New Zealand braces itself for more flooding after road collapses and one death

AUCKLAND – New Zealand’s weather forecaster on Feb 15 warned that more flooding could hit the country’s North Island, a day after floods caused power outages, road collapses, home evacuations and were linked to the death of a man whose vehicle was submerged on a highway.

There was a “threat to life from dangerous river conditions, significant flooding and slips” as a deepening low-pressure system east of the North Island brought heavy rain and severe gales to several regions, the weather bureau said.

The worst weather was forecast to hit late on Feb 15, followed by a slow easing of conditions on Feb 16, it said on its website, after heavy rain began battering large swathes of the country on Feb 13, sparking the floods.

The authorities on Feb 15 had a state of emergency in place for the hard-hit Otorohanga district, an agricultural region of about 10,000 people located 180km south of Auckland, the country’s most populous city.

The Otorohanga District Council said on Facebook that geotechnical teams “spent the night assessing slips and checking the structural stability of roads” in the area.

A total of 4,291 properties remained without power on the North Island, energy company Powerco said on its website.

On Feb 14, a man believed to have died in his car in flood waters, the authorities said, adding that about 80 people were evacuated to an emergency centre.

Images shared on social media showed vast semi-rural neighbourhoods submerged and collapsed sections of road where flood waters had receded.

Six people were killed in January after heavy rain triggered a landslide at Mount Maunganui on the North Island’s east coast, bringing down soil and rubble on a site crowded with families on summer holidays. REUTERS