900 people evacuated in worst Marlborough flood on record
Saturday, 17 July 2021
Almost 1000 people have been evacuated and five people have been rescued from floodwaters south of Picton as towns in Marlborough were cut off by the worst flood ever recorded in the region.
Marlborough District Council deputy mayor Nadine Taylor said in a statement to the council’s Facebook page that 900 people from 500 properties across Marlborough had to be evacuated.
“Our stop bank network held up very well considering this is our largest-ever recorded flood – a far bigger event than the previous biggest in 1983,” she said.
“The Council has invested a lot in river flood protection works since 1983 – this was a test of the quality of that work. We kept everyone safe and that was our number one priority.”
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She said planning for recovery and repair of that network and flood protection system would start on Sunday.
“Most importantly we'll be helping our community as much as possible, especially ensuring people can get back into their homes.”
A Fire and Emergency spokesperson said fire crews from Picton and Rarangi freed passengers from two vehicles caught at Tuamarina, along State Highway 1, on Saturday afternoon.
Rising waters have shut numerous roads to the portside town of Picton, including State Highway 1 to the south and Queen Charlotte Drive to the east, with no other detours available.
It comes hours after a state of emergency was declared in Marlborough, as flooding along the Wairau River forces evacuations in Renwick, Spring Creek and Tuamarina – with populations of around 430 and 270 each.
Renwick evacuee Lara Campbell lives on Terrace Rd, one of the closest roads to the Wairau river, in a house in the middle of a vinyard with a small creek on the property.
“About 11am, the creek overflowed, and since then the water was getting closer and closer to our house,” Campbell said.
“I thought, ‘it is going to be fine as long as it doesn't keep raining’.”
Campbell received the alert from the council saying that the zone would be evacuated around 1pm, when she had a few friends over at her house who had come over the bridge just before it closed.
Campbell packed a bag and went to spend the night at her uncle and aunt's place.
“Hopefully I can go back home in 24 hours, so I'll listen to the advice of the professionals,” she said. “The Civil Defence and District Council do an excellent job to keep us all safe. It is scary to have to leave your house, but also reassuring that the council communicated so quickly.”
Both the Spring Creek and Tuamarina evacuations were prompted by overtopping or breaching stop banks on the Wairau River.
All evacuees, including those in Tuamarina across the river from Blenheim, have been advised to seek accommodation with friends or whānau in Blenheim.
Chris and Vaughan Wilson evacuated from their home on Ferry Rd at the top end of Spring Creek this afternoon. They have been living in Spring Creek for 11 years.
The fire brigade came to their place around 5pm on Saturday to ask them to evacuate their house.
They jumped in their campervan and drove to a friend’s place in town to spend the night, but were not sure about what to do after the emergency alert.
“[The] lawn is just a lake, firewood is flooding in the woodshed… We have water in the house so we have put towels down everywhere, it has just been bursting all day, it is just crazy,” Wilson said.
“We don't flush our loo because it is gurgling back up at us, because the stormwater is not coping well. Hopefully the river does not come over, but it stops raining, so that's a good thing.”
The bridge over the Wairau River, between Picton and Spring Creek, was closed at 3.30pm by the Marlborough District Council due to “very high” waters nearing the bridge's base, however evacuees from Tuamarina were allowed to cross from north to south to access emergency accommodation.
Blair Harris evacuated his home on Thomas Rd in Tuamarina later in the evening.
He said he was not originally part of the initial evacuation, but police came to escort him from the property at about 7pm.
“We suspect that the Wairau Diversion banks are close to breaking,” he said at 8pm.
“[I] am currently in Blenheim with family. The only concern is that we have heard nothing from the council about the evacuation and the status of the stop banks, it seemed very rushed.”
The Marlborough District Council said those who are not able to find accommodation can call the Marlborough District Council at 03 520 7400, or go to Stadium 2000 on Kinross St, Blenheim. An information centre has been set up there to direct evacuees.
People can keep track of local Civil Defence updates on the Marlborough District Council’s Facebook page, on Brian FM 100.9FM, at the council’s website, or via news updates. Flood information, including to-the-minute live updates of river flow-rates, can be seen on the council’s floodwatch website.
Campbell Ingram said he had never seen floodwaters so high in the 19 years he and his family had been living at Spring Creek.
“I realised how bad it was when the water was coming over my gumboots on the back lawn,” Ingram said. His family had been asked to evacuate at 4.30pm. He had a wife and two children.
He also had a dog and five cats.
Roads were also closed due to flooding along State Highway 6, between Renwick and Havelock, and State Highway 63, between Renwick and St Arnaud. Motorists have been asked to respect the road closures and not drive through floodwaters.
Marlborough Boys’ College student Ollie Duncan, 16, took advantage of the wild weather and decided to go kayaking on Harling Park, in Blenheim, which had become “a massive lake”.
“'I woke up this morning and there was a lot of water so I grabbed the kayak. I came here at about 11.30am. It wasn't that big. I then went to the supermarket and when I came back it was a lot bigger, so I took out my kayak … It’s [been] great fun.”
Duncan had lived beside Harling Park for two years and had never seen the park so flooded. By Saturday afternoon, he was one of three kayakers at the park, along with several children.
Metservice forecaster Aidan Pyselman said Marlborough could expect a vast improvement on Sunday, with a “fairly fine morning”. Showers are expected to move in during the evening.
“But it's not going to be anywhere near as wet as you've had over the last day or so,” Pyselman said on Saturday evening.
Going into the week, a few showers would be expected on Monday, mainly around the Marlborough Sounds and Kaikōura.
Tuesday and Wednesday were expected to be fine, with some showers developing late in the day on Wednesday. The region had seen the bulk of the rain, so rivers should begin to drop.
Interislander cancelled a scheduled departure of Aratere from Wellington on Saturday afternoon due to severe wind conditions.
Interislander general manager Walter Rushbrook said the Kaiarahi departed Wellington as scheduled at 4pm with 450 people on board, but turned the ship around when Waka Kotahi NZTA advised that the road between Picton and Blenheim was closed.
“A decision has been made to pause our ferry operations until we get some certainty on the transport connections south of Picton,” Rushbrook said.
“We are keeping all our customers updated and we apologise for the inconvenience caused by this significant weather event.”