Flooding at the Kokiri Marae kohanga in Petone. Photo: Supplied
A kōhanga reo in Petone has been forced to close on Tuesday, with floodwaters seeping through classrooms, amid heavy rain.
Kokiri Marae and its kōhanga are in an industrial area on Barnes Street, which is prone to flooding.
General manager Tina Olsen-Ratana fielded a call about 6am and arrived to find the street had become a river.
Flooding around the Kokiri Marae kohanga. Photo: Supplied
"It's been a bit hectic," she said. "You know, no-one expects to be waking up to fighting back flood waters, so we've been a little bit busy.
"In parts out on the road, it would have been above my knee and as it was coming in - you can actually see waves, as it's moving.
The clean-up operation begins in Petone. Photo: Supplied
"It just looked like a sea of water. You couldn't distinguish between the footpath... the roadway, you couldn't see that... it was just completely covered.
While not as bad as some flooding events in previous years, "it was still pretty bad, we had to call the fire brigade in," Olsen-Ratana said.
Other businesses in the Barnes Street area are also affected by flooding. Photo: Supplied
"They came in and helped with extra pumps."
Sixty tamariki had to stay home, as staff began a clean-up effort, which would take most of the day. They were treating the water as contaminated, because they were in an industrial area, but it was a slick operation, because, as Olsen-Ratana put it, "It's not our first rodeo".
The floodwaters did not reach the adjacent marae.. Photo: Supplied
"They are vacuuming up the surplus water, they're drying it out and they're going to have to do a disinfectant clean of those areas."
The water covered two classroom areas, but luckily it did not reach the adjacent marae, where they had about 30 manuhiri staying, she said.
Floodwaters cover the road in Petone. Photo: Supplied
"Through the efforts of our pumps and the guys... that were here earlier, kept the water away from getting inside the wharenui."
The marae had three of its own pumps and a small floodgate, which helped keep some of the water at bay.
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