{"id":592564,"date":"2026-09-07T04:14:14","date_gmt":"2026-09-07T04:14:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/592564\/"},"modified":"2026-09-07T04:14:14","modified_gmt":"2026-09-07T04:14:14","slug":"floodgates-activated-bridge-on-alert-as-heavy-rain-hits-lower-north","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/592564\/","title":{"rendered":"Floodgates activated, bridge on alert as heavy rain hits lower North"},"content":{"rendered":"

Flood gates have been activated amid rising river levels near Feilding and a key Wairarapa bridge may need to close, as a wet and windy weather system moves up the country.<\/p>\n

Horizons Regional Council activated the Makino floodgates this morning to relieve pressure on the Makino Stream after heavy overnight rain.<\/p>\n

The gates divert water into the Kiwitea Stream, helping reduce the risk of flooding in Feilding.<\/p>\n

Further south, NZTA warned the Waihenga Bridge on State Highway 53 between Featherston and Martinborough could be closed as the Ruamahanga River continues to rise.<\/p>\n

A large complex weather trough has been moving across central New Zealand, bringing periods of heavy rain, strong winds and possible snow to higher parts of the South Island.<\/p>\n

\"Flood<\/p>\n

Flood damage on State Highway 65. (Source: NZTA)<\/p>\n

MetService meteorologist Dom Barry said Buller, Nelson and Tasman had received between 30 and 70mm of rain since midday yesterday, with the heaviest falls around Buller and Nelson.<\/p>\n

While a rain warning for the region has expired, Barry said conditions would remain unsettled.<\/p>\n

“Just because there’s no warning out, that doesn’t mean that the rain will cease \u2013 it’s just sort of easing as the day goes on,” he said.<\/p>\n

“People still need to be mindful in that area in particular, where we saw the slips and whatnot yesterday.”<\/p>\n

The system also brought strong winds, with gusts of 113km\/h recorded in the hills above Wellington overnight.<\/p>\n

Nelson recorded a 53km\/h gust, which Barry said was unusual for the area.<\/p>\n

The strongest conditions were experienced around Wellington and Cook Strait, he said.<\/p>\n

\"Flood<\/p>\n

Flood damage on State Highway 65. (Source: Supplied)<\/p>\n

Rain spreads north<\/p>\n

While conditions in the South Island are expected to ease through the afternoon, the same system is now pushing north.<\/p>\n

“That rain is spreading north and is already impacting just about all of the North Island right now, and that’s going to continue throughout the day,” Barry said.<\/p>\n

MetService said much of the North Island could have periods of rain today, with some falls potentially heavy and thundery.<\/p>\n

The unsettled conditions have already caused several incidents.<\/p>\n

Fire and Emergency New Zealand was called to a property in Ahipara at about 3.17am after a small shed was blown over and rolled, leaving its door facing upwards with a person inside.<\/p>\n

The person was not reported to be injured.<\/p>\n

In the South Island, emergency crews helped occupants from a vehicle after it entered floodwaters on State Highway 6 north of Murchison overnight.<\/p>\n

The occupants were not trapped or injured and were assisted from the vehicle.<\/p>\n

Road closures<\/p>\n

State Highway 6 has reopened between Murchison and Kawatiri Junction after being closed overnight and this morning because of slips and flooding.<\/p>\n

The reopening restored the key connection between Nelson and the West Coast, but drivers were urged to take care and drive to the conditions.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, State Highway 65 remained closed between O’Sullivans and Springs Junction because of a slip at Shenandoah.<\/p>\n

Contractors were working to clear the route, but the section could remain closed overnight.<\/p>\n

Weather warnings and watches<\/p>\n

Heavy Rain Watch<\/p>\n

The Ruahine Range \u2013 13 hours from 8am to 9pm Monday<\/p>\n

Road Snowfall Warning<\/p>\n

Desert Rd (SH1) \u2013 seven hours from 8pm Monday to 3am Tuesday<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Flood gates have been activated amid rising river levels near Feilding and a key Wairarapa bridge may need…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":592565,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[20277,42,31044,91,43,16715,2224,40,38,41,39,3393,52,1241],"class_list":["post-592564","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-hawke-s-bay","tag-headlines","tag-manawatu-wanganui","tag-nelson","tag-news","tag-taranaki","tag-tasman","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories","tag-weather-news","tag-wellington","tag-west-coast"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/592564","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=592564"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/592564\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/592565"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=592564"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=592564"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=592564"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}