<\/p>\n
\nFlooding on farmland at the base of the Awakino Gorge on Tuesday.
\nPhoto: Supplied \/ Bree Joyce\n<\/p>\n
A number of roads remain closed and two central North Island towns cut off, following a day of heavy rain which caused slips and flooding.<\/p>\n
Early on Tuesday morning, slips in Awakino Gorge left vehicles stuck and farmland in the area flooded.<\/p>\n
The bad weather led to Ruapehu District Council partially activating an emergency operations centre – but this had now been stepped down to a monitoring phase.<\/p>\n
Two townships, Matiere and Tokorima remain cut off due to road damage.<\/p>\n
The worst of the weather was forecast to ease as the evening continued, but a narrow southerly band of rain was expected to bring heavy rain to the Taumarunui area on Tuesday evening.<\/p>\n
Ruapehu controller Clive Manley, said while the worst was over, there was a big clean up to be done on local roads and State Highways with multiple slips and blocked roads.<\/p>\n
Council road contractors were responding to multiple local slip outages around the district which would take some time to clear, Manley said.<\/p>\n
NZTA advised the major road outage on SH4 between Taumarunui and Te Kuiti would not be cleared for a couple of days.<\/p>\n
“Council’s recovery focus over the coming days will be on the roading network,” Manley said.<\/p>\n
“With the number of slips people are asked to be patient as road contractors move around the district.”<\/p>\n
Manley suggested anyone who was travelling in the region should check the NZTA site to make sure the roads they needed were clear.<\/p>\n
“We really encourage people to avoid travel if you can, otherwise really plan it well.”<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\nFlooding on SH43 Forgotten Highway at Tokirima.
\nPhoto: JUSTINE VAUGHAN \/ SUPPLIED\n<\/p>\n
Waikato river levels expected to rise<\/p>\n
Hamilton City Council was monitoring low-lying areas of Hamilton as already-high Waikato River levels were expected to rise further overnight.<\/p>\n
The council’s safety and resilience manager Kelvin Powell said it was taking a precautionary approach.<\/p>\n
“Be especially careful while river levels are high, do not enter floodwaters, and remember our awa can have hidden dangers including steep drop-offs, strong currents and hidden objects like tree branches. These dangers increase following bad weather.”<\/p>\n
Powell said staff had visited properties known to be prone to flooding during, but there was no known risk to any houses.<\/p>\n
“We’ve been around and done some reassurance visits and knocked on the doors and just made sure everyone’s okay.”<\/p>\n
Powell said there was the potential for the Waikato River levels to reach 16 metres, which had not been seen in the city since 2017.<\/p>\n
He said Hamilton City Council was working closely with other agencies as water was released through Waikato River dams.<\/p>\n
Residents could expect high river levels to continue into Wednesday, he added.<\/p>\n
River paths were closed from Awatere Avenue to Ann St, Pine Beach to Fairfield Esplanade, Te Hikuwai Reserve, Days Park to Swarbrick Park, and the lower path below Memorial Park.<\/p>\n