Flooding from the Waikanae River on the Kāpiti Coast after heavy rain on Monday. Photo: RNZ / Reece Baker
After flooding across parts of the lower North Island, Taranaki and the West Coast of the South Island are forecast to get the next downpours.
Roads, parks and garages flooded across the Greater Wellington region, with areas such as Kāpiti, Hutt City, Featherston, Silverstream, Trentham, Porirua, Waiwhetu, Whitby, Stokes Valley and Naenae all affected.
Hutt Valley High School was closed on Tuesday with classes moved online after heavy rain caused pipes to burst on Monday. In an email to families, principal Denise Johnson said work on the pipes was unsuccessful and when water pressure was applied the pipes blew apart again.
There was also surface flooding on school grounds. When she left the canteen was unreachable, water was flowing underneath the hall, and one school entrance couldn't be used.
Porirua had a "one in 20 year" amount of rainfall, with other areas across the region facing a "one in five year" event, Wellington Region Emergency Management Office regional manager Jeremy Holmes said.
Westerlies would lead to three different stories in the week ahead, MetService meteorologist Mmathapelo Makgabutlane said.
First, heavy rain was expected, particularly in the western South Island and elevated parts of the North Island.
"The belt from Fiordland to Tasman will see little respite as weather systems cycle through, giving soils minimal time to dry out before the next wave hits," said Makgabutlane.
An orange heavy rain warning was in place for Mount Taranaki, with a heavy rain watch in place for the rest of Taranaki, parts Buller and Tasman the Tararua Range on Tuesday morning.
Secondly, the country was approaching the windiest part of the year, with breezy westerlies.
"It will likely feel breezy for many of us, especially in the South Island and eastern and lower North Island," said Makgabutlane.
"It's a good time to secure any loose items, so they don't end up in the neighbour's yard!"
Lastly, those westerlies were forecast to bring warmer temperatures to the east, with some areas seeing temperatures in the upper teens, even reaching 20°C or higher.
"This could be the longest stretch of August days at or above 20°C for Napier," she said.
"The warmer trend looks to extend into the nights as well, with double-digit minimum temperatures expected in the North Island and parts of the South Island, making frosty mornings a distant memory as winter comes to a close."
Flooding, slips
A person walks through floodwaters on Toroa Road near the Otaihanga Domain. Photo: RNZ / Reece Baker
Several highways, including the Kāpiti train line, were forced to close on Monday but have since been reopened.
Kāpiti Coast resident Sam said he would be keeping a close eye on the next high tide at 2.50am on Tuesday, after a day of flooding.
Otaihanga Domain, north of Paraparaumu, and close to his house, was closed after becoming waterlogged.
Floodwaters were knee-high on some roads in the area.
Sam said he would be getting up early to make sure there were no more problems.
Meanwhile, a slip at Arnott Heights on Monday morning forced the closure of Milton Road in Greymouth, cutting off 50 homes.
The closure continued overnight, Grey District Council said.
A slip on Arnott Heights has forced the closure of Milton Road in Greymouth overnight on 26 August, 2024. Photo: Facebook / Grey District Council
Council staff would be on site overnight, both at the top and bottom of the slip, to keep an eye on it and ensure it remained clear of people and traffic.
It was an active site and remained dangerous and the public were being asked to stay away, the council said.
Contractors had been moving debris and dirt all day on Monday and would be back on site at 7am.
Westpower was warning there was a continuing risk to power supply for homes at Arnott Heights due to the slip.
A stray helium balloon also cut power to more than 900 homes in Petone on Monday evening, while the wider region struggled with the wet weather.
Power was eventually restored but it prompted Wellington Electricity to remind people not to release or have the helium balloons near a power line, as it could be dangerous and cause outages.
