Heavy rain and flooding

Very heavy rain in Hawke’s Bay is causing flooding and road closures. The incident and response are being managed by Hawke’s Bay Civil Defence Emergency Management Group.

Hukarere Girls School and the Esk Valley Motor Camp have self-evacuated, as have some residents in the Esk Valley area and in Patoka.

People living near the Esk River catchment are being advised to prepare to self-evacuate if necessary. If they wish to leave their homes they should take their pets and essential items such as medicines and important papers. They are being asked to monitor the situation around their home and keep up with the latest news via Hawke’s Bay Civil Defence Emergency Management.
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People who choose to self-evacuate should try and stay with family and friends in the first instance. A contact centre for people who have evacuated and need assistance has been set up at Dunvegan House, 215 Hastings St, Napier.

Across the region people are being asked to stay away from rivers and streams, as river levels rise and debris washes down from the hills.

State Highways 2 at Eskdale and 5 at Whirinaki have been closed to all but emergency vehicles, by New Zealand Transport Agency. For State Highway updates please check www.nzta.govt.nz

Local roads affected by the storm are:
· Glengarry Road – ROAD CLOSED – slips
· Waipunga Raod – ROAD CLOSED – slips
· Makahu Road – ROAD CLOSED
· Seafield Road – ROAD CLOSED
· Taihape Road. ROAD OPEN - slips reported
· Heays Access Road – ROAD OPEN - slips reported
· Puketitiri Road – ROAD OPEN – slips reported

People are being asked to avoid roads that are subject to surface flooding as at little as 30cm of water can make driving very difficult. If they must travel they are being asked to take extra care.

Please attribute comment to:
Ian Macdonald
Group Manager/Controller
Hawke's Bay Civil Defence Emergency Management Group

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