Shipping container hits bridge during wind, flooding in Tasman district

Tuesday, 3 December 2019

The shipping container smashed into a bridge on the swollen Matakitaki Bridge.

A wild start to summer across central New Zealand caused flooding in Golden Bay and toppled trees in the Tasman district.

On the Buller River, two 20-foot containers were washed away. One was seen slammed against a bridge at Murchison, and Buller Civil Defence asked people to stay off bridges over the Buller.

Murchison Information Centre posted the image of the container on the Matakitaki Bridge just after 2pm on Wednesday.

Heavy rain in Golden Bay overnight and on Tuesday - up to 180mm in some areas - caused flooding at a number of locations.

Among roads closed were State Highway 60 between Pupu Valley Road and Takaka East Road; the Collingwood-Bainham Road, One Spec Road, Pupu Valley, Glenroy and the Collingwood-Puponga Rds. There was also an area-wide warning for flooding from Upper Takaka to Waitapu Bridge.

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The Tasman District Council has advised against camping at the riverside locations while the risk of rising waters remained.

Up to 180mm of overnight rain has fallen in Golden Bay, leaving rivers swollen and motorists stuck as they wait for the high waters to subside.

Both the Takaka and Waitapu Rivers are understood to have risen significantly.

Freedom camping ambassadors have visited Waitapu Bridge, north of Takaka township, to advise campers to move on for their own safety.

In other parts of the region, Dovedale Hill, south-west of Nelson, was closed from Pigeon Valley at the end of seal through to the Dovedale side.

The Riwaka Valley Road, near Motueka, was also closed.

Flooding has closed roads around many parts of Golden Bay - with access between Collingwood, Bainham and Puponga closed to traffic on Tuesday.

Tasman District Council contractors were working to clear the road at both sites.

There were also reports of debris obstructing on the road over the Whangamoa Saddle, north of Nelson. The New Zealand Transport Agency has advised caution to those travelling on State Highway 6 between Rai Valley and Renwick due to fallen trees across the highway.

Caution was also advised on SH6 between Murchison and Gowanbridge near Handrail Creek Bridge, due to slip blocking the northbound lane.

The road was down to one lane under stop/go traffic management.

In Marlborough, Golden Bay woman Robyn Holloway was about five minutes from Havelock when she reached a slip on Queen Charlotte Drive, which had closed the road following 'intense' rainfall.

Holloway and her family, who were in three separate cars, had come from Ngakuta Bay along the busy scenic route.

Trying to return home to a soaked Golden Bay, she said her family had to go back past Ngakuta Bay, via Picton instead, adding more than an hour to their journey.

She narrowly avoided caught between two slips as another smaller slip came down at Cullen Point later on Tuesday.

On Tuesday afternoon, flooding closed Wairau Valley highway, State Highway 63 between St Arnaud and Renwick, after the Wairau River burst its banks at the bridge near Kowhai Point. It was not expected to reopen until conditions had eased, possibly on Wednesday afternoon.

In Nelson, rainfall varied across the region in the 12 hours to 10am on Tuesday, from just 8mm at Nelson to 182mm at Anatoki, Golden Bay.

Nelson Tasman Civil Defence urged residents to heed heavy rain warnings, with the likelihood of streams and rivers rising rapidly, along with further slips and surface flooding.

Despite the weather issues, Nelson Airport was not badly affected, with a handful of flights cancelled.