The clean up begins today in parts of the West Coast, after hundreds of people were evacuated on Friday night due to heavy rain and flooding.
Buller District mayor Jamie Cleine Photo: Buller Emergency Management
The local state of emergency in the Buller District was lifted yesterday afternoon after conditions eased.
District mayor Jamie Cleine said the majority of damage from the heavy rain had been along the road network.
Local roads and both state highways serving the region are damaged. No West Coast highways are closed, but State Highway 6 in Nelson Marlborough remains closed at one point by flooding between Hira and Rai Valley, but a detour is in place.
Waka Kotahi has warned motorists to drive with extra care.
Cleine said an assessment of West Coast roads from the air yesterday found small land slips scattered across back country roads and crews are out repairing the road damage today.
All evacuated houses had been given the all-clear, but a property in northern Buller may have been damaged by a slip.
UPDATE 9:20AM, SUN 6 FEB
— Waka Kotahi NZTA Canterbury & West Coast (@WakaKotahiCWC) February 5, 2022
SH6 Hira to Rai Valley remains CLOSED, our next update from crews on-site is expected by 5pm or earlier if conditions improve. ^AP https://t.co/AeIhaFLk4O
Waitangi Day dawned overcast on the West Coast, Cleine said, with no further deluges overnight, and the southeasterly winds would help dry things out.
"Over the coming weeks there'll be quite a bit of assessment work done ... I know there's definitely some debris sealing work, tar seal damage and some bridge abutment damage, things like that around the district.
"Particularly in Northern Buller, but right around the district and potentially in town some stormwater damage - sewerage systems and that will all need to be assessed."
Cleine said forecasts for the last few days' heavy rain had came well in advance and two thirds of those who evacuated had already done so when the compulsory order came.
