16 Oct 2019

Roads reopen after severe weather

9:58 am on 16 October 2019

State-Highway 1 Taupō to Tūrangi in the central North Island has reopened.

It was closed overnight due to trees being blown onto the road.

One lane of State Highway 7 from Reefton to Greymouth reopened this morning after slips forced it to close at 7pm last night.

The highway has frequently been closed since heavy rain first triggered a slip in late August.

A heavy rain warning remains in place for Gisborne and Hawke's Bay.

Gisborne District Council is on high alert monitoring river levels, with 100mm of rain forecast to fall up until 9am this morning.

As of 7am, Civil Defence said the river levels are safe and dropping.

A Tolaga Bay farm manager, Mike Atkins, was worried about rising river levels but said things have calmed down overnight.

Farmers were worried they could be in for a repeat of last year's flood.

Mr Atkins said he drove around the town this morning checking on the rivers and things appeared to have calmed down.

He said once it's lighter they will be able to check for any damage.