About 70 Upper Hutt households remain cut off tonight as the main access bridge to their rural road is impassable - slumped in the middle while a swollen river rages below. The Bridge Rd structure is cordoned off and those in their homes cannot get out, while others cannot get in.
About 70 Upper Hutt households remain cut off tonight as the main access bridge to their rural road is impassable - slumped in the middle while a swollen river rages below.
The Bridge Rd structure is cordoned off and those in their homes cannot get out, while others cannot get in.
The bridge slumped about 11am today and an Upper Hutt City Council spokeswoman says intrepid teams of workers on quad bikes were forcing their way through a slippery track to check on everyone in the street.
The Bridge Road bridge has slumped in the middle. Photo / Supplied
Residents were still advised not to attempt to navigate the track themselves and the priority for the council was to widen the access point so vehicles could use it, the spokeswoman said.
"I'm going to do a lot more walking in the days to come I think."
Mrs Jamieson said she was feeling far from isolated and she'd met some neighbours for the first time, while she'd reacquainted herself with others she hadn't seen in years.
At clock-off time, those who couldn't get through were pulling up to the bridge to find out what was going on.
Liz Lee was worried about her dog Clydie, who was at home.
She hadn't been fed since 4.30am.
Until Ms Lee knew for sure whether or not she could go home, she was going to visit her husband in Wellington Hospital.
"I've been offered lots of places to stay but I'm going to have a think about it all because I don't quite know what to do now."
Terry Horne was also trying to get home, as were his kids Aaliyah, 11, Tane, 8, and Turati, 8.
They were keen to see their mum, who was stuck at their house.
"I've spoken to her. There's no water or gas over there so it's a bit hard."
The council spokeswoman said it would look into exactly what caused the slump. She confirmed the bridge would need replacing.
Many locals had offered rooms at their houses, as had a marae, but the spokeswoman said it appeared most people had made their own accommodation arrangements.
Upper Hutt was hit by heavy falls today, with one MetService station recording 141 millimetres.
The average was about 60 to 80mm but MetService meteorologist Karl Loots said the rain would ease this evening and clear tomorrow.
While it was merely drizzly in Wellington city, the Kapiti Coast also got a drenching, with some places recording 100mm, and there were reports of widespread surface flooding.
"It was pretty much a lake in my neighbour's place," a Waikanae resident said.
Rivers ran higher and faster than normal as the rain mashed with a king tide.
Some roads were treacherous after the downpours and were closed for a time.
Up north, a separate system brought isolated patches of heavy rain to Northland and Auckland.
Kapiti Coast District Council staff pumping floodwater from a property at Otaihanga. Photo / Mark Mitchell
As in Kapiti, the combination of the high tide and a sudden downpour caused flash flooding in Dargaville.
Noel Moran of Moran's Bookshop said it had been years since he'd seen the like."It was right over the footpath on the northern side of the main street and about a metre away from my door," he said.
