Gita: Massive task ahead to re-open slip-damaged Takaka Hill highway
Wednesday, 21 February 2018
About 6000 Golden Bay residents and tourists are isolated as ex-cyclone Gita turned the Takaka Hill road into 'a river' .
Authorities said on Wednesday morning that State Highway 60 on the Riwaka side of the hill was severely damaged in several places by slips.
'Multiple crews will be working on the Takaka Hill today and in coming days but it is likely to take at least several days before we're able to re-open the road to a single lane,' New Zealand Transport Agency system manager Frank Porter said.
Agency staff got a closer look at the road from a helicopter earlier today and full assessments of how parts of the damaged road will be repaired are underway.
**READ MORE:
* Full coverage: Gita hits New Zealand
* State of emergency declared in Nelson Tasman District
* Families flee as Riwaka floods**
'There are 16 slips between Riwaka Valley and the Summit of Takaka Hill with two sections of road completely washed away,' Porter said.
'We understand how important this highway is to Golden Bay and will be doing our best to get that link re-established.'
The road was closed at 4pm on Tuesday.
At the base of the Takaka Hill on Wednesday morning, the road was covered with mud, rocks and debris.
Water could be seen flowing through holes in the road.
An Air Force NH90 helicopter circled above the Takaka Hill as contractors began working to clear the slips.
Golden Bay Air and Adventure Flights Golden Bay are opening their services to stranded residents and tourists who need to fly out of of the Bay.
They are currently running a waitlist for people who need to get between Takaka and Nelson, and also Takaka and Wellington, and have received a high number of calls this morning.
Motueka-based tourism operators Nelson Tasman Air also made 15 flights over the hill in a helicopter and light plane on Wednesday for those needing transport, charging only $50 for a seat on a plane.
The company said it would continue to offer flights until Monday.
Golden Bay Coachlines was also taking people from Takaka through to Totaranui to work in with water taxi through to Kaiteriteri and return.
Civil Defence said that it had arranged a delivery of food and essential supplies by barge to Port Tarakohe in Golden Bay, which would arrive late on Wednesday or early Thursday.
It said the limited fuel supply in Golden Bay was being managed with a $30 worth of fuel per vehicle per day restriction in place.
A safe parking area for vehicles that must be left in Golden Bay temporarily had been established at the A&P Showgrounds in Takaka. Call 03 525 9237 for information.
Damage in Bay
Two Golden Bay bridges have also been washed away and two badly damaged, stranding residents in Kaituna near Collingwood.
The Kaituna Bridge and Carters Bridge, both in Kaituna near Collingwood, have been damaged as slips caused water, mud, silt and rocks to wash down from the Kahurangi National Park and onto neighbouring properties.
About a dozen Kaituna residents are stranded from both Collingwood and Takaka.
The Cobb Valley Road bridge is also completely washed out, and there are slips on other sections of the road.
The packed Takaka supermarket has long queues in its aisles on Wednesday as people scramble to stock up on supplies.
Resident Nic Wooding said the Fresh Choice supermarket was 'a phenomenon in itself', with people rushing to buy supplies in case the Takaka hill was closed for days and stock runs out.
'It's pretty much like planning for Armageddon in there,' she said.
Takaka township residents were evacuated at 7.30 pm last night following a state of emergency declared in the Nelson Tasman region.
But the township escaped relatively unscathed, and at 11pm Civil Defence and police escorted about 80 people home from the Takaka recreation centre where they had taken refuge.
Freedom campers and camper vans stayed at the rec centre overnight while the rivers were still high.
All schools and kindergartens in Golden Bay are closed today, except for Motupipi Primary School in Pohara, and there are no school buses running.
Riwaka clean-up
Over the hill in Riwaka, residents were cleaning up their properties on Wednesday morning, with many thankful the damage wasn't worse.
Steve and Sophie Thomas were at their property on Main Rd Riwaka assessing the damage.
They rent the property to RSE workers, who chose to leave after the floodwaters came into the home last night.
Sophie said some of the tenants stayed at their home, further down Main Rd Riwaka last night and would do so until the rental home was habitable.
Their neighbours were also on clean up duty, sweeping debris off their driveways, hosing away mud and cleaning out cars affected by the floodwaters.
One resident, who did not want to be named, said the Tasman District Council had questions to answer about its stop bank maintenance.
He said stop banks failed in three places, at the Little Sydney stream, Brooklyn stream and the Jordan River.
While rain was a factor, it was no more than the small town experienced in the last deluge two weekends ago, he said.
The impact of the floodwaters had caused serious damage to several Riwaka properties.
Marahau/Kateriteri
Civil Defence said the Riwaka/Kaiteriteri Road is open to residents only and a supply of bottled drinking water has been delivered to the Marahau village.
A water tanker will be available near the cafe on Thursday morning. Marahau relies on a private supply which is currently not working. The Riwaka/SandyBay Road is still affected by slips and remains closed.
Power updates
As residents take stock of floodwater damage to the Tasman district, the effect of power outages are still being felt by more than 700 customers.
Network Tasman operations manager Robert Derks said contractors were kept busy throughout the night as power outages hit various parts of the region, from Golden Bay to Atawhai.
While crews were working to restore power as soon as possible, Derks acknowledged the challenges in reaching all homes in the wake of ex-Cyclone Gita
'We were going pretty much all night and now we're doing a bit of a tidy-up this morning and getting a full survey of where the damage is and how we're going to get to some of these places.
'A lot of it is access problems with slips and road closures, so we're working with the council to get through to some of those places.'
By Wednesday morning, Network Tasman advised that the following areas in the Tasman Region were without power;
Dodson Valley: 13 customers at the end of the valley
Marahau: 145 customers, all of Marahau.
Otuwhero Valley: 20 customers in Riwaka Sandy Bay Rd, Moss Rd & Otuwhero Valley Rd
Waiwhero Rd.: 67 customers in Edward Rd and Waiwhero Rd.
Takaka Hill: 117 customers on Eastern side of Takaka Hill and Riwaka Valley
Brooklyn: 225 customers in Brooklyn Valley, Motueka, Westbank Rd. and the Shaggery.
Kina: 38 customers in Kina Beach Rd and Cliff Rd.
Rangihaeata Rd, Takaka: 86 customers in Rangihaeata, Keoghan and Fraser Rds
Customers should prepare to be without power until late afternoon on Wednesday.
As power can be restored at any time please treat all lines, electrical installations and wiring as live. Stay clear of downed lines and stay clear of trees that have fallen over lines.
Updates will be posted on the Network Tasman web page www.networktasman.co.nz.
Sewage warnings
Civil Defence said wastewater overflows had been experienced in a number of areas.
After a loss of power in Kaiteriteri, sewage overflows hade affected the main beach, Stephens Day and Tapu Bay. Swimming was not advised in these areas. Water sampling and testing will begin on Thursday.
Sewage overflows in Motueka meant residents should treat any pooled water on their property as potentially contaminated.
Those with private bores where flooding has occurred are advised to boil water to reduce the risk of potential contamination.
The water supply at Dovedale is currently not operational. Residents are advised to rely on stored supplies for now.
Rainfall totals
Waingaro at Little Devil trumped the Tasman rainfall stats with 211.5mm from 7am to 6pm on Tuesday, 3pm and 4pm both measured 46.1mm per hour.
Takaka at Canaan got 204.2mm, with the heaviest rainfall hours there at 3pm and 4pm; 41.1mm and 43.3mm respectively.
Motueka at Woodmans received 180.1mm overall, with a whopping 54.6mm at 4pm.
Riwaka at Takaka Hill measured a total of 146.9mm yesterday, with 29.7mm at 4pm.
*Audio courtesy of Radio NZ