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\nTrucks stopped in Taihape.
\nPhoto: Supplied\n<\/p>\n
A single bar of mobile phone coverage allowed people trapped by slips in rural Taihape to raise the alarm.<\/p>\n
Cars stranded by a slip in rural Taihape are now free after a local farmer cleared a path through the slip with his tractor.<\/p>\n
About 20 cars were stuck for several hours between a flood and a slip in the remote area of Turakina Valley Road with no cell coverage.<\/p>\n
Rangitikei mayor Andy Watson said it was a classic situation of farmers knowing how to solve rural problems.<\/p>\n
“A local farmer got stuck in with his tractor, carved a track through slips and released the cars,” he said.<\/p>\n
He understood they were heading back to Taihape.<\/p>\n
“They’re safe, they’re out and by the time the helicopter got there, there was no one to be found.”<\/p>\n
Watson previously said he understood it was a local farmer who raised the alarm, calling emergency services to report what he could see.<\/p>\n
It had been very hard to get information, he said.<\/p>\n
It appears the cars took a back route after State Highway 1 was closed.<\/p>\n
“They’ve found flood water that was too deep to drive through then slip has come down behind them and effectively blocked their path,” he said.<\/p>\n
Manawat\u016b-Whanganui group controller and Horizons Regional Council chief executive Michael McCartney told Checkpoint the group were understood to be stuck near a rising river and an airforce helicopter was prepared to rescue them.<\/p>\n
He said power cuts caused problems with the mobile phone network and the location had poor coverage at the best of times.<\/p>\n
McCartney said one of the motorists managed to call for help after accessing a single bar of coverage on his mobile phone.<\/p>\n
A satellite phone would have made a big diffference, he said.<\/p>\n
The council would open floodgates on the Manawatu River system this evening for 24 hours.<\/p>\n
McCartney said some water treatment plants had lost power and were relying on generators.<\/p>\n
Residents in the wider district have told RNZ there are trees blocking may roads, with people not able to get to work.<\/p>\n
State Highway 1 has been closed around Taihape.<\/p>\n
Watson said it some of the roads the cars took would normally only see “half a dozen” cars a day, he said.<\/p>\n
Rangitikei District Council said contractors were working to clear debris, and it was working with Civil Defence on a response to the situation.<\/p>\n
Police said they were notified at 12.30pm.<\/p>\n
St John Ambulance said it had so far not been required.<\/p>\n
Establishing communication the priority<\/p>\n
Manawat\u016b-Whanganui Civil Defence said its first priority was to establish communication with those who were trapped.<\/p>\n
State Highway 1 was closed between Hunterville and Waiouru and people should not use Turakina Valley Road as a detour, it said.<\/p>\n
Many other local roads were also closed.<\/p>\n
People should avoid non-essential travel because the roads were treacherous from fallen trees and the possibility for landslides.<\/p>\n
Winiata Marae opens to stranded travellers<\/p>\n
About 80 people are sheltering at Winiata Marae, in Taihape, which has opened to stranded travellers.<\/p>\n
The marae’s chairman Jordan Winiata said they were travellers who had become stranded, unable to reach their destinations.<\/p>\n
“They’re stranded because of what’s happening on the highways, we’ve got some InterCity buses, just multiple travellers that would have been going from A to B that unfortunately have been caught in between the roads being open and closed.”<\/p>\n
He said the marae was preparing to host those stranded overnight and had capacity for 300.<\/p>\n
Winiata said the power was out at the marae, but they had a generator and running water and gas for cooking.<\/p>\n