STATE OF EMERGENCY AGAIN

Press, 22 October 1983, Page 1

STATE OF EMERGENCY AGAIN

Flooding hits Marlborough and Takaka

Staff reporters

Flooding has brought a declaration of civil emergency in Takaka and around Blenheim for the second time in three months.

Golden Bay residents were being lifted out of their flood-threatened homes by helicopters late yesterday afternoon, as the Takaka River began to overflow.

In Marlborough, Civil Defence volunteers were fighting a losing battle to protect new stopbanks built on the Wairau River since the July flood, and residents of Renwick, Spring Creek, and Tuamarina were preparing to leave their homes. The West Coast was virtually isolated as heavy rain caused flooding and slips over roads and rails. Heavy rain throughout most of Marlborough since Thursday night has isolated communities in the Rai Valley, Canvastown, and Havelock areas, inundated thousands of hectares of farmland, and cut State highway six between Blenheim and Nelson.

Seven people in two families were rescued by helicopter from their homes yesterday at Kaiuma as water levels threatened their safety. Stock losses in the lower Pelorus Valley are expected to be heavy. Those stranded at Deep Creek, Wakamarina, include a party of about 20 schoolchildren from Blenheim. There are no fears for their safety.

More than 400 mm of rain fell in about 12 hours on Thursday night and Friday morning in the Opouri catchment. This, combined with flood waters frorii the Rai and Pelorus rivers brought severe flooding to Canvastown for the third time this year.

One Canvastown farmer has lost nearly 400 ewes in lamb and lambs, bringing his total unit losses to about 800.

The Trout Hotel at Canvastown has had water through the bar for the third time this year.

The expected Civil Defence emergency was declared at 7.30 p.m. by the regional controller, Mr L. A. C. Pigou, after latest reports indicated the likely need for the evacuation of the lower areas of Renwick and Spring Creek and Tuamarina.

The other areas covered by the declaration were Rai Valley, Canvastown, and Northbank. The emergency was to remain in force until 8 a.m. today, when the situation would be reassessed.

The chief engineer for the Marlborough Catchment Board, Mr P. A. Thomson, said the latest information from the Meteorological Office at that stage was that the peak of the flood was expected about 8 p.m. It was later predicted for 1 a.m. today. The lower end of Spring Creek worried him the most.

Mr Norris Power, chief reporter for Radio Marlborough, said station staff had been fostered for duty until 6 a.m. today to broadcast information as it became available to people in the affected areas. A summary would be given every half hour. “The Wairau has now reached 6.10 metres at Tuamarina, 2.44 metres short of the July flood and it could still rise at least another metre.” said Mr Thomson.

Mr Thomson said that run-off from tributaries on the north bank of the Wairau River was higher than in the July flood. Late last evening, Civil Defence volunteers in the Wratts Road area seemed to be fighting a losing battle to protect new stopbank works installed since the last flood.

All available mesh gates had been requisitioned and another 60 were being sought. They had also run out of sandbags and were calling on stock firms for more.

The Marlborough County

Council manager, Mr R. C. Penington, said that hardly a road in the county was left open. The most damage was in the Sounds, with slips, surface flooding and blocked culverts.

Takaka, the main centre of Golden Bay, was totally cut off by road early yesterday. The Takaka Hill was blocked by a big slip near the Eureka Bend, and State highway 60 between Upper Takaka and Collingwood was closed by flood waters in at least five places. A state of emergency was declared at 5.36 p.m. as flood waters spilling over the banks of the Takaka River flowed half way across the road through the town, and heavy rain continued to fall in the catchment areas. On the other side of the raging river at Kotinga, the swollen waters again gouged out the approaches to the Kotinga bridge and inundated surrounding river-flat paddocks. This area was one of the worst hit by the July floods.

The Nelson regional Civil Defence controller, Mr D. H. Blyth, said that the river appeared to have fallen slightly but with heavy rain still falling in the back country little was being left to chance and sandbagging of most spots was being done. Water behind the Cobb Dam has been at a high level throughout the day and although the power station has been running to full capacity it has had to spill water into the Takaka River.

The district operations engineer of the Energy Division, Mr R. M. McFadden, said last evening that the flood gates had been opened in 15cm steps throughout the day and the last he had heard was that the gates were open to about 61cm. It was possible they might have to be open more, depending on the rainfall in the area. It took between six and eight hours for water released from the Cobb to reach Takaka township, so a peak was expected in the river at Takaka at 6.30 p.m. Mr Blyth said the release did not appear to have swollen the flood waters to any great extent. The Takaka River had broken its banks in the usual four of five places below Upper Takaka and had flowed across the highway. Water had entered some houses in Takaka late in the afternoon.

Some idea of the heavy rainfall in Golden Bay could be gained from figures taken at Bainham — one of New Zealand’s wettest areas. In the 24 hours to 8 a.m. yesterday, Bainham had just on 212 mm of rain and 78mm fell in the previous 24 hours.

This, however, was totally overshadowed by a fall of 390 mm at the Perry Saddle Hut on the Heaphy Track for the 24 hours to 8 a.m. yesterday.

At the Cobb power station, 121 mm of rain was recorded from midnight Friday until 6 p.m. yesterday and at 7.30 p.m. staff said the level of the Takaka River was dropping and that the flood gates were opened to 90cm. Nelson City escaped virtually unscathed. Winds gusting to 45 knots caused little damage and in the 24 hours to 6 p.m. yesterday only 25.6 mm of rain was recorded at Nelson Airport. On the West Coast, the morning railcar from Christchurch to Greymouth was stopped at Otira, as washouts between Rotomanu and Poerua caused scouring of bridge abutments.

The 100 passengers continued their journey by bus to Greymouth. Passengers

travelling to Christchurch also went by bus to Otira, where they transferred to the railcar.

State highway 73, through the Otira, was cut by slips at Macs Creek and in the Kumara side of Jacksons, The chief executive officer of the Westland Catchment Board, Mr R. F. Laing, said last evening, that the level of the Grey River was still rising at 7 p.m. but the levels of its tributaries were steady.

The board earlier in the day advised farmers to move stock from low levels. Heavy rain was falling in Greymouth last evening. The Grey' River was in flood with muddy water, effectively wrecking any holiday week-end whitebaiting. There were reports of the

Buller River being in flood, and the Automobile Association advised that State highway 7 through the gorge was closed.

State highway 67 between Westport and Karamea was also closed because of flooding. Slips cut the highway at Kiwi Jacks in the Fox Hills between Franz Josef and Fox Glacier, but this was later reopened. Fox Glacier township had 121.9 mm of rain in the 24 hours to 9 a.m. yesterday, but this was dwarfed by Otira’s 264.2 mm. Otira has had 612.3 mm of rain so far this month. The man in charge of a rain gauge there said that “about 19 feet” had been recorded so far this year.

“We don’t measure it in millimetres,” he said.