West Coast flood breaks open old landfill, widespread damage to roads and bridges

Friday, 11 February 2022

The extent of road damage at the Perserverance Bridge over the Inangahua River, between Reefton and Inangahua, was visible from a helicopter on Friday morning.

In the wake of torrential rain on the West Coast, officials say the flood damage to houses has been minimal but the damage to roads and bridges is widespread, leaving at least one community isolated.

Minister for Primary Industries Damien O'Connor flew over northern Buller and the Inangahua area by helicopter on Friday.

Footage from the flight shows a swollen and raging Inangahua River flowing over large parts of the road near the Perseverance Bridge halfway between Reefton and the Inangahua village.

“I'm a local – I've seen floods in the past and this is clearly one of the biggest,” he said.

* Not 'out of the woods' yet: At least 100 in Westport evacuation centres

* Weather: West Coast's SH6, near Harihari, closed due to flooding

Aerial footage shows a swollen and raging Inangahua River flowing over large parts of the road near Perseverance Bridge, halfway between Reefton and the Inangahua village on Friday.

“It comes off the back of two other events, so people are a little tired of water here at the moment.”

Karamea, with a population of about 700, was the only community still cut off.

Latest MetService National forecast video

“There will be farmers out there who will be dumping their milk … so that's one of the big challenges at the moment.”

The Buller District Council had made the right calls, he said.

“No-one has been harmed. Clearly there has been a lot of damage to infrastructure, to roading, to some bridges and there'll be a big challenge to get that all replaced and back up and running.”

The flooding events in Westport were a reminder the Government needed to “get on” with work on climate change to give certainty, support and protection to people.

Central Government would work with local Government and individuals about the future of vulnerable areas, O’Connor said.

State Highway 67 between Karamea and Mokihinui remains closed due to more than 30 slips along the 23km stretch of road.

“We've seen today some beautiful properties in some pretty precarious places and that might not be something we should encourage into the future.”

A flood protection wall being worked on by the regional council would provide “reasonable mitigation and protection”.

“There's a lot of technical engineering issues being worked through so hopefully when we do reach a joint conclusion on what is best for Westport then we will see the right investment,” O’Connor said.

Buller mayor Jamie Cleine said an event like this highlighted the fragility of infrastructure like roading and water schemes. Communities like Buller with a small lower socio-economic population could not afford to repair or upgrade them.

Heavy rain also affected the water level of Canterbury's Waimakariri River – part of the popular Coast to Coast endurance race, set to take place on Saturday.

One of the large slips that has cut drinking water access to Waimangaroa on the West Coast.

A spokesperson said the event’s kayak safety team found the river was not safe enough, so a “plan B” kayak leg would be put in place.

Meanwhile, road and aerial assessments by Civil Defence contractors found considerable damage to the Buller district’s roading, stormwater, and rail infrastructure.

There was significant damage north of Waimangaroa, and in the upper and lower Buller Gorge, Rahu Saddle, Inangahua, Reefton, and Lewis Pass areas, a West Coast Emergency Management spokesperson said. The Mohikinui township was also flooded, with at least five houses suffering damage.

Waimangaroa’s supply suffered significant damage that would need repair work throughout the weekend, while water supplies in Inangahua, Reefton and Ngakawau were also affected by flooding.

Kevin Boyd, 70, and his family anxiously watch as floodwaters continue to rise around their farm property on Cape Foulwind Rd near the Buller River between Westport and Carters Beach on Thursday.

Most flooded roads had now reopened, but State Highway 67 would remain closed between Karamea and Mokihinui until at least Saturday while road crews cleared more than 30 slips on the 23-kilometre stretch of road. Civil Defence said the repair work was expected to take several months.

Flooding at a dairy farm in Crushington near Reefton.

Helicopters were being used to transport Karamea residents needing medical attention to hospital and get tourists out of the area before returning with essential supplies.

In Reefton, work is under way to repair the town’s landfill, which began spewing rubbish into the Inangahua River after the flooded river caused a breach.

“Once river levels have dropped, the site will be assessed for an engineered response. Cleanup is planned to be undertaken once the site is safe to access,” a West Coast Emergency Management statement said.

‘Considerable damage’ across many farms

Federated Farmers president Bede O’Connor said there had been “considerable damage” across many farms, mainly around Reefton and along the Shenandoah Highway.

O’Connor farms near Westport and was surveying the silt damage to his own property on Friday morning after the water receded.

While some farmers would still be experiencing significant issues, most were self-sufficient and able to deal with power outages, he said.

Mikaere Clarkson lives in a Kainga Ora house in Colvin St, Westport. Houses that had been red stickered last year and were almost fully repaired were flooded again, he says.

The warm weather would help farmers regrow damaged pastures before winter, he said.

For many farmers, it marks the second year they have endured floods. About 30 hectares of O’Connor’s dairy farm was significantly damaged last July and some farmers lost large numbers of stock.

Flooding and slips on the Lower Buller Gorge (State Highway 6) on Thursday.

O’Connor said many farms had been covered in water this time too, but there had been no reports of stock losses.

Evacuees return home

Flooding at a dairy farm in Crushington near Reefton.

Westport residents who evacuated from their homes, many for the second time in a week, returned home on Friday.

More than 120 fled to evacuation centres on Thursday, while many others stayed with family or friends.

Civil Defence controller Bob Dickson said council building inspectors were assessing homes and applying red or yellow stickers to any deemed to be at-risk.

The town’s community hub was also open to provide support to those who felt distressed or anxious, he said.

Members of the NZ Defence Force were stationed in the town from Friday in preparation for more bad weather.

Dickson urged residents to be prepared for the weather to change for the worst over the coming days. The evacuation centres would reopen if required.

However, NIWA had reassured him that Westport would not see similar heavy rainfall over the weekend, he said.

“The rivers will continue to recede. We may get a few pretty hefty wind gusts on Sunday and into early Monday but we are not seeing or hearing anything that should raise concern.”

MetService meteorologist Dan Corrigan said a heavy rain watch has been issued for the ranges of Buller and Nelson Lakes from midnight on Saturday until noon on Sunday.

An orange heavy rain warning was also issued for Tasman west of Motueka and Marlborough Sounds from 9pm on Friday.

Later on Sunday, Tropical Cyclone Dovi was set to bear down from the subtropics, but severe weather would hit the country before the effects of the cyclone could be felt, Corrigan said.

Wednesday night’s downpour saw Westport experience its wettest February in 78 years, with nearly half a metre of rain (470mm), and came on the back of the area’s second-driest January on record.

Westport also hit record temperatures on Tuesday, when thermometers reached 29.2 degrees Celsius.