The upper half of Waitotara Valley Road was cut off at around 8am on Wednesday morning. Photo / Supplied
The upper half of Waitotara Valley Road was cut off at around 8am on Wednesday morning. Photo / Supplied
While Whanganui escaped Wednesday's heavy rain without widespread damage, a slip on Waitotara Valley Rd has left some residents stranded for at least the next three days.
Juliet Larsen, who is a relief teacher at Ngamatapouri School, arrived at work on Thursday morning to find it deserted.
"The power has been knocked out at my place, which is further up the [Waitotara] valley, so I didn't hear that there was no school today," Larsen said.
The slip occurred about halfway up Waitotara Valley Rd at Orangimea.
"We can't get the power back on until the road's fixed," Larsen said. "They'll need a crane to do that, and obviously that needs to be able to come up the road.
"An engineer from Hawera came to check the road yesterday morning, and he said that they'd probably have to get a bailey bridge. That could be three to five days."
Ngamatapouri School principal Heather Dallas said the school was closed on Thursday due to concerns about safe road access for parents and it may also be shut on Friday.
It was raining again in the valley around lunchtime Thursday, Dallas said.
"Power has been off for Taumatatahi Rd since yesterday [Wednesday] so residents will be happy when the power board vehicle can access to repair," she said.
She said the council hoped to put in a temporary culvert and have a detour through a paddock operational by the end of Friday.
It was planned to have the school operating as normal on Monday.
Almost 55 millimetres of rain fell in the city on Wednesday, and Metservice meteorologist Stephen Glassey said that while the weather in the area would gradually improve over the next few days, more showers were expected for Thursday afternoon and evening.
"It shouldn't be the same persistent rain as you experienced yesterday," Glassey said.
"Today [Thursday] is more of a showery situation, but there is a moderate risk of thunderstorms for this afternoon and evening. There could bring some short, intense bursts of rain as well."
Parts of Waitotara Valley Road were a bog on Wednesday after heavy rains washed a section of it away. Photo / Supplied
Glassey said Friday would be "mostly dry" for Whanganui.
"There's a chance of a shower on Friday night, but there's nothing major on the cards for tomorrow.
"Saturday is looking like a fine day, but another weather system is coming in on Sunday which will bring some more rain."
A tree was blocking one lane on Anzac Parade on Thursday at around 10pm. Photo / Ethan Griffiths
Meanwhile, Police confirmed that a tree had come down on Anzac Parade near the intersection with Portal St at around 10pm on Wednesday, temporarily blocking one lane of traffic.
A slip was also reported on SH4 at Kakatahi near the intersection with Matthews Rd at 8am on Thursday. Drivers should follow the directions of services on-site and delays in the area are expected.
