Longacre Rd has been closed by slips and flooding. Photo / Lewis Gardner
Longacre Rd has been closed by slips and flooding. Photo / Lewis Gardner
Wild weather is battering the Whanganui region as Cyclone Dovi moves across the country.
MetService meteorologist Peter Little said on Sunday morning the worst-hit areas would likely be Taranaki and lower parts of the North Island, with Whanganui expected to have strong winds for most of the day.
A heavy rain watch is in place around Turangi and Taihape away from Tongariro National Park until 3pm Sunday.
There is also a heavy rain watch for Taumarunui until 1pm Sunday.
A strong wind watch is in place for Whanganui for 10am to 4pm on Sunday, with southerly winds that may rise to severe gales in exposed places.
"Really, it is the southerlies that are picking up which will be Whanganui's main issue," Little said.
"It is slowly picking up but you are getting gusts around 40km/h, but there is a risk. It will be a short, sharp period where it will be really strong from late morning until this afternoon.
"The main concern now as the cyclone approaches the country are the really strong winds. A lot of the heavy rain has fallen, we just have a few more hours to go."
Little said areas that did not typically get a lot of wind could be in for a surprise as the cyclone neared.
Central District Police are urging motorists to avoid non-essential travel and to exercise extra caution on the roads, as bad weather impacts the region.
Roads across the Whanganui district are closed due to weather-related incidents.
Bonnie Pidwell had a close call as she was driving down Okoia Rd, needing to veer into nearby Matarawa Road to avoid falling wires from hitting the car's roof after strong wind brought down a power pole and lines.
"I thought my daughter and I were toast. It was a close call ... but we lived to tell the tale. I was looking at all of the flooding but didn't expect a power pole to come down onto the road."
The Whanganui River Road is closed after a slip at Oyster Bluff.
Denlair Rd near Fordell and Longacre Rd at Okoia are both currently closed due to flooding.
Roberts Ave in Aramoho has been blocked by a large slip near the lookout point.
Roberts Ave in Aramoho has been blocked by a slip near the lookout. Photo / Supplied
A Whanganui District Council spokesperson said teams are out in the weather and responding to these incidents, as well as several others across the district.
"Crews are responding to downed trees and slips as reported by patrols and after hours call-outs. The ground is saturated and the wind is expected to pick up and people are advised that further damage and closures are likely."
The spokesperson said teams on the ground were no longer gearing up for further flood defence procedures as the heavy rain that was expected landed further down the North Island.
Powerlines down near the intersection of Okoia and Matarawa Valley Road. Photo / Jacob McSweeny
"We are scaling back and will continue actively monitoring our assets.
"Our teams are continuing to actively monitor the situation and respond to road/slips and surface flooding incidents and, whilst there are still some rain watches and warnings in place, there have been no severe flood impacts and we have been informed that the regional council's flood team have not had to activate any flood defence assets."
A tree down on Longacre Rd. Photo / Lewis Gardner
Rain is easing and the majority of river systems are receding across the Horizons region.
Horizons Regional Council acting group manager river management Craig Grant says emergency management staff monitored the situation overnight and will continue to do so today.
"We're expecting some more patches of rain through today so while our river systems have responded well we will keep an eye on things," he says.
"Metservice has a heavy rain warning for the Tararua Ranges today with watches also in place across the region.
"River management staff are checking infrastructure such as pumpstations and we understand there have been some slips, trees down and surface flooding in places."
Grant says other weather conditions to be aware of for the region include wind and marine conditions.
"A strong wind watch is also in place for Whanganui with winds expected to ease by early evening. We would like to encourage people to take care when driving and look out for fallen trees which may uproot easier due to saturated soils.
"We encourage our coastal communities to take care with the potential for strong swells as a result of this weather system".
Roberts Ave slip. Photo / Supplied
In Rangitīkei, State Highway 1 between Calico Line and Wings Line near Marton is closed until further notice due to flooding.
Locals are asked not to collect fish/shellfish and plant life or come into contact with the water at these locations. The warning signs will remain in place until levels are considered safe.
South Taranaki District Council said the Waitotara River was rising and on Saturday afternoon had reached its first alert level at just over 6 metres at Rimunui Station.
All transfer stations in South Taranaki are closed.
Residents are advised to only travel if necessary and not to drive through flood waters as there could be debris or the road could have moved underneath. Stay out of floodwater and rivers and treat all floodwater as contaminated and rivers as dangerous.
To report any roading issues or flooding across Whanganui, or if you need assistance, please call their afterhours number on: 06 349001.
