Richmond Residents caught up in the Last Night of the storm

Where Reservoir Creek crossed Hill St Richmond - it took all day just to clean the road but residents here have a terrible mess to clean-up

 

21 Aug

With the ground already saturated it was Richmond that received the final devastation of the storm in the early hours of Saturday morning 20 August. It had been raining constantly in Richmond for days like the rest of flood-stricken Tasman, Nelson, Marlborough and Buller.

The amount of water last night was too much for the ranges behind Richmond to hold. 

Residents have been evacuated from homes after two creeks in the area turned into rivers after a second dose of heavy rainfall overnight.

 Creeks turned into rivers over night Hill St., Richmond Tasman

Occupants of around 10 homes in the Hill St area of Richmond, Tasman, were asked to evacuate early in the morning, Nelson Tasman Civil Defence public information manager Chris Choat said.

"The evacuations essentially have come from ... Reservoir Creek, which used to wend its way lovingly down between houses.

"It broke its banks and just went straight down."

Many other house owners in the area had parts of their homes affected and gardens destroyed by the overflowing creeks.

The second flood for Residents on Hill St to cope with on Saturday.

Police, Fire and Emergency, and contractors came to residents' aid and work was now being done to try realign the Reservoir Creek and stop further water coming down, Choat said.

Further down Hill St, towards the southern end, a further creek overflowed into properties and onto the Street after a slip high up in the rangers behind Hillplough Heights.

Rocks, mud, a massive stream of water and forest debris all came down leaving a devastating mess to be cleaned up. Residents and people just coming to help were out later in the morning trying to clean up.

A terrible slip in the hills behind Richmond for Residents to cope with

Civil Defence Nelson Tasman said on Facebook on Saturday morning there'd now been 508 homes evacuated since the floods began, with evacuations up by about 100 overnight, and many roads around the region are closed.

Also in Richmond overnight flooding took place in Washbourn Gardens leaving flower beds washed out, the duck pond at the bottom of a large deep oval area made to collect flood water was destroyed. The flood water over flowed this area washing through the garden car park and further on behind the Tasman District Council building down into Oxford St, Richmond leaving debris everywhere.

Part of Washbourn Gardens Richmond. The duck pond has gone.

The area affected by flooding had broadened thanks to the overnight rain, Civil Defence Nelson Tasman said on Facebook.

"That includes the Cannan-Upper Takaka area and the Richmond ranges from Wairoa to Hira. There's lots of surface water in both Nelson, Richmond, Brightwater and the rest of Tasman.

Many residents will not be able to return home because of the devastating effects of the flood waters and slips. Crop growers and farmers throughout the region have had crops destroyed and pasture ruined plus farmers are finding it hard to manage their stock.

The $200,000 grant by the Government to the mayoral fund is a terrible insult and so are statements like one in a hundred year event. Speak to any person in Golden Bay or the West Coast and they will tell you they are having these events every three years or less.

Pigeon Post News

STORM - RESIDENTS WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW IN NELSON AND TASMAN

 

CONTINUING COVERAGE 19 AUG

Look after yourselves good night!

MetService:

Another 150 to 200mm of rain is expected in the ranges east of Nelson in the 24 hours from midday Friday to midday Saturday.  

Later on Saturday, rain around the country weakens and we are left with more sporadic areas of wet weather, which will be less severe nationwide. 

MetService Meteorologist Stephen Glassey says “Having such a prolonged period of tropical moisture over the county during winter is extremely unusual.” 

Tasman Police - Marlborough

Friday, 19 August 2022 - 8:39pm | Marlborough motorists - avoid non-essential travel

Tasman District Police are advising motorists in the Marlborough region to avoid any non-essential travel this evening due to the ongoing weather event. 

Driving conditions are extremely poor, with surface flooding, slips, and low visibility due to heavy rainfall. 

A number of roads have been closed

(link is external)

Anyone who needs to travel should do so with extreme caution and allow extra time for their journey.

Tasman - Richmond

Earlier this morning we were notified of a burst water main in Queen Street between Warwick and Hill Street, possibly leaving some residents without water. Whilst our Contractors were on site they identified that two pipes serving the reservoir have been damaged and they expect this repair to be completed by 9pm tonight. Contractors will be door knocking these properties.

In order to ensure that water is still available to other properties, we will be opening and closing valves to move water around the network, which may cause a drop in water pressure. These changes are expected to last approximately 12 hours and may result in discoloured water, but nothing to be concerned about. 

We ask that the people within the below area please conserve water wherever possible.

NELSON UPDATE:  5.30pm 19 Aug

All info on Our Nelson

- important info for people who have had to evacuate

- let us know if you need supplies

- SH6 travel window 5 - 7 pm Atawhai to Hira

- Road closures: live map

- Donations to Mayoral Relief Fund open

- Weekend bus update

- Reserves and track closures

Full details can be found at Our Nelson.

Tasman:  Moturoa / Rabbit Island closed

Due to severe flooding, Moturoa / Rabbit Island will remain closed tomorrow (Saturday 20 August). This will assessed again on Sunday. Rough Island remains open.

TASMAN: HOPE AND BRIGHTWATER

TODAY 4.30PM

The bores that are the source of water to the Hope/Brightwater supply can become turbid (cloudy) when the Wairoa River runs high and with more rain forecast this may happen. 

If this happens the effectiveness of the filtration, UV and chlorine treatment can be reduced. 

So we need customers on the Hope/Brightwater supply to conserve water for the next 24 hours so that the amount of clean water in the

NELSON: SH6 opening two hour window 5-7pm Atawhai to Hira TODAY NOW

SH6 between Bayview/Atawhai and Hira is going to open for a 2hr window TODAY from 5-7pm ONLY to allow residents to leave the area.

The highway will be opened periodically i.e., every half hour on the half hour between 5pm and 7pm, with the last supervised movement in or out at 7pm.

Outside of these supervised trips, the road will remain under full closure to allow the contractors to keep working on the damaged sections and to ensure safety.

NELSON : CONSERVE WATER

The main water supply line from the Maitai Reservoir to Nelson city failed overnight. While we still have a secondary pipe supplying water it's at a much-reduced flow rate and water is at a reduced capacity. Please conserve water today.

NELSON:

Possibility of 'very big swells' of up to 3 metres this afternoon. This will be at its worst at high tide at 2:51 PM. Please stay away from the beach this afternoon, stay home if possible and share with friends and whānau who are not coastal.

Further details can be found at Our Nelson.

NELSON:

SLIPS: please keep an eye out for any potential slips around your property. If you notice a slip, call CSC at 03 546 0200.

If you're worried there is an imminent slip that could put you or property at risk, DO NOT need to wait for an evacuation directive.

Please STAY OFF ROADS today - work from home if possible. Businesses, please consider closing early.

Bus routes are operating slightly differently today as staff work to clear slips caused by the heavy rain. Click link for more info.

Further details can be found at Our Nelson.

Tasman:  Landfill closure reduces refuse capacity

The York Valley landfill at Bishopdale is closed due to a landslip blocking the access road.

The closure means we can’t dispose of material collected at our Resource Recovery Centres in Richmond and Mariri.

We are asking people with household rubbish not to take it to these centres.

At this stage, our regular kerbside refuse collections aren’t affected but the recovery centres are running at reduced capacity with all collections being held on site until the landfill reopens.

Nelson: Customer Service Centre has Reopened

The Incident Information Centre is also up and running at Trafalgar Centre if you need to speak to someone about the weather event and your property. People from Iwi, the Insurance Council, Ministry of social Development, Red Cross and others are on site. 

Otherwise, please call Council (03 546 0200) email us (enquiry@ncc.govt.nz), or contact us via social media and Antenno. We are doing our absolute best to respond to each and every query received.

Tasman Nelson:

If you don't need to be on the roads today, please stay home. If you are able to work from home, please do so.

The roads around Nelson and Tasman are a real mess with key routes shut down which puts pressure on other roads. We need to ensure we have access so we can help residents as quickly as we can, and when the roads are blocked with traffic, it doesn't help anyone.

Tasman and Nelson residents - PLEASE STAY HOME!

If you don't need to be on the roads today, please stay home. If you are able to work from home, please do so. Please don't go out for a 'Sunday drive' to look at the damages and take photos - these are peoples homes, please respect that and them!

The roads around the Nelson and Tasman District are a real mess with key routes shut down which puts pressure on other roads. We need to ensure we have access as needed so we can help residents as quickly as we can, and when the roads are blocked up with traffic, it doesn't help anyone.

We are expecting a lot more rain later today, so you may get to where you're going now, but will you be able to get home again tonight? Please rethink if you need to leave home today!

Tasman: 

Roading conditions across Tasman District as at 12pm Friday 19 August:

Lewis Street (Collingwood) is closed due to trees down.

Bird Road (Clifton) is closed due to slips, flood debris and blocked culverts.

Dry River Bridge has collapsed on Glenview road.

McShane Road (Wainui Bay) ford is impassable and there is a slip blocking the road.

Dry Road has been blocked by slips and trees.

Abel Tasman Drive is closed due to a slip across the road at Wainui Hill. We aim to reopen this today.

McCallum Road is closed due to a slip.

Rameka road is closed due to the ford still being very deep and washed out.

Pōhara Valley Road is closed due to flooding.

Bird Road Clifton is closed due to slips and blocked culverts.

Motueka Valley Highway is closed due to slips (between Ngatamoti and Alexander Bluff).

Dovedale Road (Dovedale Hill) is closed due to trees blocking the road.

Pigeon Valley Road (Dovedale Hill)  is closed due to trees blocking the road

Riwaka-Sandy Bay Road (Mārahau Hill) is closed.

Kaiteriteri-Sandy Bay Road is closed due to slips. Resident access only.

Stafford Drive is closed due to slips and rockfall. Detour in place Pomona Road to Marriages Road.

Kina Peninsula Road is closed (from the end of the seal) due to fallen trees.

Open but caution is advised:

SH60 Riwaka to Motueka - Flooding

SH60 Upper Tākaka to Collingwood - Flooding

SH60 Tākaka Hill between Riwaka Valley Road and Canaan Road - Slip

Long Plain Road is now open, but with 50km speed restrictions.

Collingwood-Puponga Main Road is now open, but caution is advised due to washouts and surface damage.

East Tākaka Road is now open, but caution is advised due to surface flooding.

One Spec Road is now open.

Pupu Valley Road is now open.

Waimea West Road has reopened.

The D’Arcy Street road closure has been postponed due to the weather.

CONTINUING COVERAGE

Pigron Post News

Urgent Authorised Message: - Tasman and Nelson Residents - PLEASE STAY HOME!

 URGENT MESSAGE FROM TASMAN DISTRICT COUNCIL

PICTURES OF A DEVASTATING STORM - NELSON /TASMAN

 

Waitapu Bridge

Nelson

Nelson

The Maitai River (also known as the Mahitahi River) is the largest river in the city of Nelson, 

Nelson

Nelson

Nelson

The Wood

The Wood

Sand bags protection from the Maitai

The flooded Maitai

Trafalgar St Bridge

Looking out from Nelson Library

Area around Waitapu

The Maitai River

You can see how the Maitai River has just about entered the Riverside cafe 

Trafalgar St Bridge

Nelson flooding

I have been sitting there!

Riverside 

Waitapu Bridge Takaka River

Area around Waitapu

1931 Corner of Hardy and Rutherford St Nelson

17 August 11:51pm

With the anticipated heavy rain now hitting the Nelson Tasman region, we hope that you and your whānau are staying safe out there.

With surface flooding on our minds, today we share a 1931 photograph from our Collections Online of two motor vehicles driving through floodwaters at a Nelson city intersection, thought to be the corner of Hardy Street and Waimea Street (now Rutherford Street). The premises of Ivory Bros Ltd, Bert Tomlinson, and the Waverley Dancing Academy can be seen.

📷 credit: Nelson Flood December 1931. Nelson Provincial Museum, Kingsford Collection: 161830

Nelson Provincial Museum

Nelson

 Behind the Visitor Centre carpark Takata

Maitai

Riverside

Riverside Nelson

More to come Pigeon Post News

Hugh tree trunk stuck under Bridge St Bridge

Saxton Creek Richmond

Buller Emergency Management update - 17th August, 2022

Buller’s emergency operations centre will be operating all night tonight, as civil defence monitors the impact of the forecast rain, swells and high tide in the district. 

Civil Defence Controller Douglas Marshall said about 160 households in low-lying parts of Westport had been encouraged to self-evacuate as a precaution this afternoon. This was to reduce the likelihood of urgent evacuations if the situation deteriorated overnight, putting both residents and emergency responders at risk. 

Most people have made their own arrangements and only a handful have needed assistance to find accommodation. 

Anyone in Westport needing assistance tonight can call 0800 234 533 and the Recovery Hub in Palmerston St will be open again from 8am. 

Local support arrangements are also in place in Seddonville and Mokihinui in case residents need to evacuate tonight. 

Mr Marshall said the “red” weather warning for Buller extended until 7pm on Thursday so the main impacts of the heavy rain on the district was probably yet to come.  

The Mokihinui River was rising fast tonight, while latest modelling suggested the Buller River at Westport would peak mid afternoon tomorrow. A period of intense rainfall is likely from 10pm tonight until and 2am, which will add to surface flooding already developing around the district. 

This evening, surface flooding is starting to build up in a relatively small area of Westport, bounded by Derby, Mill, Brougham and Domet Streets. Mr Marshall said the water was not from the Orowaiti River but was stormwater that could not drain into the Orowaiti. Operations staff are monitoring the situation and will use portable pumps where they will be effective. 

“I know people who have evacuated today will be keen to know when it’s safe to return home. All we can say tonight is that we will assess the situation in the morning and let people know how it’s looking as soon as we can,” he said.  

In the meantime, the Police will be carrying out reassurance patrols around the town, including the evacuated areas. 

Pigeon Post News

Police Update - Severe Weather Event

Wednesday, 17 August 2022 - 8:16pm | Tasman

Tasman District Police will continue to assist local Civil Defence Emergency Management teams with the district-wide response to the current severe weather event.

Police staff have travelled from other areas to assist their colleagues in the areas that have been hardest hit. Police will maintain continuity of usual services while playing our part in the State of Emergency response on the West Coast and in Nelson-Tasman.

We continue to advise limiting travel to essential travel only, as there have been several road closures across the district. Stay home, stay safe and if you are in danger call 111.

Pigeon Post News