A further 180mm of rain predicted

A severe weather warning is in place for the Gisborne district.  100mm of rain has already fallen in the district. From 9am Monday morning till midnight Tuesday a further 180mm is predicted to fall on the Gisborne ranges with heavy falls from midnight tonight.  This rain is likely to remain on the surface as the district is already sodden. Some downfalls of between 15-20 mls per hour are expected.

Rivers peaked at midday today and will recede until high tide at midnight tonight. If the heavy rain continues as predicted rivers are likely to rise further before peaking at around midday on Wednesday. At this stage they are expected to cope with this quantity of rain although residents in low lying areas should expect surface flooding.

Council and Emergency Services have been briefed and will be monitoring the situation closely. Flood wardens will be used to ensure affected people are kept informed should the situation deteriorate.

Several road closures have been reported including part of Pehiri Road at Tahunga which is completely under water. Monck Road in the Waimata Valley is impassable due to slips and caution is needed on Mata Road and Kaiaua Beach Road due to slips. Manders Road and Atkinson Street are closed and caution is required on Oswald Street, upper Riverside Road, Waimata Valley Road and Chichester Street.  Road closure information is being updated on the road conditions webpage.

Customer services have been kept busy with service requests relating to stormwater and surface flooding. They have taken 108 requests since 8am today (Monday). These are currently being worked through.  Te Wharau, Central and Tolaga Bay Area School closed today after surface flooding.