A fallen tree outside Wellington Cathedral of St Paul on 1 May 2025. Photo: RNZ/Samuel Rillstone
Communities affected by heavy rain and severe gales that have lashed parts of New Zealand are mopping up as more settled weather makes its way through as the low-pressure system that brought the stormy weather with it moves off the east.
In Canterbury, Christchurch City Council Controller Anne Columbus said council staff and our contractors are assessing and clearing roads.
The main road to Akaroa on Banks Peninsula has reopened days after intense rainfall flooded SH75.
The highway from Christchurch has been closed from Motukarara to Little River since Wednesday night.
Little River, about 30km south of Christchurch, was cut off after SH75 due to flooding. Photo: Supplied/Facebook
Columbus said there was also ongoing monitoring of the cracks on Lighthouse Road as well as the slips in Akaroa.
Akaroa residents were also being asked to reduce demand on wastewater systems due to a blown wastewater main on Beach Road.
Local residents were being asked to reduce their use of the wastewater system by limiting water usage, delaying putting on the washing machine or dishwasher and avoiding flushing the toilet.
The council was warning the pipe could take all day to repair.
Columbus said some water supplies would also be delivered to Te Oka Bay on Banks Peninsula, and they would also assess the roading condition of Le Bons Bay and Wainui.
Water was also continuing to be released from the stormwater basins at the Heathcote River.
Columbus said while the city was overall returning to "business as usual", there were some places, such as Akaroa, where there needed to still get an understanding of what the situation was and what the fix would be.
She said some of the bigger issues could take more than just a week or two to fix.
Cracks in Lighthouse Road, Akaroa which led to some houses being evacuated due to landslip fears. Photo: Christchurch City Council
In Selwyn this morning, building teams were completing inspections to ensure that people's homes that were flooded were safe.
Some local roads were still closed and water tankers were in place at the Artist's Inn in Hororata and the Glentunnel Community Hall in Glentunnel.
Power still out for some in Wellington, and ferries running again
In Wellington, around 300 properties remain without power after a few days of wild wind in the capital.
Wellington Electricity said it was prioritising faults by safety concerns, and the number of people affected.
A fallen tree outside Wellington Cathedral of St Paul. Photo: RNZ/Samuel Rillstone
Nat Chesterfield lives in a flat in the suburb of Newtown and has been without power since Thursday.
She feared it would be days before her house got power restored as it was the only one on the street with an outage.
She suspected the fault with the line was between her house and the main street supply.
Wellington Electricity said it was progressively restoring power to single-premise outages, with faults being prioritised by how long they'd been active.
Wellington City Council said its urgent road and tree clearing work had been done yesterday, but there was still some cleanup work to do next week.
Fire fighters and police tend to a loose sheet of corrugated iron on the roof of a house on the Terrace in Wellington on 1 May 2025. Photo: RNZ / Paris Ibell
"We're just asking people to drive to the conditions, especially on the south coast roads and also watch out if they're on the Town Belt or our bush reserves over the weekend - especially with lots of trees down or unstable," a spokesperson said.
Hutt City Council said all main routes were back open in Lower Hutt, including Marine Drive.
"We will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates if the situation changes."
The Cook Strait ferries have resumed operations on Saturday, with extra sailings being put on to accommodate the backlog.
Flights were also operating normally, Wellington Airport said.
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
