Whanganui rain event update #9
Published on 06 April 2017
6.30 am Thursday 6 April 2017
The Whanganui District Council is planning to allow evacuated residents and business owners back into their properties later this morning.
“The good News is the Whanganui River levels dropped significantly overnight and there is no longer a risk of flooding in low lying areas of our city,” says Civil Defence Controller Kym Fell.
Mr Fell says the State of Emergency introduced on Monday night will remain in place for now.
“We are asking people to continue being patient. We need to do a series of infrastructure checks to bridges and remove the cordons set up yesterday afternoon.”
“We also need to restore power and gas to affected properties in Anzac Parade, Putiki and Taupo Quay.”
Mr Fell says the response from residents and business owners has been fantastic.
“They’ve been incredibly co-operative during the evacuation so we’ll be completing checks and removing cordons as soon as we can.”
Everyone has been so community minded. They evacuated themselves quickly and helped friends and neighbours move their precious possessions. Other residents offered beds and other support.”
The threat of flooding was very real and the warnings were based on hydrologist reports, readings of the river levels and forecasted weather patterns.
“It really was a textbook response and I really want to pay tribute to preparedness and planning of our Civil Defence, our emergency services, defence force members and volunteers.
A total of 212 people reported into Civil Defence after evacuating low lying areas of Anzac Parade and Putiki yesterday afternoon.
Taupo Quay in the Central Business District from Wilson Street to Victoria Avenue was closed and cordons put in place.
Roading update at 8.15 am
The Whanganui River Road is open.
Creek Road in the Mangamahu Valley is closed by a slip.
Koatanui Road, Brunswick is closed by slips and dropouts.
A report has come in regarding a significant drop out of the road at Colliers Bridge and Kainui Road in the Fields Track area.
We advise driver caution, particularly on rural roads. Maintenance crews are checking road conditions this morning.
State Highway Information
Please refer to www.nzta.govt.nz for more information on state highway roading conditions. For local roading conditions, please visit www.whanganui.govt.nz
Schools
Schools and pre-schools in Whanganui are open today, except for those in the evacuation zones.
These are:
- Whanganui Girls’ College
- Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Te Atihaunui-a-Paparangi
- Putiki Kindergarten
- Te Kōhanga Reo Putiki Wharanui
- St Anne’s Catholic School.
We do advise parents to contact schools and early childhood centres directly - or check their websites or Facebook pages for updates
Slips
There may be a number of other roads closed throughout our district due to surface flooding and slips. Please refer to www.nzta.govt.nz for more information on state highway roading conditions. For local road conditions, please visit www.whanganui.govt.nz
Parks
All Whanganui District Council sports grounds are closed.
Health
If you evacuating, please take your medications with you.
Further information
Whanganui District Council Facebook https://www.facebook.com/whanganuidistrictcouncil/
Manawatu-Wanganui Civil Defence Emergency Management Facebook https://www.facebook.com/civildefencemanawatuwanganui/
Horizons Regional Council Facebook -https://www.facebook.com/HorizonsRegionalCouncil/?fref=ts
Brian FM (radio)- 91.2 Whanganui
Brian FM (stream) http://brianfm.streamon.fm/