Northland Civil Defence says a heavy rain watch was “certainly not what we were wishing for” after another wet weekend for the region.
MetService issued the watch for the region north of Whangārei as a front associated with a subtropical low moves over Northland tomorrow.
There was also a heavy rain watch issued for Christchurch and Canterbury north of Timaru from Wednesday morning to Friday morning.
For Northland, periods of heavy rain with thunderstorms and possible localised downpours were forecast from 10am through until midnight on Tuesday.
“Surface flooding, slips, and difficult driving conditions possible,” the forecaster said.
There was a high chance the watch for Northland may be updated to an orange heavy rain warning.
In a post to social media, Northland Civil Defence said: “After another wet weekend, it’s certainly not what we were wishing for, but another Heavy Rain Watch has been issued for Northland from 10 am tomorrow (29/04) until midnight.”
The agency urged residents to take some time to prepare today for Tuesday’s weather.
“Secure outdoor furniture and structures, relocate items from any areas of your property that are prone to flooding, relocate stock from flood-prone areas, have supplies, including food and medications, ready in case of any power outages.”
The expected rainfall on top of recent heavy rain could cause streams and rivers to rise rapidly.
Mangamuka Gorge reopens following slip
State Highway 1 through the Mangamuka Gorge reopened this morning after a slip closed the road during yesterday’s heavy rain.
The New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) said the slip was in a new area which was not part of previously completed recovery works.
A slip-prone stretch of state highway reopened last year following a two-year closure.
It cost around $204 million to repair the road to Kaitāia due to 30 major slips.
Temporary speed restrictions and stop/go traffic management would be in place while the clean up continued.
