Hundreds of families on New Zealand’s South Island were forced to leave their homes yesterday after dramatic flooding prompted a state of emergency in three regions.
A tropically fueled storm has dumped more than 30cm of rain on parts of the South Island, causing rivers to burst their banks. The extreme weather has also felled trees, blocking major roads.
A state of emergency on Wednesday was declared in Buller, on the west coast, and Nelson, where 233 homes were evacuated after a month’s worth of rain fell in just 15 hours.
Photo: AP
The deluge transformed Nelson’s main river, the Maitai, into a torrent, flooding houses, exposing pipes and leaving streets knee-deep in water.
Nelson Mayor Rachel Reese described the flash flooding as a “one-in-100-year event” as search and rescue teams, as well as military personnel, helped people on submerged streets.
Reese said residents should treat all water as contaminated, because some sewers had broken.
Nelson resident Sam Lagrutta said the situation was “frightening” after police gave him just five minutes to leave his home.
“I literally just grabbed a carry-on bag and filled it with my passport, wallet and anything important I could find,” he told the New Zealand Herald.
A further 160 households along the South Island’s west coast were also asked to evacuate.
Buller has been repeatedly hit by flooding in the past few years.
Buller Mayor Jamie Cleine said frequent evacuations had taken a toll on the community, which was now bracing for more flooding.
“It is extremely troubling for people financially and mentally. This is our reality until a long-term solution can be put in place,” he told news Web site Stuff.
New Zealand’s North Island has also been affected by extreme weather, with winds of up to 120kph barreling across Northland, where three people were injured in a vehicle accident after a tree fell on State Highway 1.
Last month, New Zealand was soaked by its wettest July on record, and the extreme weather looks set to continue until the weekend.
The country’s largest insurer, IAG, has said building in flood-prone areas must stop.
About 1 percent of New Zealand’s homes, or 20,000 properties, are at risk of flooding.
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