Central North Island cleanup begins after stormy weekend
A town in the central North Island is in cleaning mode due to the effects of the new coronavirus infection. The river bank collapsed due to heavy rain, and evacuation occurred around the area..
Slips and floods occurred on Sunday in the closed section of State Roads 3 and 4 and in the Rangitikei district. The declaration of a state of emergency is near When the Tsutaenui River flooded.
In Whanganui, residents were warned that more landslides could occur as the land in the area remained saturated.
About 20 people were evacuated from lowland Petiki, which borders the Whanganui River, on Saturday night.
Rangitikei Mayor Andy Watson said: morning report The weather was like ‘much better this morning’.
“Today is going to be a cleaning mode day to go check out the country roads,” Watson said.
“Most of the streets in our town have reopened and look much better.”
Watson said welfare checks will be conducted on residents today after some displaced people returned home last night.
The district was on the verge of declaring a state of emergency, but Watson said he felt the situation was being handled locally and no additional resources were needed.
Although the weather was notable for the district, Watson said he did not expect the Tutaenui River to burst its levee.
Some roads are still affected by the slip and investigations are currently underway to determine the extent of the damage.
“There are some companies that I know that have been flooded. We are investigating how it is flooded.” Much of the rural network has been damaged by landslides and ground subsidence. ”
Whanganui Mayor Andrew Tripe said there had been a “massive and complex” landslide on Shakespeare Road near Kowhai Park.
Resolving this issue was a priority, as was welfare testing of displaced people.
“The ground is so saturated that it doesn’t take long for flooding to occur. Since most of us are hilly, some of the land is at risk of landslides.
“At the end of the day, what matters most at these events is the safety and welfare of our communities.”
tripe said morning report After many weather events in recent years, he was confident that emergency management teams could quickly respond to such situations.
“That being said, many of these homes have been around for a long time and are built in flood prone areas. It’s important to get through it.”
Tripe said he drove past the Whanganui River this morning and that the river had returned to near normal levels.
“We can actually see blue skies outside, so I think we are definitely out of the worst and hopefully things will return to normal in the next few days.”
But Tripe said people should still be mindful of the risks of driving on flooded roads.
“Some people have had to be rescued trying to drive through it. People need to be extremely careful when driving on roads that are closed to traffic or suitable for 4WD only.”
“I’ve seen pictures of one car literally floating on one side of the road, so it’s not advisable to try to drive through an area like this.”
Waka Kotahi said road crews will spend a week clearing the slipped trees and trees after the storm.
Manawatu Wanganui Taranaki system manager Rob Service said drivers should be careful.
“There is a lot of debris and flooding in places, so there will be a lot of stuff, twigs, pieces of wood, etc. around the road. So be careful, slow down and drive according to the weather. Please drive according to the road conditions and drive safely. ”
Officials said workers were waiting for the flood waters to recede before reopening portions of Route 3.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/490381/clean-up-begins-for-central-north-island-after-weekend-of-wild-weather Central North Island cleanup begins after stormy weekend