EVACUATIONS, SLIPS AND FLOODING IN REGION-WIDE DOWNPOUR | Rotorua News | Local News in Rotorua

Residents had to be evacuated, cars were submerged, roads closed and a canal stopbank was breached as the third flood in as many months hit the Eastern Bay of Plenty at the weekend.

More rain was not expected today but surface floodwater is expected to remain on low-lying land for days.

While the Eastern Bay bore the brunt of the weekend downpour, surface flooding happened in Rotorua and slips at Hamurana, the Rotoma Ranges and roads to the Western Bay.

A welfare centre opened in Whakatane yesterday after the district council evacuated about 20 residents from Fortunes and Paroa Rds when a breach in the Te Rahu Canal stopbank, west of Whakatane, was discovered.

Roads closed at the weekend included the Waioeka Gorge, the road between Taneatua and Kutarere and the road between Whakatane and Taneatua. Rainfall figures released late yesterday showed 339mm fell in Waimana, 256mm in the Waioeka, 242mm in the Otara catchment and 199mm in Whakatane.

Kawerau Fire Station officer Neil Patrick said firefighters attended a couple of flood incidents in the township on Saturday and a tree fell in Military Rd.

Environment Bay of Plenty flood duty manager Graeme O'Rourke said staff and contractors were repairing the stopbank breach with heavy machinery but it was proving difficult to fill.

"Because of this floodwater has been inundating low-lying areas in the Fortunes Rd/Paroa area to the west of Whakatane," he said. By yesterday afternoon river levels had begun to fall in the Eastern Bay as the rain eased.

Commercial fisherman Steve Haddock said rain in the past two months had helped reduce the amount of flooding. "Because the channel at the river mouth was already wide due to the rain we have had, water was able to escape a lot faster. Otherwise things would have been as bad as the 2004 floods."

The Whakatane District Council had a digger cutting into the banks at the Whakatane River mouth to open the floodway further and stop logs had been installed. At its peak the river had reached 7.1m. In the 2004 floods it reached 7.8m.

At the Whakatane Heads the wharf carpark went underwater and sections of the road were cordoned around high tide at 11am yesterday. A council emergency crew was pumping water from Kakaharoa Dr at the back of the town's main shopping area. Paddocks between Whakatane and Taneatua were submerged yesterday and a car in Rewatu Rd had just the roof still above water.

In the Rotorua district one slip blocked a lane in Hamurana Rd near Wilson's Bay about 3.30pm on Saturday and another, about 2pm, on State Highway 30 at the start of the Rotoma Ranges. In the city the downpours caused surface flooding in Ford Rd and signs were put up warning drivers to take care.

The weather played havoc with sports fixtures in Rotorua. The Tough Guy and Gal Challenge at Lakes Ranch was reduced to one lap and all junior sport was cancelled, as were club football matches. However, Rotorua District Council works manager Peter Dine said there were no calls regarding problems with flooding in the city at the weekend.

Civil Defence emergency management co-ordinator Pauline Hitchcock said she would continue to monitor the situation.

- additional reporting, Tamlyn Stewart