Heavy rain causes much damage - again

June 17th, 2013

A flooded orchard in Riwaka

The third large and damaging rain event in the past three years in Tasman and Golden Bay has caused major flooding and landslip damage in the area between Takaka and Motueka.

As we have all heard in the news media over the past 15 hours, a big landslide beside the Marahau hill road approaching Sandy Bay has caused the tragic death of a 63-year-old female artist when her home was swept from the hill and she was trapped inside.

Riwaka valley suffered the worst of the flooding yesterday, although the hills behinds Takaka collected the most rain. Tasman District Council hydrologist Matt Mclarin said the majority of the rain fell in a strip along the coastal hills from Takaka to Motueka.

The greatest totals for the past two days were in the Anatoki Valley, being 390mm at the Tasman District Council’s Paradise recorder and 375mm at the Happy Sams recorder just above the salmon farm. Another large total was seen at the Canaan rain gauge, where 342mm fell over the 48 hours.

Of the larger rivers, the Riwaka fared the worst. Heavy rain fell across the catchment, and the flats from the sea to the valley were ponded with surface flooding, while both branches of the Riwaka River carried flows to the levels of a 5 year flood. Both these rivers were slow to drop, and at daybreak were still carrying high flows.

While the Takaka hill road is now open again, roads that remain closed in our area as of the morning of June 17th include:

Motueka Valley Hwy – Closed from College St to Blacks Bridge. A number of slips and trees down
Motueka River West Bank – Closed from Start to Herring Stream, also tree blocking road at Pearse Valley Bridge (unconfirmed) – A number of slips and trees down, some large trees near power lines
Peach Island – either Bridge partial gone or the island side approach
Marahau Hill – Closed from SH –Large slips and drop outs on this road
Riwaka- Kaiteriteri – closed at SH – large slip a few km in; very high blocking road, plus smaller ones blocking ¾ road at Turners Bluff
Kaiteriteri - Sandy Bay – closed - slips and trees fully blocking road at Breaker Bay
Brooklyn Valley – closed - number of slips and trees down over full length
Riwaka Valley – a lot of mud over road from large slip on Takaka Hill, 4wd access only
Swamp Road in Riwaka

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