February 5 2022
Westport residents have been given the all clear to go home, after heavy rain forced them from their homes.
The West Coast has been praised by the Government for its response to recent severe weather events, acting early and decisively.
Residents in the Buller and Westport regions have been given the all-clear to return home, after more than 100 were evacuated because of heavy rainfall overnight.
And a state of emergency for the area has also been lifted.
An "extraordinary" amount of rain has fallen in the West Coast area over the past three and a half days; MetService reports more than 1 metre of rain has accumulated in some areas.
Minister for Emergency Management Kiri Allan said the community should be proud of how well it responded.
"Emergency management is about preparing for the worst and hoping for the best, and that's exactly what we saw," she said.
"West Coast Emergency Management, Buller Emergency Management and all supporting agencies acted early, decisively, coordinated their efforts effectively, and put the safety of the community first."
She said staff and resources were surged in quickly and those who evacuated were given plenty of time to prepare.
The focus was now on helping evacuees return home, and supporting the Buller community in its long recovery from the July 2021 flooding.
"I just want to assure the people of Buller that we know there's a long and tough road ahead of you, and the Government is here for the long haul," she said.
Allan had been due to fly into the area last night but was unable to land and was diverted to Christchurch.
There has been no significant inundation of property, Buller district mayor Jamie Cleine says. Photo / George Heard
The Civil Defence emergency was put in place at 2.35pm on Wednesday in response to the severe weather event affecting the district.
Buller district mayor Jamie Cleine has since signed a notice of local transition period.
The formal declaration of a local transition period gives powers to the Civil Defence Recovery Manager to coordinate personnel and other resources as required.
"This is a positive step forward, acknowledging how well the preparation went in the last three days of this response," Cleine said.
"I want to thank the whole Buller community for the way you responded to the threat of this weather event. From businesses to volunteers you opened your homes, gave time, equipment and supported each other with generous hearts. It has been humbling to see."
Cleine earlier said the damage had been less than feared and the team was relieved.
"All the rivers got to their peaks and it was slightly lower than what we had planned for … very, very good news this morning that we can report no significant property inundation in terms of housing."
"It's a great relief, there were certainly a lot smiles on the team's faces when I came in for my first briefing at about 6am this morning."
He was "100 per cent happy" with how they had responded to the weather event.
"It could have gone one of two ways and it's gone a really favourable way," he said.
"So the town and the responders should be really proud of how they've turned out."
At least 100 people were evacuated from the area overnight, and 15 were rescued by helicopter from floodwaters.
Buller Civil Defence issued an update at about 7.45am today, saying evacuated residents could now return home.
"It is with great pleasure that we let our community know that the effects of the recent storm have not been as severe as we feared," the statement read.
"We welcome everybody in the evacuation areas in Westport to return to their homes.
"The team will be doing further inspections and reconnaissance up the Buller Gorge and north of Westport to Karamea. We will inform the community of any further issues in those areas once identified."
They advised people to enter their homes carefully and be mindful of power and gas.
The entrance to the farm where a family were rescued by helicopter yesterday. Photo / George Heard
"If your property has been affected by flood water, remove any rubbish and debris and place in sealed rubbish bag. Do not eat produce from your garden if the soil has been flooded."
An update from Buller District Council said power was back on in all houses, and all other lifelines - phones, water and sewerage - were operational.
They asked that residents treat all powerlines as live at all times.
Meanwhile multiple roads are closed in the region because of surface flooding and slips, and Buller Emergency management is urging people not to drive or walk through the flood water.
SH67 from Waimangaroa to Granity is closed because of surface water.
Stevens Rd has surface water in some areas, which have been coned off.
Buller District Council says water may have washed away parts of the road, and may contain debris.
Rainfall has eased overnight in the West Coast region. Photo / George Heard
People should treat all flood water as contaminated and unsafe and should stay away from flooded areas.
West coast civil defence controller Te Aroha Cook said the weather event had been much less severe than the flooding last July, which affected more than 400 homes in the region.
"The Buller River didn't get past 8.5 or 8.6 metres, which is well below the 12 metres we were anticipating, in terms of what happened in July 2021."
"That means there was no spillover into the areas affected last year. However, there was surface flooding."
She said the evacuated residents were still at evacuation centres this morning – including 60 at the Holcim site and 11 in Greymouth – where they were being fed by the New Zealand Defence Force.
They were not aware of any impact on residents' vehicles and expected most evacuees would be able to return home with their own transport. Cook advised people to do so carefully and safely.
"We wouldn't want anyone to come out with injuries as a result, having come out on the bright side of this event," she said.
"We appreciate there's been a lot of anxiety for people who are returning home too, and we want people to do so safely."
— MetService Severe Weather Info (@MetServiceWARN) February 4, 2022
The red warnings in place for the West Coast region finished at 1am, and MetService Meteorologist Dan Corrigan said rainfall had subsided.
He said an "extraordinary amount of rain" had fallen over the past few days - acummulations of up to a metre in some areas.
"If we look at the Buller region, up in the ranges and the headwaters of the Buller region, we've seen upwards of 500mm during this heavy rain event.
"Looking further south in the Westland District, the largest accumulations we saw was upwards of 1000mm, so a metre of rain."
Westport had recorded 285mm and Hokitika 202mm throughout the weather event, which began on Tuesday night.
"Heavier accumulations have been falling about higher ground and all of that rain has to go somewhere, it drains into the rivers and that causes those rivers to rise really rapidly," Corrigan said.
Fire and emergency southern shift manager Simon Lyford said there had surprisingly been no weather-related callouts overnight in relation to the flooding.
Police had also not received any reports of looting or burglary of evacuated properties.
Heavy Rain Warning (Orange) issued for Canterbury High Country, Kapiti-Horowhenua, Marlborough, Nelson, Taranaki, Tararua, Wairarapa, Wellington https://t.co/mPttMGkWTl
— MetService Severe Weather Info (@MetServiceWARN) February 4, 2022
With the rain band now moving up to the Marlborough, Wellington and Kāpiti regions, residents in these areas are now under a heavy rain watch.
Golden Bay residents are being warned to treat all surface water as possibly contaminated.
Heavy rain continues to fall across the top of the South Island.
Tasman District Council says large quantities of water are inundating parts of the wastewater system.
Spokesman Darryn Palmer says it means pumping stations around the bay are struggling to cope with the high volumes passing through them.
There have been reports of numerous places where wastewater has overflowed. People are urged to avoid contact with any flood waters until they subside.
