Farmers were on edge according to South Wairarapa’s mayor after bridges shut and heavy rain looms over the region just 10 days after the last deluge.
Torrential rain at the end of June washed out a lifeline bridge at Turanganui for the second time this year.
Early on Wednesday, bridges in and out of Martinborough were closed due to rising water levels, but reopened on that afternoon, bar the Lower Valley Bridge which shut.
The region, including the Tararua Range, remained under an orange heavy rain warning until 6am on Thursday.
Pontahi Bridge, Wairarapa,.
RNZ / Mark Stevens
Mayor Dame Fran Wilde told RNZ farmers are “very worried”.
“They’ve had two [weather] events one in February and one about ten days ago and the ground is saturated. We can’t stop the weather unfortunately and that’s the problem.
“We’re getting too much rain, big events, all at once – three in a row is too much for us.”
She said people were “pretty resilient” and would have prepared for the forecast, stocking up on supplies.
“But it doesn’t help our local economy and it’s also costing the ratepayers a massive amount of money in bridge repairs and road repairs.”
A bridge closure sign in Greytown.
RNZ / Baz Macdonald
The closures mean a usual 15-minute drive between Martinborough and Greytown now takes about 40 minutes.
Reports on social media suggested some slips and debris had come down overnight on State Highway 2, Remutaka Hill between Upper Hutt and Featherston.
The NZ Transport Agency and police said they had not received any reports, however a spokesperson for the Transport Agency said the “ongoing wet weather means there is a heightened risk of slips and rockfalls across the network”.
They said any significant disruptions would be found on NZTA’s journey planner or issued on local Facebook pages.
An RNZ reporter said traffic was moving at the base of the Featherston side of the hill around 9am on Wednesday.
South Wairarapa deputy mayor Rob Taylor, left, and Aidan Ellims, South Wairarapa councillor and chair of the infrastructure committee
RNZ / Baz Macdonald
South Wairarapa’s deputy mayor Rob Taylor feared the worst rainfall is yet to come for the already saturated region.
Taylor said the region’s emergency operations centre was up and running in preparation.
“But clearly, the weather is expected to get much worse.
“The ground is already sodden so we’re going to expect high levels of rainfall, more flooding and the closures that we already have are possibly going to increase over the next 24 hours.”
South Wairarapa councillor and chair of the infrastructure committee Aidan Ellims said farmers were feeling the burn of back-to-back flooding.
“All those rural areas out of Martinborough, they’re suffering. The farmers are suffering. Those farmers are preparing for lambing in the next few weeks or so.
“They’ve got a lot on their minds and on their plates.”
He said it was important to keep rural roads open as much as possible, but noted some communities were already isolated.
Slips have shut Ngakonui and Wainuioru roads, Whaktatomotomo Road at Te Rata Road is also closed, as is White Rock Road at Lagoon Hills due to flooding.
Cape River and Tora roads are accessible by four-wheel drive only.
Waihenga Bridge at State Highway 53 is one is one of three closed in severe weather in Wairarapa.
RNZ / Baz Macdonald