ākitio remains. The plant is operating well and Thursday’s water sample returned its first satisfactory test result.
Further test samples would be taken on Friday and Saturday. If both results were satisfactory, the notice would be lifted late on Saturday.
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