Flooding as rain lashes north

A woman resorted to using a tractor to drive through rising waters to open her store after flooding left the main highway to the Far North virtually impassable.

Flooding has caused problems on roads at the top of the country after thundery rain deluged parts of Northland for hours.

Two out of three main highways have been left underwater and two schools and a preschool in Kaeo were forced to shut their doors.

Just before midday State Highway 1 was left virtually impassable when the Waihou River breached its banks west of Rangiahua Rd.

Further north flooding has reduced the highway down to one lane between Iwitaua and Mangamuka School Rds.

Pockets of the main eastern highway, SH10, have also been affected by flooding but at this stage are still passable.

The main highway outside Kawakawa is also under water while further south rain is starting to pool on roads outside Whangarei.

While no one has been evacuated, a dairy owner had to use a tractor to reach her shop in a settlement outside Kaitaia this morning.

Bush Fairy Dairy worker Emily Parker said she woke to floodwaters two feet high submerging the backdoor steps of her home this morning.

She said roads surrounding the Peria store east of Kaitaia were under water and the owner needed to use a tractor to open up the businesses this morning.

"She actually got tractored in and tractored out. She got tractored in to open it and tractored out to go home," Ms Parker said.

Surprisingly there had still been customers with those in 4WDs coming in to buy coffees.

Northland Civil Defence spokesman Murray Soljak said the worst of the weather was passing and swollen rivers were starting to drop.

"We're expecting the rain to ease and the rivers to recede," Mr Soljak said.

Many of the worst affected areas such as Kaeo and Rangiahua were known trouble-spots that were adversely affected by tides.

He said the flooding, largely concentrated to the region's eastern flank, was expected to drain away as the rain eased this afternoon.

Meanwhile weather severe weather warnings remain in place for Bay of Plenty and northern Gisborne.

Northland, Auckland and Coromandel Peninsula are under weather watches for heavy rain and gales today.

Bay of Plenty and northern Gisborne are next in the firing line, expecting 80mm to 110mm over an 15- to 18-hour period from this morning.

In the South Island motorists are being warned to expect up to 8cm snow on alpine passes today as the second chilly blast in a fortnight hits southern regions.

 

Add a Comment