Deluge, lightning strikes hit Westland
Some parts of the South Island’s West Coast received 200mm of rain overnight, and 300 homes near Dunedin Airport have been without power.
MetService has orange heavy rain warnings still in place for the Buller, Grey and Tasman Districts this morning.
State Highway Six is closed between Fox Glacier and Franz Josef due to a slip.
Waka Kotahi says the road closed at 8.30am today and drivers are urged to delay their travel plans.
Forecaster William Nepe said the heaviest rain fell in the ranges near the Fox and Franz Josef glaciers.
He said Haast received 100mm of rain, and the Franz Josef township saw 80mm.
“Several rain gauges in the West Coast, in the Westland District specifically, have in the last six hours received between 150mm and 200mm and some of the hourly rain rates have been in the order of 35mm to 45mm an hour.”
The front delivering the rain was sitting just south of Westport in the Buller District, with heavy rain and lightning strikes recorded by 7am, Nepe said.
The worst of the bad weather is expected to clear by midday, he said.
The West Coast Regional Council has been closely watching the weather and deploying staff in Westland.
The Waiho (Waihau) River near Franz Josef township is flowing at a medium rate this morning, following concerns that it may have risen rapidly overnight.
West Coast Regional Council chair Peter Haddock said 120 millimetres of rain fell in the ranges near Franz Josef.
He said less rain fell in the Waiho River catchment than expected, and it was flowing at a medium rate this morning and there appeared to be no damage.
Meanwhile, a thunderstorm has knocked out power to more than 300 households near Dunedin Airport this morning.
Aurora Energy began receiving calls around 7am that customers had lost power during the storm.
It said power had been restored to most by 10am, but crews were still working to fix the lines to 48 homes.
Dunedin Airport lost power for less than a minute when the heavy rain, strong winds and lightning hit.
Flights are unaffected.
According to the news on Radio New Zealand
