A red heavy rain warning has been issued for the Tasman District about and southeast of Motueka and north of Lake Rotoroa.
It will be in place until at least 11pm today.
“Expect a further 80 to 120mm of rain on top of what has already fallen. Peak rates of 10 to 20 mm/h expected this afternoon and evening,” MetService said.
It warned of threats “to life from dangerous river conditions, significant flooding and slips”.
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“Conditions will disrupt travel, make some roads impassable, and isolate communities. Do not enter floodwaters and avoid travel. Act quickly to self-evacuate if you see rising water. Be ready for power and communications outages.”
Yesterday a pre-emptive state of emergency was declared in the Nelson Tasman region following a deluge last week.
Tasman Mayor Tim King told Breakfast earlier that MetService had indicated a “high likelihood that one of the warnings may go to red and a medium likelihood that the other one would”, which covers two parts of the district.
“So the focus is very much on that area northwest of Motueka, Brooklyn, Riwaka, Motueka Valley, and into the head waters of the Motupiko, the same areas that were impacted last time and were forecast to be impacted this time last week.”
He said the advice seemed “a little like Ground Hog day” for residents in these areas.
“Keep an eye on the information that’s coming out, obviously, and keep an eye on the changing forecast.
“Make those plans nice and early if you are intending to leave your property or think need to do that early.
“Don’t get caught in that position where you kind of trying to move out at the time when the water is coming up.
MetService Meteorologist Heather Keats said another active front was bringing heavy rain and gales to New Zealand from this morning. (Source: Breakfast)
Nelson-Tasman Civil Defence said in an update at 11.50am that for Golden Bay, the heaviest rain would hit early this afternoon and ease into showers by Saturday.
“River levels are now forecast to be higher than previously modelled,” the statement read.
Moderate flooding was expected at the Aorere River and Takaka rivers, with access to Takaka township likely to be cut off later today.
‘Act now’ – MetService on red warning
MetService meteorologist Mmathapelo Makgabutlane said people should “act now” in light of the red heavy rain warning issued for parts of the Tasman District.
“Immediate action is required to protect people, animals and property from the impact of the weather. People should also be prepared to follow the advice of official authorities and emergency services.”
It is the second red warning issued by MetService this year and the 17th since the alert level was introduced in 2019.
Around 50mm of rain had already been seen today, with a further 80 to 120mm expected to fall.
“Dangerous river conditions, flooding, slips, and dangerous road conditions are expected,” Makgabutlane said.
MetService meteorologist Heather Keats told Breakfast earlier there was “another active front, with warm, moist northerlies feeding this rain and its about to spread over the country”.
“Starting to ramp up from now on, and then it’s going to be quite a wet and windy day as that front tracks across from west to east. It’s not going to clear the country until tomorrow either.”
She said there was also a thunderstorm risk this afternoon and evening for places “that were already sodden”.
Fire and Emergency NZ deploying specialist water rescue teams
An eight-person specialist water rescue team has been deployed to Nelson.
Fire and Emergency NZ service delivery operations director Brendan Nally said the team got in place early as roads were expected to be closed.
“Our specialist team is on the ground ready to support local brigades if needed when the rain comes.”
He warned people not to drive through any floodwater and to respect all road closed signs.
“It’s impossible to judge the depth of water so when people become stranded, they are in danger of drowning.”
A four-person wide area damage assessment team, part of FENZ’s urban search and rescue capability, was also deployed.
Full list of weather warnings and watches
Heavy Rain Warning – Red
Tasman district (about and southeast of Motueka and north of Lake Rotoroa) – 14 hours from 9am to 11pm Friday
Heavy Rain Warning – Orange
Northland and Auckland including Great Barrier Island – 13 hours from 9am to 10pm Friday
Bay of Plenty east of Kawerau and Gisborne/Tairāwhiti north of Ruatoria – 12 hours from 6pm Friday to 6am Saturday
Taranaki Maunga – 14 hours from 9am to 11pm Friday
Tasman District northwest of Motueka – 12 hours from 9am to 9pm Friday
Nelson City District and Marlborough (northwest of the Awatere Valley) – 15 hours from 9am to midnight Friday
Coromandel Peninsula, Rotorua, and Bay of Plenty (about and west of Kawerau) – 16 hours from 11am Friday to 3am Saturday
Waikato – 13 hours from 11am to midnight Friday
Strong Wind Warning – Orange
Taranaki south of the Maunga – 12 hours from 11am to 11pm Friday
Banks Peninsula – 9 hours from 6pm Friday to 3am Saturday
Heavy Rain Watch
Waitomo, Taumarunui, Taupō, and Tongariro National Park – 12 hours from 2pm Friday to 2am Saturday
Taranaki north of Opunake, excluding the Maunga – 14 hours from 9am to 11pm Friday
Strong Wind Watch
Northland and Auckland – 7 hours from 2pm to 9pm Friday
Taihape and Whanganui – 12 hours from noon to midnight Friday
Tasman District – 9 hours from noon to 9pm Friday
Coastal Otago – 6 hours from 6pm to midnight Friday
