Floods strand Wairarapa families

WATER, WATER EVERYWHERE: Flooding signs warning motorists at Tinui what lies ahead.

Five families on a Tauweru property were cut off by a flooded stream, while five Tinui children missed school because of flooded roads yesterday.

Castlepoint was isolated for part of the morning as the river swelled and burst in places, as the main road between Masterton and the beach was blocked by debris, flooding and fallen trees.

At Tinui there were flooding signs in place, with water lapping the roadside as Fulton Hogan workmen cleared away trees further up the road with chainsaws.

In the 24 hours until 4pm yesterday, between 1.8mm and 186mm of rainfall was recorded at different places throughout Wairarapa. The massive 186mm was recorded at Ngawi, while only 22mm was recorded in Masterton. Just down the road at Martinborough, only 1.8mm of rainfall was recorded, according to MetService.

Te Kanuku Station at Tauweru, which is home to five families, including Rosa and Simon Vallance, was completely cut off from the road with a swollen Rorokoko Stream bursting its banks and flooding the only access road to the farm.

Mrs Vallance said it was not the first time the stream had breached, stranding them on the property.

"It happens about once or twice a year. The longest we have been stranded was a day. The river has changed a bit in the last couple of years. It can be up one minute and five minutes later the water is gone."

They are so used to it they check every time there is rainfall, warning other families on the farm if they are cut off.

"The only way in is to walk over the hills, about one and half kilometres."

During the last storm a few weeks ago, Mrs Vallance said they were a bit worried, with a pregnant niece living in a house on the farm.

"If there was a medical emergency, then we could be in trouble. It would have to be a helicopter trip."

It was not all bad though, she said. "Life doesn't stop ... there is always work to do on the property."

Tinui School bus driver Neil Palmer said it was pretty rough going earlier yesterday when he set out to pick up children for school. He had to leave five children from the top end of Annedale Rd behind because he could not reach them.

"I had to leave some kids behind for a day at home. The road was flooded," he said.

Meanwhile, stop banks beside Justin Herbert's Tinui lifestyle block, put in after the big floods of 1991, helped protect his farmlet from floodwaters.

The road outside his property and a paddock fence were under water.

"It's receded a bit now," he said.

MetService weather forecaster Philippa Murdoch said Ngawi received the most rainfall in the 24-hour period with 186mm recorded, while just up the road in Martinborough only 1.8mm was recorded.

At the summit of Rimutaka Hill, 65mm was recorded while 100mm rolled through the Taraweras - which was why rivers swelled and there was flooding throughout the district, Ms Murdoch said. Most of the rain should start clearing by midday today, she said.

But don't hang up those raincoats just yet because more rain will be coming through as another low hits the North Island from the west.

"There could be a few spats of rain around on Friday. The weekend could be cloudy on Saturday with a few showers spread throughout the day."