Reaching cut-off communities priority for Tararua as Cyclone Gabrielle eases

It will be “days, weeks and years” before Tararua’s roads and bridges recover from the devastating effects of Cyclone Gabrielle.

The district remains under a national state of emergency as the damage to homes and infrastructure is assessed.

Rainfall and winds are steady in the district, and the rivers are still in high flow. A number of bridges have been totally submerged and some communities remain isolated or difficult to reach.

An update provided from the Tararua District Council on at 11.45am on Wednesday said while the brunt of the storm had passed, there was much assessment and clean-up to do.

READ MORE:
* Cyclone Gabrielle: Manawatū district council opens floodgates following torrential rain
* ‘Stream went from 10m wide to 500m’ – rising river levels hit Tararua
* Flooding causes SH56 closure, Moutoa floodgate opening pushed back

About 40 roads across the district remained closed and some would remain that way for the foreseeable future.

“It will take months, if not years for our roading network to recover from the damage.”

The priority was to reconnect cut-off communities. A helicopter would be deployed on Wednesday afternoon to undertake a recon flight of the hard-hit coastal areas, Ākitio, Herbertville and Pongaroa, to gain a greater understanding of the situation.

Several roads would be cleared for teams to access so they can reach people who needed it. However, these roads would not be open to the public.

The Civil Defence Centre has been established by Ngāti Kahungunu at the Dannevirke Sports Centre. It is open to anyone who needs it.

Mayor Tracey Collis visited the people sheltering and said she was impressed by the great spirit and resilience they displayed.

Many of the evacuees were international visitors and it was uplifting to see the community support from everyone, no matter where they came from.

Dannevirke’s wastewater treatment plant remains overwhelmed.

The community was urged to be mindful of their water use, and to refrain from using washing machines and dishwashers. Only flush toilets when necessary.

A temporary boil water notice has also been issued for Ākitio.

There are about 40 roads closed throughout the district, four roads on single lane traffic only and three roads are closed to heavy traffic.

The Saddle Road / State Highway 3 between Ashhurst and Woodville remains closed due to flooding, and there are more than 40 roads closed across the Tararua district.

A council statement said the weather was slowly improving, but conditions were still dangerous so asked people to drive carefully if they had to and report hazards to the council.

The council had a list of road statuses on its website.

Palmerston North: Avoid river and conserve water

The Palmerston North City Council asked the public to stay away from the river and other waterways.

“Our awa is very full right now and the river pathway has flooded on both sides. We are expecting more water to come through [on Wednesday] from the Tararua ranges and district.

“The stopbanks are still doing a wonderful job keeping us safe. But we were really concerned to hear how many people went out sightseeing [on Tuesday] night and walking and playing in floodwaters, especially at the end of Maxwells Line.

“Please don’t go near floodwater. If you cannot see the road do not drive through it. Do not play or walkthrough the water as it could be contaminated or have debris.”

Palmerston North residents were also being asked to conserve water.

The wastewater treatment plant was operating well, but the discharge point to the Manawatū River was now underwater,

Treated wastewater is being stored at the treatment plant but later this morning we might have to use an alternative discharge point to the Mangaone Stream, waters group manager Mike Monaghan said.

“We are asking all residents to avoid unnecessary use of water. This means water should only be used for drinking, cooking, hygiene, business needs and for making formula.

“If you can put off showers, baths, washing your laundry, using your dishwashers we’d really appreciate it. This means our plant will be able to continue treating our wastewater and there’ll be less water entering the Mangaone.”

Tap water remains safe to drink.

The stormwater system was at full capacity, but it was working. If the rain continued, surface flooding was expected in some parts of town.

“Don’t be alarmed if you see some water backing up on your road today. People think that means our stormwater system isn’t working, but it is. In heavy rain, roads may struggle to cope with large amounts of water and this is where it can flow onto berms and properties,” Monaghan said.

“When this occurs, we activate pump stations across the city to help push water through the network.”

Some roads are closed, including at Newbury and Ōpiki.

West End and Central Normal schools, and Awatapu College had closed on Wednesday.

Palmerston North rubbish and recycling collections were expected to start on Wednesday, but the council may need to stop as access to its resource recovery centre has some flooding.

Manawatū District Council staff were assessing its road network and would update its road network map online.

Timona Park remains closed due to the swollen Ōroua River, but Raumai Bridge reopened at about 9am.

Pohangina Valley East Road is open to as far as Konewa Bridge, so residents south of Konewa Bridge can exit the valley if they wish.

Moutoa floodgates opened

The Moutoa floodgates between Foxton and Shannon have been opened as Horizons Regional Council emergency management staff continue to respond to the effect of Cyclone Gabrielle across the region.

Horizons opened the floodgates on Tuesday night relieve pressure on the bottom stem of the Manawatū River, as the region deals with torrential rain from Cyclone Gabrielle.

The bottom stem of the Manawatū River is windy and slows water down. Diverting flood flows down the spillway reduces of water overflowing into peoples’ properties, but this doesn’t have any impact on water levels upstream.

River levels in the Rangitīkei, Ōroua and Tararua district were all starting to peak and recede.

Horizons Regional Council regional group controller Craig Grant said the focus on Wednesday was accessing welfare needs, lifelines and flood protection infrastructure.

“Welfare includes checking in on people and livestock, as we’re aware that there are a number of displaced people across the region and low-lying rural properties adjacent to rivers that have been impacted.

“We’ll be working with our city [and] district councils on this, as well as with addressing critical lifelines infrastructure needs such as roads, power, water and telecommunications. We’ll also be out assessing flood protection infrastructure to determine what areas may need repairs or maintenance.

“Our thoughts are with people who are facing the reality of flood damage on their properties and aim to have an update on sources of welfare assistance later today. We will be starting to think about recovery over the next few days as the initial response stage passes.

“Once again we ask people to stay out of and away from floodwaters. While they’re a novelty to some, they should be treated as contaminated and can sweep people away unexpectedly.”

Grant said there was more rain [on Tuesday night] than forecasted, highlighting how tricky the cyclone had been to predict.

“[On Wednesday morning] people are likely to see some surface flooding around and rivers remain full.

“All our rivers have peaked and are dropping so although they are still high, they have coped with the extra rainfall we received overnight. Areas that we were keeping a close watch on such as Tangimoana, Te Arakura Rd near Feilding and Te Matai Rd near Palmerston North are no longer a concern as rivers recede.

“In terms of key infrastructure the Kopane spillway stopped operating overnight as the Ōroua River dropped.

“The Moutoa floodgates are open and will remain so until at least [Thursday]. A reminder that these floodgates don’t impact water levels upstream, they simply provide a shortcut for floodwaters to get to the sea in the lower reaches.

“Due to cellular telecommunication issues we lost connection to our monitoring sites in Tararua [on Tuesday].

“A team is in the Tararua [on Wednesday] to reconnect these sites, although a number of others on the east coast are still out of action. We’re working as quickly as we can to get the impacted sites back up and running, however, it’s challenging with the number of roads and bridges that are impassable.

“Finally, we are expecting some more scattered rain across the region [on Wednesday], but we expect our systems to have enough capacity. However, we’re keeping an eye on the Matarawa and Kai Iwi systems in Whanganui, and Whangaehu and Turakina rivers as there is likely to be greater localised rainfall in those areas.”

Up-to-date information on river heights and rainfall is available via Horizons 24-hour toll-free Waterline 0508 4 FLOOD or its website.

Updates will also be posted to the Manawatū-Whanganui Civil Defence Facebook page.

If people need help evacuating call 111.

Waka Kotahi’s journey planner and the MetService website are providing updates.

For sandbag and evacuation information contact your local council and listen to your local radio stations for another option for civil defence updates.