State of emergency declared in Nelson Tasman District

Tuesday, 20 February 2018

The storm has left State Highway 60 resembling more of a river than road.

The Nelson Tasman region has declared a state of emergency after torrential rain and flooding caused by ex-Cyclone Gita.

Tasman District Council Mayor Richard Kempthorne declared the emergency at 7.20pm on Tuesday.

Further flooding was expected to take place in Takaka over the next few hours and residents were asked to consider self-evacuating if they thought they were at risk.

A Riwaka resident checks the condition of the Little Sydney Stream as it floods onto Swamp Rd and other areas after heavy rain.

States of Emergency have also been declared in Taranaki, Selywn district, Grey district, Buller and Christchurch.

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A horse is swept downstream in the Motueka River.

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State Highway 60 from Riwaka to Takaka was closed due to a slip and fallen trees, while about 4000 people were without power between Kina and Takaka, including Kaiteriteri.

A Civil Defence Centre has been opened at Takaka Recreation Centre. Other centres in the region had been set up at the Outdoor Recreation Centre in Marahau, the Salvation Army Hall in Nelson, and the Motueka Residents Centre.

Further updates would be posted on the Nelson Tasman Civil Defence Facebook page.

Flooding fears in Riwaka have grown as heavy rain caused the Little Sydney Stream to overflow on Tuesday afternoon.

Max Stackhouse helped rescue his neighbours in Upper Moutere, who were trying to self-evacuate on a flooded road.

'We're ok, because we're up on a hill, but we can see the road down the bottom is totally flooded,' he said.

The road from Collingwood to Puponga has been closed due to a wash out.

Bevan Muollo of Higgins Group says his company has been flat out delivering sandbags around the city.

'Dad reckons bits of it might have come up. And we don't know if our bridge is still there, we have a bridge at the bottom of our driveway and it's totally covered.'

His neighbours were driving past but couldn't get out of the driveway because the bridge was covered in water, he said.

'It looked like the rails were taken out.

'I think their house will be alright, because it's up a little bit, but their lawns are completely covered.'

The neighbours were staying with his family, he said.

He warned people not to travel along Rosedale Rd as it was blocked by flooding.

In Motueka, a horse was being swept down the river.

A police spokeswoman said the horse, which was near Whakarewa St, could not be reached from the street along the banks of the Motueka River.

It was understood the horse had been washed along from higher up Motueka Valley.

Police were trying to reach the horse as it was swept further downstream.