Flooded road to recovery from stormy weather begins for Hawke’s Bay

Raukawa Rd in Bridge Pā was left flooded on Sunday morning after Hastings saw nearly 100mm of rain on Saturday. Photo / Paul Taylor

Roads have reopened with a break in Hawke’s Bay’s wild weather, but it will take a bit longer for everything to be clear.

Following a day-long downpour on Saturday, MetService meteorologist Luis Fernandes said the weather in the region was now looking far clearer and drier and was likely to stay that way for at least Monday and Tuesday.

“We are not expecting any significant weather for the next few days in your part of the country,” Fernandes said.

He said there could still be showers over the ranges and the weather would be quite muggy and humid, with highs in the mid to upper 20s and lows not dropping further than the mid to upper teens.

He said the more southern parts of Hawke’s Bay had the worst of the rain, with Hastings and Napier seeing about 99 millimetres and 97mm of rain respectively on Saturday, compared to about 39mm of rain for Wairoa.

The worst-hit parts of Hawke’s Bay in terms of rainfall, according to recent Hawke’s Bay Regional Council monitoring station data, were near State Highway 5 and the Tūtaekurī River.

State Highway 50 Maraekakaho, at Kereru Road, which was earlier closed due to fallen trees, reopened at 7.05am on Sunday.

Due to surface flooding in Napier, there was a 30km/h temporary speed restriction in place on State Highway 2, near the intersection with Prebensen Drive as of 12.30am on Sunday.

On Saturday, SH2 Tutira was under stop/go traffic control conditions due to another fallen tree, and there was flooding on SH5 Eskdale to Waipunga, SH50 Takapau to Waiohiki and SH2 Waipukurau to Hastings.

Central Hawke’s Bay District Council made a post confirming that Herrick Street and Hiranui Rd both remained closed due to flooding as of 8.30am Sunday.

A detour for Herrick St is via Taylors Slab, SH50 and Bridge St, Ongaonga.

Central Hawke’s Bay District Council also issued cautions for Hunter Rd, due to surface flooding, Wimbledon Rd, due to potholes, Ireland Rd, due to crews clearing a downed tree, and Cooks Tooth, due to minor ground movement.

Pōrangahau Rd has reopened to one lane after a large slip came crashing down across the road earlier on Saturday.

On Saturday afternoon, Central Hawke’s Bay District Council shared a video of the slip in full motion on Pōrangahau Rd, near the Wallingford Bridge.

Central Hawke’s Bay District Council confirmed on Sunday morning that Pōrangahau Transfer Station had reopened, with normal hours from 2-6pm.

Hastings District Council made a post on Saturday evening stating that due to the high river levels, they put barriers in place at the carpark at Evers Swindell Reserve.

They advised the public to avoid the area in the meantime and said access would be restored when the water subsides.

A slip on Maraekakaho Rd, near Kereru Rd, had been cleared enough by Sunday morning for both lanes to reopen with a 30km/h speed limit in place. Photo / Paul Taylor

Surface flooding on Raukawa Rd on Sunday morning. Photo / Paul Taylor

The Taharua climate station got 176mm of rain on Saturday, while the Te Haroto station got 139mm of rain.

The Ngaroto Tūtaekurī station saw 113mm of rain on Saturday, while the Waihau climate station had 122mm.

Other events affected were the Fatboy Slim concert in Napier, which was cancelled, along with other regional events planned for Saturday and Sunday, including the Meeanee Speedway derby and the Summer Series Waipawa Band Rotunda performance at Nelly Jull Park, which were called off.

Organisers of Fatboy Slim show scheduled for Saturday night at Tremain Park in Napier called it off on Saturday morning due to the state of the grounds, with ticketholders getting full refunds over the next week.

Round three of the Wallace Development Hastings Open golf tournament was called off on Saturday due to the weather, but play for the now-shortened 54-hole event resumed on Sunday, according to Golf New Zealand.