The remains of a weather system that flooded west Auckland has caused thousands of dollars of damage at a Whangārei golf club.
Photo: 123rf
Parts of the district have recorded more than 110 millimetres of rainfall since yesterday afternoon.
Pines Golf Club president Darin Neeley and clubmates spent four hours sweeping silt and water off greens and fairways in the dark last night, socially distanced.
They have been back since 7.30am.
"We had about knee-deep water over one of our greens and we had water - we are not really sure how deep it was - but at least waist-deep, maybe bigger, running across a quarter of the golf club. It's left significant amounts of silt."
Neeley said it would take "a few thousand dollars to repair the damage".
"We are going to have to do some more drainage on the green to try and get some air down into the roots now because the silt clogs all that up."
Despite this, he said the damage was not as bad as a flood last year when a slip dammed water that then overflowed onto the club property.
MetService meteorologist Stephen Glassey said so far the heaviest showers in Te Tai Tokerau had been concentrated around Whangārei and would continue into the evening.
"The rain is gradually easing throughout the day, from the south. We've still got a heavy rain warning until 6pm, that's for eastern parts of Northland, south of Cape Karikari. We're expecting another 30 to 60 millimetres of rain to accumulate on what's already fallen."
Fire and Emergency New Zealand Muriwhenua area commander Wipari Henwood said the weather-related callouts had been manageable so far.
"Northlanders are used to weather events like this ... We don't seem to be caught out as much as our counterparts in Auckland."
He reminded residents to "keep an eye on rising water levels".
"Take the practical steps, make sure all your drainage and gutters are clean so they don't block up and cause you any problems."
