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A school is closed, slips blocked roads and rockslides struck a car after heavy rains in the Wellington region on Thursday morning.
Paremata School has been closed until further notice after sewage flooded the playground, a staff member said.
The floods had subsided and the rain had subsided around 10:30 am, but the school remains closed for students because the toilets are not working.
Wellington Water, Downer council and teams were in Plimmerton, Titahi Bay, Elsdon, Cannons Creek and Whitby this morning, a Porirua City Council spokesperson said.
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“Wellington Water cleared debris from the sewers at Plimmerton this morning and installed two large pumps at high tide. The beach sewer in particular was kept clear, ”he said.
“We have a number of service requests in Titahi Bay, including four sewage spills that are being addressed. There is a swamp on Titahi Bay Rd adjacent to the hockey field that is flooded but is being cleaned up. The tide would have affected him.
“The high tide was at 6 am, so it is not too bad compared to last week,” he said.
The road connecting Upper Hutt to the Kāpiti coast, Akatarawa Road, has been closed due to slips and a fallen tree.
Kāpiti district council spokeswoman Sue Owens said crews were on their way to clean up the debris.
Motorists are advised to take an alternate route.
Several slips had also closed Paekākāriki Hill Rd and Downer expects it to be closed for the rest of the day.
Grays Road is closed but should be open this afternoon, depending on the weather, he said.
‘It just smells bad’
Paremata School principal Bryce Coleman said sewage flooded a netball court and behind some classrooms.
Flooding had been a problem at the school since the 1950s, when high tide coincided with heavy rains.
The sewage pump station across the road overflows, sending a wave of sewage onto the school grounds. It had happened about four times in the last nine years.
“It just smells bad,” Coleman said.
Coleman said the water was a cloudy grayish color, like the water in the sink after washing a large number of dirty dishes. A faint acrid scent wafted around the courts around 11am.
The caretaker had started cleaning, which included disinfecting and flushing the floors.
Cleanup was expected to take around 24 hours.
The school would reopen on Friday, but the affected area would be cordoned off.
Emergency services responded to a rockfall in the south lane of State Highway 1 in Paekākāriki, which struck a vehicle at 9.10 a.m. M.
The road was blocked while contractors were sweeping it, but it has now been cleared. Motorists are advised to expect delays.
Old State Highway 1, the main route north of Kāpiti, was also closed.
Police were also dealing with flooding around Paekākāriki Hill Rd, a spokeswoman said.
The northbound lane of State Highway 2 in Kelson before the Haywards Interchange was closed. Drivers are advised to pass very carefully and prepare to slow down if requested.
A slip on the Johnsonville exit ramp has partially closed left terrain on State Highway 1. Southbound queues are backed up to the exit ramp.
Wellington City Council was also responding to the incidents, although none of them were significant, a spokeswoman said.
These included a pair of blocked sinkholes in Northland, surface flooding in Miramar and Johnsonville, and blocked drains in Tawa.
“All the works have been registered with the contractors, who have been sent to address the problems,” he said.
