Civil Defence is encouraging some West Coast residents to evacuate voluntarily ahead of heavy forecast rain with the critical time expected to be the 24 hours from this afternoon.
Buller's mayor says some people will almost certainly have to evacuate from Westport if more heavy rain arrives and, if flooding occurs, it's likely to hit similar areas as last July's event that damaged hundreds of homes.
Civil Defence officials remain on alert in the West Coast, with heavy rain still pelting down and further significant falls forecast.
A rare severe weather Red warning was issued yesterday by MetService for Westland and Buller. More rain today is forecast from today, with heavy falls on Friday (especially about the ranges north of Fox Glacier), and the Red warning could be extended.
At Haast, 244mm of rain has fallen in a 24-hour period. About 100mm fell in the six hours from 6pm on Wednesday.
In Westland, State Highway 6 is closed from Fox Glacier to the Haast Pass Lookout because of flooding and slips. Drivers are warned of surface water on SH6 Hokitika to Fox Glacier and SH67 Westport to Mokihinu.
West Coast Group civil defence controller Te Aroha Cook told RNZ this morning that significant planning had begun, especially for the Buller District, where a state of emergency has been declared.
Cook said they are encouraging those who are able to evacuate their houses, to do so now voluntarily. She said a lot of homes were inundated in the July flooding on the West Coast.
"There are a lot of people that are still displaced from homes or have only just managed to get back into their homes.
"That has assisted with the planning in terms of the Buller Emergency Management Team because we do know where those pinch point areas were and that will be the priority for today in terms of too many people in those areas, and the need for them to potentially evacuate."
He said yesterday's rain was never the main concern. "What it's done is pre-charge the rivers, and if we were to get rain as forecast through Friday and Saturday, then that would be problematic in Westport."
Cleine said it is a very similar rain distribution forecast to that which happened in July. He said it is "really devastating and anxious times" for those people who were hit by that flood and are now waiting to see whether there is a repeat over the next few days.
"The concern was never last night or today, we knew that that bit of rain would put a mild flood in the river but of no concern, it's fairly typical heavy rain for us - but what it's done is pre-charge the rivers and if we were to get the rain as forecast through Friday and Saturday then that would be problematic in Westport."
If needed, the primary evacuation location will be the industrial Holcim plant site which is just south of Westport and on high ground, Cleine said.
The Waiho River in Franz Josef was being closely monitored and several families living on the south bank of the river had been given the option to relocate to the Franz Josef township for the night, West Coast Emergency Management said. The Haast and Hokitika Rivers are also being monitored.
Have grab bag ready
Buller emergency management controller Sean Judd said significant rain was still to come. Early this morning the rivers near Westport were still within their banks, but Judd said the message remained that people should be ready to leave their homes if necessary.
Residents are advised to have a grab bag handy, which should include personal medications, water, food, blankets, warm clothes.
People should connect with friends and family, help neighbours to get ready, and make sure cars are good to go to get to higher ground. Have a plan in place for pets also.
The district council has distributed more than 23,000 sandbags for people to protect their homes.
Buller Emergency Management has had reports of sandbags being removed from Chorus cabinets that contain fibre and copper network links and is asking people not to take those ones.
Chorus said it has been doing flood preparations to keep the telecommunications network going, including refuelling generators and putting sandbags and plastic wrap around cabinets in Westport.
Some schools which have just reopened for the year are closed in South Westland as flooding is affecting much of the West Coast. South Westland Area School and Haast School will be shut today and tomorrow.
No significant events in Westland
In a Facebook post about 10am, the Westland Emergency Operations Centre said it was happy to report there had been no significant events following the heavy rainfall the district has experienced in the past 24 hours.
“The rivers have run high but we have only had reports of the Makaawhio breaching its banks and this was not a cause of serious concern,” Local Controller Simon Bastion said. “We did not have to issue any mandated evacuations in any part of the district, although some people chose to evacuate in localised areas.
"Today we will continue reviewing the situation along with MetService, and we are hopeful that the Red warning in Westland will be downgraded as we receive further information.
"The EOC will remain active until further notice, but some of our staff and volunteers will be redeployed to the Emergency Control Centre in Greymouth and to assist the Buller EOC."
- RNZ and ODT Online
