The state of emergency in Westland (south ward) has been lifted as officials continue to assess the damage from Saturday’s heavy rain.
A state of emergency was declared on Saturday and Franz Josef experienced its wettest 24 hours in more than four decades.
State Highway 6 from Fox Glacier to Haast has been damaged and is closed until at least Monday, leaving some communities isolated.
SH6 north of Fox Glacier reopened last night after a slip and flooding was cleared, but drivers are warned to take care in the area as some debris may remain.
Civil Defence controller Kevin Hague said officials will be making contact with communities around the district today to assess the damage.
Some homes in Hannah’s Clearing on the West Coast have suffered flood damage after heavy rain battered the region.
While the rain eased last night, it left behind slips and flooding.
Hague said Hannah’s Clearing, south of Haast, was heavily impacted and some people evacuated themselves on Friday.
At least four homes have been damaged by floodwaters, but they won’t have a clear idea of the damage until later today.
“We don’t know precisely how many houses have been affected by flooding in Hannahs Clearing but it’s at least four and potentially more.”
Hague said the deluge did not last as long as forecast, but the state of emergency had been needed while they obtained a clearer idea of the extent of flooding and slips.
“The weather event has passed through faster than we had feared and that’s great news in terms of minimising the damage we need to respond to.”
The emergency management centre will remain staffed until Monday.
A tour operator in Franz Josef says the flooding has been subsiding since yesterday afternoon, and it has been able to resume its tours.
Dale Burrows who runs kayak and quad-bike tours says the Waiho river has held out, and the stopbanks all did their job.
However, with part of SH6 closed and other road closures, business was affected.
“It does have a pretty significant impact on the flow of tourists coming down the region. There’s a lot of cancellations coming through as people are having to redivert their travels as they continue on their journey around the country.”
Road closures after slips
In a statement on Saturday, the New Zealand Transport Agency said parts of the state highway would remain closed over the weekend.
Systems manager Mark Pinner said: “Our crews will continue to clean up the fallen trees and slips around Bruce Bay, the glacier towns and south of Ross but the Knights Point cracks are of more concern.”
SH6 through the Knights Point area would remain closed for the weekend with the next update for the route between Fox Glacier and Haast at 10am on Monday.
NZTA said no detour was available for SH6 at Knights Point.
“People wanting to get to Greymouth or Hokitika will need to come via Arthur’s Pass or the Lewis Pass from the east coast for the time being, or delay their journeys.”
Mitchell said “hopefully” roads would be restored and reopened as soon as possible.
“Obviously the big focus right now is public safety and making sure there is a strong response.
“The West Coasters are pretty good and used to dealing with water and rain but for us as a country, this is a reality. We are going to continue to be hit by these weather events and obviously it’s extremely important in terms of how we respond and react to that.”
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