North Island floods: Rain, flooding keep people from lakefront

The smaller boardwalk and track that runs from the eastern end of the Rotorua lakefront development area to Motutara Point was closed yesterday due to damage and washouts.

The damage and washouts made it unsafe to use, with the Rotorua Lakes Council asking residents in a statement to adhere to barriers and signage that was erected yesterday.

The new lakefront boardwalk was still open for use.

Photos at the lakefront show parts of the boardwalk under water, as well as lake weed strewn across it.

Chris Senerpida, who runs Teariffic Bubble Milk Tea on the lakefront, said his business had been closed most days for the past week because of heavy rain.

“The rain is so bad and it’s not viable to open. Nobody goes to the lakefront when it rains.”

Rotorua Lakefront boardwalk is closed due to damage and washouts which have made the boardwalk and track unsafe to use at this time. Photo / Andrew Warner

The business runs out of a food truck which closed on Friday last week and remained shut over Auckland Anniversary weekend. It reopened on Tuesday but had been closed since then.

Senerpida said having to close over the long weekend was “tough for business” and employees who were unable to work.

“It’s just a waste of time and money to keep the food truck open when it rains. Senerpida also owned the ice cream and bubble tea shop, Scoop’d, on Tarawera Rd.

He said it had stayed open the past week, however, it had been “very quiet”.

As of 3pm on Wednesday, 27.8mm of rain had been recorded at Rotorua Airport and, according to MetService, was a third of the average February rainfall.

All weather warnings and watches for Bay of Plenty, Rotorua and Coromandel have been lifted.

Rotorua Lakefront boardwalk is closed due to damage and washouts which have made the boardwalk and track unsafe to use at this time. Photo / Andrew Warner

The council urged residents driving on its roads to take care and be on the alert for slips, treefalls, water pooling, surface flooding and debris.

“Council staff and contractors will continue to monitor the situation and contractor crews are continuing clean-up,” it said in a statement.

In the 24 hours from 12.01am on Wednesday, Fire and Emergency’s communication centres received 413 calls across the country, 14 of which were in the Bay of Plenty with one priority two incident where there was a potential risk to people.

The final stage of the Rotorua lakefront boardwalk opened to the public in August 2022.

The boardwalk was the latest stage of construction and part of the $40 million lakefront redevelopment. Work began on the final section of the boardwalk in September 2021 which has involved an additional 50 metres of boardwalk being built out over the water at the western end of the lakefront reserve.