Dam fears force evacuation of Picton residents

3.00pm

UPDATE - Fears a water supply dam might collapse has forced the evacuation of 500 residents and business staff from Picton.

Marlborough District Council has declared a state of civil emergency due to the threat of the collapse, staff told National Radio.

Earlier today about 40mm of rain fell in 40 minutes in Picton causing flash flooding. Sewage was leaking into the town's streets and harbour as a result of the flood.

Police and civil defence controllers were unable to be contacted immediately but Picton's Crow Tavern co-owner Vern Steele told NZPA the 500 people evacuated were from the back of the town near a water supply dam in Essons Valley.

At present police and civil defence staff were meeting to decide if more of the town needed to be evacuated.

Marlborough district civil defence spokesman Steve Jones told NZPA that one of the dams, the Barnes Dam, had been overflowing all morning.

"It's chocka with water and logs and all sorts of debris and more water and more logs are still flowing into it."

He said the fear was that the dam, 455m above sea level, and just 4.5km from the town, could collapse and flow into the Waitohi River, which had already flooded into the town this morning.

"That could send water and logs down into the town."

Mr Jones said the dams had been inspected from the air this morning and the state of civil emergency declared as a result of their concerns.

He said engineers were concerned about the level of pressure from the huge volume of water entering the dam, rather than any undermining of the dam's foundations by the heavy rain in the area.

However, he said as yet there was no evidence that suggested any collapse was imminent.

He said those residents evacuated were being taken to Queen Charlotte College. He hoped most would be able to stay with family while the safety of the dam was assessed.

Earlier today about 40mm of rain fell in 40 minutes in Picton flooding the town and causing sewage to overflow into streets and the town's harbour.

The Insurance Council today revised its assessment of the cost of storm damage in the lower North Island, saying it was likely to top $100 million -- making it one of the country's most destructive storms ever.

Chief executive Chris Ryan told NZPA the bill could climb even higher if claims continued at high levels over the next few days as the clean up efforts continued.

Of the $100 million he said about $50 million damage was likely to have occurred in the Wellington region, with the rest of the damage occurring in Wanganui and the Manawatu.

"But there have been a lot of claims coming from as far north as Auckland which is pushing the likely bill up considerably."

In terms of damage the storm was one of the worst ever in New Zealand, he said.

The 1968 storm which sank the Wahine sank caused $42 million damage, in inflation adjusted terms, on land. The boat itself was worth $110 million.

Cyclone Bola in 1988 caused $52 million and floods in Otago and Southland in 1984 caused $100 million. Flooding in Queenstown in 1999 caused $46 million damage, when adjusted for inflation.

"We've had loss assessors out across the country and damage in Wanganui, Manawatu and even Auckland has been far greater than initially thought," Mr Ryan said.

Most damage was to people's houses and cars.

"On top of that we've had a significant number of bridges that have washed out and there are still a number of bridges under heavy stress from fast flowing water with trees in it which is very damaging.

"I would initially estimate that the total loss for the storm could rise above the $100 million and then continue to rise for another day or so.

Mr Ryan said the most common claims related to water damage to housing materials.

Carpet was often ruined, appliances such as fridges which usually had their motor at the bottom, wrecked and water could warp doors and floor boards. Foundations and structural studs were also weakened.

He said many houses would have sustained at least $30,000 damage.

Cars that were either swept into objects or had water running through them were also likely to make up a high proportion of claims.

Prime Minister Helen Clark said today cabinet had approved $20,000 grants for civil relief co-ordination for Manawatu and Rangitikei districts.

" Hearing the stories again on the radio this morning, they are simply hair-raising and I think everyones' hearts go out to those whose lives have been endangered, to say nothing of loss of livelihood, stock damage, farm damage, house damage, town damage. It is horrific," she told National Radio.

"The first thing is to ensure the locals have that core support for co-ordination and then sit down to look at the damage and what is covered by insurance and what the precedents are for doing anything else."

Although flood waters were receding in most areas today local officials in Horowhenua remained on high alert after the Manawatu River burst its banks near Foxton overnight forcing the evacuation of about 50 people.

The evacuations followed the evacuation of over 1000 people yesterday in Manawatu, Rangitikei, Wanganui and Lower Hutt.

One home near the Manawatu town of Feilding was washed away yesterday and three more remained under threat this morning.

Across the North Island today thousands of homes were still without power as lines company Powerco struggled to fix problems in Taranaki, Wanganui, Manawatu, Wairarapa.

About 15,000 homes were without power last night and although many homes had had power restored Powerco said it was being hampered by difficult access caused by the flooding.

Roads were still closed across much of the Lower North Island including State Highway 1 between Taihape and Waiouru.

In the Wellington region most roads had been reopened, but Transit New Zealand was warning motorists to watch out for any debris.

The storm has so far claimed two lives -- a 35-year-old man who went fishing on Wellington Harbour on Saturday night and never returned and a man who disappeared after a launch, the Rita, sank in the Marlborough Sounds on Sunday.

Police recovered the body of the 35-year-old yesterday.

In addition to the deaths an Auckland woman was seriously injured on Sunday when a tree crashed through the roof of her North Shore home pinning her to her bed.

The storm left thousands of travellers stranded as ferry sailings were cancelled and plane flights delayed.

Most sea and air services had resumed by late yesterday.

- NZPA