Postie's vehicle found in stream

7.55am - By JAMES GARDINER and agencies

UPDATE - The vehicle belonging to a postie who went missing in the Masterton area yesterday was discovered last night in a stream.

Neighbouring farmers located Erlinda Warrington's utility vehicle in the swollen Wainuiomapu stream beside Maringi Rd about 10pm.

Police say the stream is just a few kilometres from Ms Warrington's home.

The search continues for the 46-year-old woman who disappeared while driving to work in the storm that has battered the lower North Island.

A helicopter searched without success yesterday in the area where Ms Warrington is believed to have travelled after setting out from her home in Bideford for Masterton, 36km to the southwest, at 5.30am.

The Wellington region felt the full force of the weather yesterday, and Manawatu residents faced a nerve-racking night as the Moutoa floodgates near Shannon were opened to relieve floodwaters on the Manawatu River.

Farmers had to move hundreds of cattle from the spillway before the gates were opened.

"This is not a decision made lightly," said Michael McCartney of the Manawatu-Wanganui regional council.

Winds blasted into Wellington at up to 180km/h, ripping roofs off houses, shops and the airport terminal.

Waves of up to 14.4m smashed the coastline, rain and sleet were driven sideways and the transport system collapsed under the strain.

Trains, planes, buses and Cook Strait ferries were cancelled. Air New Zealand yesterday afternoon cancelled all flights in and out of Wellington International Airport for the rest of the day.

Airline spokesman Mike Tod said 9000 domestic and international passengers were affected by the cancellation of 190 flights.

Road closures caused by flooding, slips, wind-blown debris and high seas halted traffic.

Fencing battens and corrugated iron were flying down some streets.

The chaos follows foul weather that produced a tornado which killed two in Taranaki on Sunday and high seas that sank a fishing boat off Cape Reinga on Monday, drowning both crew.

The MetService said the severe southerly gales had eased by last night, and temperatures would begin to rise over coming days.

Around Wellington yesterday, police closed off roads at Lyall Bay, saying flying debris was a life-threatening danger.

Broken glass was another menace on the roads and footpaths around the Basin Reserve, where more than a dozen windows on the R.A. Vance stand were blown out. More glass and other debris was flying on the waterfront.

Schools were closed and shops and offices were short-staffed as trains that carry thousands into the city were cancelled or turned back.

New Zealand Post took the rare step of cancelling postal deliveries in the city.


Firefighters answered hundreds of callouts to damaged and flooded homes.

Power was cut to many areas by trees crashing on to lines or the lines blowing on to one another and shorting out.


In the Hutt Valley, the Waiwhetu Stream again burst its banks causing repeat agony for home owners, some of whom had only recently returned to their repaired homes after being evacuated during February's floods.

Weather forecasters say the weather pattern is similar to that which hit in February, but the cold front from Antarctica initially brought snow, rather than rain.

Meanwhile, a Japanese skier was one of four people injured when their heliskiing party was hit by an avalanche in the Humboldt Mountains, near Glenorchy, at the head of Lake Wakatipu.

Wakatipu St John station manager Colin Robson said the 46-year-old woman, who had been buried, was flown to the Lakes District Hospital with a moderate spinal injury.

A Japanese man, 49, an American, 40, and a Queenstown guide, 44, had minor injuries.