Civil Defence says the Tauranga-Taupō River north of Tūrangi has “likely now peaked” and evacuations of homes are unlikely.
Earlier this morning the river had “risen significantly and is in flood with all the rain”, prompting LandSAR teams to door-knock homes in the area to advise people to prepare to evacuate if needed.
In a statement shortly before 9.30am, Civil Defence Taupō said the river had not breached its banks and the water level was expected to begin to fall.
“There are around 70 properties in the immediate vicinity of the river although there is a high number of holiday homes. Only 20 properties were occupied for a total of around 35 people,” it said.
The agency said there was “no further significant rain in the 24-hour forecast”.
“But as always people should check the forecast, exercise caution around rivers and stay out of flooded areas.
Civil Defence said it still had centres set up to assist people at Tūrangi (Te Mataapuna Sports Centre) and Taupō (Great Lake Centre), which would be stood down as the day progressed.
“In addition, with all the wind and rain, a bunch of roads in the northern part of the district have debris on them and crews are out clearing,” it said.
Emergency services responded to weather-related callouts throughout the North Island. (Source: 1News)
About 70 properties were without power this morning on Unison’s networks in Taupō and Rotorua, with additional reported outages under investigation.
“Crews are working as safely and quickly as possible to restore power this morning after restoration were delayed overnight due to high winds,” it said.
‘Nervous times’ for Taupō – mayor
Civil Defence is knocking on the doors of 70 homes south of Taupō to warn residents a nearby river could burst. (Source: Breakfast)
Taupō Mayor David Trewavas earlier told Breakfast there had been significant rainfall in the past 24 hours, but “no evacuations yet”.
“There’s been a lot of rain up there and it’s pretty high. It is in flood, but [the river] hasn’t breached its banks yet, but we’ll have probably a bit more to update in a couple of hours,” he said.
Trewavas urged people to stay home today if they were able to.
“Just be really careful, there’s a lot of flooding on the road, a lot of surface water.”
He warned residents to stay vigilant and check Civil Defence and Taupo District Council’s Facebook pages for more information.
MetService
Yesterday, MetService issued a swathe of heavy rain warnings for parts of the country.
Speaking to Breakfast, MetService meteorologist Heather Keats said overnight there had been a “very long line of thunderstorms” which began in Northland and travelled to Auckland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty and Taupō.
“As that long line progressed across the regions it dumped severe rain so we’re talking 30mm between 10pm and 11pm in Whitianga.
She said Taupō had about 90mm in the last 24 hours, and East Auckland has 25mm to 30mm in just one hour between 8pm and 9pm.
“Not surprised to see this rain, fortunately though it is starting to ease back.”
Keats said most of the watches and warnings had expired today, but some strong wind watches would remain.
Still in place was an orange wind warning for Wairarapa and Wellington, a strong wind watch for Hawke’s Bay, a heavy swell warning for Kapiti-Porirua Coast, and a road snowfall warning for Milford Rd.
“Everyone sort of has showers. The strong winds are still present this morning, but that low is moving out east so its going to clear significantly by this afternoon. But it’s going to be replaced by a very cold southerly, so it’s going to be very cold,” she said.
Keats said there would be “well below average temperatures” for many over the weekend.
Cold coming, PM’s press secretary scandal, science of sleep (Source: 1News)
Flooding in Auckland, wind in Wellington
In Tamaki Makaurau, Fire and Emergency New Zealad (FENZ) said there had been 58 weather-related callouts from 6pm yesterday to 5am today across Northland, Auckland, Waikato and the Bay Of Plenty.
They said these were mostly for downed trees and powerlines, and flooding in Auckland affecting roads and homes.
1News footage from the Auckland suburbs of Manurewa and Ellerslie showed emergency services responding to flooded roads, with some cordoned off.
In Wellington, a FENZ spokesperson said strong gales lifted the roof of a house in the Wellington suburb of Newlands.
