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At least 15 homes are uninhabitable after flash flooding in Plimmerton, north of Wellington, which also briefly closed State Highway 1.
Flooding at Plimmerton Roundabout
Photo: NZTA a car
Torrential rains around 10 a.m. caused water to run through people’s homes.
Plimmerton Fire Chief Carl Mills said there was nothing the pump crews could do to hold back the water, made worse by the fact that the high tide happened at the same time.
“With the additional rain that came, it really went too high and went in where people’s main living spaces are.
“In one place, if you’re in the driveway, I think the water was a couple of meters deep, and probably another half meter deep in the houses in some cases.”
Firefighters visited some 65 properties in Plimmerton’s Karehana Bay, which suffered the brunt of the flooding, and Fire and Emergency NZ received 24,111 calls related to the flood.
Mills said the sun was now shining and making life easier for residents who were recovering recoverable belongings and cleaning silt and debris from inside homes and yards.
The Plimmerton Fire Station is open to any resident who is forced to flee their homes.
Floods at Karehana Park in Plimmerton on Sunday.
Photo: Supplied / Stasia Jackson
State Highway 1 has reopened after rain in Porirua caused major traffic delays and road closures this morning.
The Plimmerton roundabout on State Highway One had been closed due to flooding, and the road from there to Paekākāriki was also closed.
But at 2 p.m., the Transportation Agency said both lanes had been reopened on the main highway. However, Grays Road and Paekākāriki Hill Road remain closed.
Motorists are asked to drive carefully and follow instructions given by emergency services, and traffic is heavily jammed.
A Porirua engineer said the SH1 Plimmerton roundabout has had flooding problems for many years, but in recent years the rains have been heavier and have caused more problems.
Drainage works were needed to fix the problem, which would otherwise cause ongoing problems for SH1, he said.
Until Transmission Gully opens, traffic between Wellington and Kāpiti faces hour-long detours through Wairarapa as an alternate route, if the motorway roundabout in Plimmerton is closed.
UPDATE 11AM
Due to the floods, # SH1 it is now CLOSED between Paekakariki and Plimmerton Roundabout. Avoid the area or delay your trip if possible. Follow the instructions of the emergency services on site. ^ AP pic.twitter.com/srDajNvB4M– NZTA Wellington One Boat (@WakaKotahiWgtn) November 28, 2020
MetService says some areas in the region saw 20 to 30 millimeters of rain in a single hour as the front passed.
Forecaster David Miller said that as the rain subsides, there could be more showers the next day.
Heavy rain and gales from the south are also expected for the Marlborough Sounds and the Tararua Range south of Levin.
The rain has finally cleared Wellington. Here’s a time lapse of the South Shore from our friends at SnapitHD and the University of Victoria. Between 6 and 10 a.m., Kelburn recorded 22 mm of rain, Otaki 36 mm, Paraparaumu 41 mm, and Waikanae 58 mm. ^ AB pic.twitter.com/vqkI1MnLPm
– MetService (@MetService) November 28, 2020
Meanwhile, Wellington Water has had emergency service crews working at Plimmerton cleaning sewers and flushing pipes to ensure that floodwaters can drain away.
Service personnel are working with the Porirua City Council to find emergency accommodation for families affected by the floods.
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