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Source: Radio New Zealand

A Waikato man says he had never seen damage like the scenes on his parent’s Waipā farm following Friday’s intense rain.

The South Waikato was hit hard by severe weather that hammered the North Island, causing widespread flooding and slips, and the death of a motorist in floodwaters.

Ryan Vickers said the weatherbomb that hit parts of the district was so localised, he had no idea how bad it was from his Hamilton home just 30 minutes away.

But after a long and nervous night for his mother, who was left trapped on the farm after flooding destroyed vehicle access, he drove to the property at the base of Mt Pirongia on Saturday.

What he saw shocked him.

“I’ve lived in rural communities most of my life, and I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Vickers said a relatively small creek on the property flooded, presumably banking up before bursting with huge force.

“I feel like what must have happened is a slip covered the creek further up, and then it kind of broke, like a dam breaking.

“What came down was the water shifting massive boulders bigger than cars and just throwing them down the mountain.

“It took out logs and trees. Stuff within five metres either side of the river [has] just been shredded, picked up and thrown down the hill.

“Then it got to the bridge, the crossing mum and dad had going up to their farm, and it’s just smashed that as well.”

To get to the Waipā farm, Vickers was forced to take back roads and travel across farmland, before using heavy machinery to clear tracks and create a path out through the back of the farm.

He said while the property had a generator, he expected it to be without water for days.

Fences, bridges, roads and livestock have been damaged or swept away, and several nearby properties are cut off.

He said it was a close-knit community, and everyone would pitch in to help out.

His mother was no stranger to intense weather and flooding, but she described the noise of tumbling boulders as terrifying.

“She was worried, given what happened at the Mount, she was worried a slip could come down at their place, and she was up there by herself because Dad’s working on another farm at the moment.”

His mum got no sleep on Friday, and was a little “shell-shocked” by the experience, he said.

Vickers said the increasing frequency of these type of events pointed to a shift in the climate.

“All these hundred-year events that happen every few years, something’s changed hasn’t it?”

The South Waikato region took a particular beating from Friday’s thunderstorms, with roads, homes and infrastructure damaged in widespread flooding.

Around 80 people were forced to evacuate their homes and a motorist died when his vehicle became submerged at Puketotara on Saturday night.

Flooding and slips have closed State Highway 3 between Te Awamutu and Ōtorohanga, State Highway 39 – Pirongia to Ōtorohanga, and State Highway 31 – Kawhia to Tihiroa, as well as dozens of local roads.

Mayor Rodney Dow said the district had experienced widespread flooding, slips and inundation.

“The situation in Ōtorohanga is serious.”

A local state of emergency for the Ōtorohanga district was declared in the early hours of Saturday morning, with a declaration for Waipā following on Saturday afternoon.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

The chair of Wellington Water has resigned following the Moa Point crisis.

Nick Leggett said the failure of the Wellington treatment plant was deeply serious and had affected the environment, public health and the community.

A failure at the treatment plant on Wellington’s south coast earlier this month has been spilling 70 million litres of untreated sewage a day into Cook Strait.

Labelled an environmental disaster by the city’s mayor, Wellington Water has warned it could be months before the plant is operating again and the waters are again swimmable.

Leggett said leadership carried responsibility, and stepping aside would allow Wellington Water to focus on fixing the problems and restoring public trust.

An independent government review would examine the causes of the failure. Leggett said he would fully cooperate with that process.

His last day will be Monday. Deputy chair Bill Bayfield will take over as interim chair.

Leggett had been in the role since 2023.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

Heavy rain and severe gales are forecast to batter the eastern and southern North Island, parts of Marlborough and North Canterbury, and the Chatham Islands.

MetService issued multiple orange heavy rain and strong wind warnings on Sunday, warning of dangerous conditions from Sunday morning through to Monday evening.

Heavy rain warnings in place

An orange heavy rain warning is in force for Gisborne/Tairāwhiti south of Poverty Bay and Hawke’s Bay, about and east of Wairoa, from 6am Sunday until 5am Monday. Between 100 and 150 millimetres of rain is forecast, with peak intensities of 15 to 25mm per hour on Sunday afternoon.

Rain may briefly ease overnight before becoming heavy again early Monday. There is a moderate chance of the warning being upgraded to red.

Further south, Hawke’s Bay south of Waipukurau, including the Ruahine Range and eastern hills from Cape Kidnappers southwards, is under an orange warning from noon Sunday until 9am Monday.

MetService expects 100 to 140mm of rain, with intense bursts of 20 to 30mm per hour, especially overnight Sunday into Monday.

Inland areas of Whanganui and Manawatū north of Marton, including Taihape, are covered by a warning from 6pm Sunday until 2pm Monday, with 100 to 150mm of rain forecast and peak rates of 10 to 20mm per hour.

A prolonged warning is also in place for Wairarapa, the Tararua District and the Tararua Range from 2pm Sunday until 7pm Monday. MetService says 120 to 160mm of rain is expected over the eastern hills and Tararua Range, and 50 to 80mm across the rest of Wairarapa.

Intensities of 20 to 25mm per hour are possible in elevated areas, particularly overnight.

MetService warns streams and rivers may rise rapidly, with surface flooding, slips and hazardous driving conditions likely.

Damaging winds forecast

Severe gales are also expected.

Wairarapa and the Tararua District are under an orange strong wind warning from 6pm Sunday until 9am Monday, with southwesterly gusts reaching 120km/h in exposed places.

In Wellington and eastern Marlborough, north of Clarence, severe south to southwesterlies are forecast from 6pm Sunday until 3pm Monday, with damaging gusts of up to 130km/h in exposed areas.

Although winds are expected to ease during Monday afternoon, they may remain close to severe gale strength in some places until midnight.

Meanwhile, Gisborne/Tairāwhiti south of Poverty Bay and Hawke’s Bay face severe west to southwesterlies from 5pm Sunday until 7am Monday, with coastal gusts also reaching 130km/h. There is a moderate chance this warning could be upgraded to red.

MetService says damaging winds could bring down trees and powerlines, and make travel hazardous, particularly for high-sided vehicles and motorcycles.

Emergencies ongoing

The latest warnings come as parts of the country remain in recovery mode from recent storms.

Local states of emergency are in place in the Waipā District and Ōtorohanga District after widespread flooding in Waikato, where a man died in floodwaters near SH39 on Friday.

Emergency Management Minister Mark Mitchell says the country is in a “perpetual cycle of response and recovery”, with 25 local states of emergency declared in the past two years.

In Waipā, the district council says its Te Tahi Water Treatment Plant has been significantly damaged. Water has been redirected to Pirongia at reduced flow, and residents are being asked to conserve water for drinking and hygiene only, and to flush toilets sparingly.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

Christchurch City Council is looking at bringing in drinking water to parts of the city as supermarkets sell out, after a boil water notice for bacteria contamination was sent to tens of thousands of residents.

A public health alert was issued on Saturday afternoon for around 14,000 households in New Brighton, Burwood, Wainoni, Aranui and Southshore.

It said all water, including filtered water, needed to be continuously boiled for at least one minute after routine testing discovered total coliforms in the Rawhiti water zone.

Total coliforms are a broad category of bacteria that can be found in faeces, but also live in the environment, including in soil and plants.

They do not generally pose a direct health risk, but the presence of total coliforms indicated bacteria were present and that treatment has not been effective or that treated water was vulnerable to contamination, according to the website of water regulator Taumata Arowai.

Residents and people travelling into the area received multiple emergency text alerts about the problem throughout Saturday.

Linwood Ward Councillor Yani Johanson said boil water notices on metropolitan water supplies were relatively rare, though noted the Rawhiti zone was under a notice for four days following the discovery of e.coli in 2019.

He had pressed the council for more details and advocated for bringing in water tankers to key spots to alleviate the burden for residents.

Some residents would be anxious and would want as much detail as possible about the levels of bacteria and the cause, particularly given the supply is chlorinated, he said.

Residents in the affected suburbs were already struggling with a surge in offensive odours from the city’s damaged sewage plant, which have plagued the eastern suburbs since a fire destroyed key infrastructure at the Bromley Wastewater Plant in 2021, and had intensified again over recent weeks.

“It’s another blow for the community,” he said.

Coastal Ward Councillor Celeste Donovan said the council was looking at options to bring in water, especially as supermarkets in the area were struggling to keep bottled water stocked.

On Saturday, the council arranged for a water tanker as New Brighton hosted thousands at the Coast to Coast finish line.

Donovan said there was never a good time to get news of bacterial contamination, but the alerts began just as more than 1000 multi-sport athletes, their supporters and spectators descended on New Brighton pier.

“Obviously with a lot of people who aren’t able to boil water at home, we wanted to make sure that people had access to water on site because we had thousands of people turning up for the Coast to Coast.”

Donovan said the influx of visitors was one of the reasons for the repeated emergency alerts, which reached everyone in the area – not just residents.

The council would update the community once further testing had taken place, but it could take a few days to lift the notice even if test results were clear as the council will have to identify the source of the bacteria before it can remove the boil notice, she said.

People could check if they were in the affected area on the council website or Facebook page, she said.

She acknowledged the community’s frustration at another infrastructure issue affecting residents in the area.

“I think that’s why it’s important we put out good information now, but there is a lot of frustration in the community and it highlights how important it is to continue to invest in infrastructure like our water pipes and making sure we avoid things like rates caps in the future,” Donovan said.

The council was committed to communicating with residents over the lingering stench from the Bromley sewage plant, she said.

Last month, anger boiled over about increasingly bad odours and a lack of information, with residents walking out of a heated public meeting after demanding more information, better communication and more support.

“The main thing is actually getting rid of the stench, which is the goal, of course. So speeding up the permanent fix is the priority and making sure that those live in that impacted area get all the support they need.”

A Christchurch City Council spokesperson said routine testing found total coliforms, but not E.coli in the water supply.

“Total coliforms are a group of bacteria commonly found in the environment, and their presence in the water network serves as an indicator of potential contamination and the possible existence of harmful pathogens.”

The council said staff and contractors were undertaking further testing and investigations to understand the cause of the contamination.

The boil water notice will be in place until further notice, it said.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

A Waikato man says he had never seen damage like the scenes on his parent’s Waipā farm following Friday’s intense rain.

The South Waikato was hit hard by severe weather that hammered the North Island, causing widespread flooding and slips, and the death of a motorist in floodwaters.

Ryan Vickers said the weatherbomb that hit parts of the district was so localised, he had no idea how bad it was from his Hamilton home just 30 minutes away.

But after a long and nervous night for his mother, who was left trapped on the farm after flooding destroyed vehicle access, he drove to the property at the base of Mt Pirongia on Saturday.

What he saw shocked him.

“I’ve lived in rural communities most of my life, and I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Vickers said a relatively small creek on the property flooded, presumably banking up before bursting with huge force.

“I feel like what must have happened is a slip covered the creek further up, and then it kind of broke, like a dam breaking.

“What came down was the water shifting massive boulders bigger than cars and just throwing them down the mountain.

“It took out logs and trees. Stuff within five metres either side of the river [has] just been shredded, picked up and thrown down the hill.

“Then it got to the bridge, the crossing mum and dad had going up to their farm, and it’s just smashed that as well.”

To get to the Waipā farm, Vickers was forced to take back roads and travel across farmland, before using heavy machinery to clear tracks and create a path out through the back of the farm.

He said while the property had a generator, he expected it to be without water for days.

Fences, bridges, roads and livestock have been damaged or swept away, and several nearby properties are cut off.

He said it was a close-knit community, and everyone would pitch in to help out.

His mother was no stranger to intense weather and flooding, but she described the noise of tumbling boulders as terrifying.

“She was worried, given what happened at the Mount, she was worried a slip could come down at their place, and she was up there by herself because Dad’s working on another farm at the moment.”

His mum got no sleep on Friday, and was a little “shell-shocked” by the experience, he said.

Vickers said the increasing frequency of these type of events pointed to a shift in the climate.

“All these hundred-year events that happen every few years, something’s changed hasn’t it?”

The South Waikato region took a particular beating from Friday’s thunderstorms, with roads, homes and infrastructure damaged in widespread flooding.

Around 80 people were forced to evacuate their homes and a motorist died when his vehicle became submerged at Puketotara on Saturday night.

Flooding and slips have closed State Highway 3 between Te Awamutu and Ōtorohanga, State Highway 39 – Pirongia to Ōtorohanga, and State Highway 31 – Kawhia to Tihiroa, as well as dozens of local roads.

Mayor Rodney Dow said the district had experienced widespread flooding, slips and inundation.

“The situation in Ōtorohanga is serious.”

A local state of emergency for the Ōtorohanga district was declared in the early hours of Saturday morning, with a declaration for Waipā following on Saturday afternoon.

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand