24 Feb 2023

Cyclone Gabrielle: Tai Rāwhiti civil defence update

From Morning Report, 6:14 am on 24 February 2023

Another round of heavy rain is posing a threat to the already unstable ground in Tai Rāwhiti.

Overnight the area has already had 24.4 milimetres of rain - with a total of more than  86.4 forecast today - the worst of which is expected to hit at 5pm. 

Sixty-four homes were evacuated in Tokomaru Bay and the Mangahauini River catchment on Thursday evening.

Debris from last week's storm has formed a dam in the river, which was at risk of breaking overnight.

Tai Rāwhiti Civil Defence controller Ben Green spoke to Guyon Espiner.