North Island weather bomb

Written By: - Date published: 9:01 pm, April 4th, 2017 - 28 comments
Categories: climate change, disaster - Tags: , ,

Kia haha to those dealing with another round of flooding and civil emergencies.

What You Need To Know (8.50pm Tues from Stuff):

  • Fire crews are responding to a cliff collapse in Auckland, with a person reportedly unaccounted for.
  • The Whanganui and Rangitikei Districts have declared states of emergencyahead of possible historic flooding
  • All schools in the Whanganui and Rangitikei Districts will be closed on Wednesday, and the Ministry of Education is advising all early childhood education services to close as well.
  • The North Island is facing heavy rain, slips and floods in areas including Northland, Auckland, Waikato, Waitomo, Coromandel Peninsula, Bay of Plenty, Taranaki, the Whanganui District, the Tararua Ranges, Gisborne, Hawke’s Bay and Wairarapa
  • Rain totals could exceed 200mm in some areas. Heavy falls are forecast for Tuesday night into Wednesday
  • Parts of Taranaki had more than 100mm of rainfall in 24 hours
  • The storm closed SH1 south of Kaikoura, hours after re-opening
  • A number of slips and floods have closed SH4 between Whanganui River Rd and Raetihi
  • About 1000 people were without power in rural Manawatu on Tuesday afternoon

What You Need To Know (8.45pm Tues from RNZ)

Whanganui District – local state of emergency

  • People told to evacuate flood-zone areas in Whanganui by 10am Wednesday
  • Flood-zone areas include: Anzac Parade and areas of Whanganui East, Taupo Quay and Putiki
  • Evacuees can head to Whanganui Girls’ College and St Paul’s – St Mark’s Presbyterian Church on Guyton Street
  • Every school will remain closed on Wednesday
  • Whanganui River expected to reach 17.7m by about 1pm Wednesday, two metres above 2015 flood levels when about 400 people were left homeless

Rangitikei District – local state of emergency

  • Rangitikei District Council has also declared a state of emergency
  • It plans to evacuate residents near the Tutaenui Stream tonight
  • Every school will remain closed on Wednesday
  • There are likely to be further evacuations at Whangaehu and Turakina on Wednesday
  • Tutaenui Stream expected to reach a similar level to 2004 flood event early on Wednesday
  • River level at Whangaehu/Kauangaroa expected to be 15m at 3pm on Wednesday
  • River level at Turakina expected to be 11.6m at 6.45pm Wednesday
  • The Rangitikei River is not expected to cause concern at this point
Radio NZ is also providing live updates on its website for the civil emergency areas of Whanagui and Rangitikei.

 

28 comments on “North Island weather bomb ”

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  1. Carolyn_nth 1
    4 April 2017 at 9:19 pm

    Mud slides are a worry in hilly Auckland.

    It sounds like everybody are probably OK after the mudslide hit a block of flats in Kohimarama Rd in Auckland:

    NZ Herald on that.

  2. bwaghorn 2
    4 April 2017 at 9:38 pm

    tipped 65 mls out of my rain gauge at 3 pm and it has rained constantly since then, the whole of the whanganui head waters will be getting the same , a lot of farmers will be waking up to a lot of damage.

    • joe90 2.1
      4 April 2017 at 9:52 pm

      The morning after the 2015 floods peaked I stood here and wondered WTF all the white dots were along the beach.

      They were freezers and fridges washed out of garages and wool sheds.

      • bwaghorn 2.1.1
        5 April 2017 at 7:23 am

        you’ll be glad to hear we only had 57 mls overnight , sounds like they’ve downgraded the warnings

  3. tc 3
    5 April 2017 at 6:38 am

    Be careful on the roads folks, they are bad enough with nationals pilfering of funding for the holiday highways already.

    Watch out for new holes, further shoulder degradation and the usual slips which Mother Natures torrential rain will create.

    • Tarquin 3.1
      5 April 2017 at 7:57 am

      Why do you begrudge Northland getting a decent road? Those of us that live and work up here need this road to improve our economy and help us move forward. The road improvements will slingshot our province into a prosperous future and provide much needed jobs. Calling it the holiday highway is tiresome, and shows a total lack of logical thought. Or, is it the fact a few wealthy people have baches up here that blinds you?

      • Drowsy M. Kram 3.1.1
        5 April 2017 at 9:03 pm

        Road improvements might slingshot your province into a BRIGHTER future, but mind the whiplash. Hope all those flying blind land on their feet.

  4. Ad 4
    5 April 2017 at 8:11 am

    Fairly bracing seeing Great North Road New Lynn this morning with a 15 metre wide and metre deep river cutting across it.

    On top of the one we had three weeks ago, same place.

    • weka 4.1
      5 April 2017 at 8:24 am

      How many NI floods is that in the past month?

      • Carolyn_nth 4.1.1
        5 April 2017 at 8:28 am

        This weather is pretty unusual for Auckland. On top of that, at the start of autumn, the weather is as warm and humid as the height of summer. I’ve had the fan on low over night several nights in the last week, just to create a draft and cool the air so I can sleep.

        Seriously wonky seasons.

        • grumpystilskin 4.1.1.1
          5 April 2017 at 9:28 am

          Remember our “usual” summer didn’t really start till late Dec here in Akld, (Also, the cicadas didn’t appear till mid Jan rather then the usual 2nd week of Dec at my place). Expect the following seasons to follow this pattern.

          • Carolyn_nth 4.1.1.1.1
            5 April 2017 at 12:52 pm

            Yep. As I said, Auckland seasons are a bit wonky.

            Plus some extreme weather.

      • Ad 4.1.2
        5 April 2017 at 8:29 am

        A fair few.

        And with the sea this warm we are due for more events throughout April.
        The http://www.metvuw.co.nz forecast already has another complex ex-tropical mess coming down in the next 10 days.

        • AB 4.1.2.1
          5 April 2017 at 12:15 pm

          “A fair few”
          Don’t you just love those descriptions of them in the media as “one in one
          hundred year events”?

  5. Jenny Kirk 5
    5 April 2017 at 9:45 am

    Is this sort of weather finally going to wake the govt up about climate change ?
    And the people living along cliff tops who have objected to councils putting restrictions on what they can do with their (slippery) land ?
    And will the authorities make some definite changes or are we (the collective “we” which is our country) just going to accept these weather patterns will continue, and not doing anything more ?

    • TheExtremist 5.1
      5 April 2017 at 9:57 am

      “Is this sort of weather finally going to wake the govt up about climate change ?”

      While I’m a firm and ardent believer in AGW cyclones happen all the time and to put this down to climate change is pretty silly

      • weka 5.1.1
        5 April 2017 at 10:11 am

        Ah the reductionist mind set. Try looking at the pattern not the detail.

        • TheExtremist 5.1.1.1
          5 April 2017 at 10:55 am

          I’m not trying to be reductionist just it is the inverse of of a denier saying because it is snowing climate change isn’t real.

          *shrugs*

          • weka 5.1.1.1.1
            5 April 2017 at 11:08 am

            Not really. The NI is having a lot of floods in the past month, looks like climate change types of weather to me. Sure we can say that if climate change didn’t exist that there might be floods anyway, but climate change is here, and it affects all weather now, so what’s the point of that conversation?

            Besides, Jenny said ‘this sort of weather’, which in the context of her comment to me implies the kind of extreme weather events we are expecting to see more of now. Having an argument over the exactitude of her comment at a meteorological level is a pedantry that’s unwarranted given the point of Jenny’s comment, which is we need to wake up and fast.

      • Anne 5.1.2
        5 April 2017 at 3:43 pm

        The Extremist @ 5.1

        It’s not the fact that tropical cyclonic activity has always existed, but rather they are increasing in intensity due to global warming of the atmosphere. This kind of “extreme” weather event – be it of tropical or polar origin – is occurring more often. The 1 in 100 frequency span is now below 20 and in the not too distant future will be an annual event.

        That is the link to Climate Change.

    • weka 5.2
      5 April 2017 at 10:07 am

      This govt? Not a chance. They already know what needs to be known. They don’t care.

      • AB 5.2.1
        5 April 2017 at 12:26 pm

        Yeah – it won’t be the Government, it will be the insurance industry that responds first.
        Expect home insurance to get increasingly expensive for everyone, and be denied in certain localities. Home owners with lower incomes (e.g. the retired) will start going uninsured or have to take out loans against their houses in order to insure them. Some people who go uninsured will be wiped out. Landlords will put rents up to cover higher insurance premiums. This is how it will start – the insurance industry acting to protect their margins and the poorest people feeling the pain first.

    • Sabine 5.3
      5 April 2017 at 2:31 pm

      Nothing will change until the day the Insurances refuse to insure certain properties in certain well to do areas.

      give it another 5 or 6 one in a hundred year rains over the next two to three years.

  6. Sabine 6
    5 April 2017 at 10:21 am

    we were on the road last night.
    T’was interesting.

    It’s gonna be a busy day for first responders and volunteers.

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