Over 200mm of rain has fallen in some areas of Hawke’s Bay, with states of emergency declared and localised flooding.
Charlie Reynolds, provincial president of Federated Farmers in Gisborne, said they had 200mm in 24 hours in Ormond, with another 70mm in the next 24-hour period.
He was currently removing trees that were knocked over by high winds.
“It just keeps raining,” he said.
Reynolds said it seems this storm was the reverse of Cyclone Gabrielle, with areas hit hard during the cyclone being spared, and areas such as Ormond being battered.
A number of areas have been without power for 48 hours, he said.
Reynolds said it was an emotional 48 hours as the community faced more recovery efforts with Cyclone Gabrielle still fresh in their minds.
Owner of Riverside Cherries near Hastings Jerf van Beek said they did not suffer any damage to orchards, but there was coastal erosion in the Te Awanga area and some inundation.
“We thought it would be serious but it wasn’t. We have a stormwater lagoon that is not far from being breached, there is a high swell and we thought that would do it but it didn’t. We are working to put sea protection in place”.
Van Beek said prolonged rain is never good for orchards as roots become waterlogged.
But the trees are currently in hibernation and will not suffer as much damage from waterlogging as they would in warmer seasons, he said.
“We were blessed with a long end of summer and a dry autumn. This is much-needed replenishment of aquifers and water storage.”
“We came through Gabrielle, we will get through this.”
Hawke’s Bay Regional Council said its Facebook page is a reliable source of information that the public can follow.
The Facebook page said on Wednesday a number of rivers reached mean annual level but river levels were now dropping.
A state of emergency was declared in Wairoa and Heretaunga yesterday, with the council assisting with evacuations in Wairoa and Haumoana.
By 7am today the council said all heavy rain warnings were cancelled by MetService but rain would continue to fall until Friday. The risk of river flooding has subsided.
