All calm after stormy night in Bay of Plenty

All is now calm after a stormy, wet night in the Bay of Plenty.

Environment Bay of Plenty staff spent the night on alert as heavy rain lashed the coastal areas of the region, causing considerable surface flooding in the lower Kaituna area and the Rangitaiki Plains.

Flood manager Peter Blackwood says the regional council issued flood warnings to farmers and local authorities late on Sunday. Staff monitored flooding overnight and worked at clearing pressured drainage systems.

“We are continuing to keep an eye on the situation but the rain has now stopped and the short term outlook is for fine weather,” Mr Blackwood adds.

Environment Bay of Plenty recorded the heaviest rainfall in a belt extending from behind Te Puke to the coast of the eastern Bay of Plenty. Staff recorded falls of 170mm in 24 hours at both the Mangorewa gauge behind Te Puke and the Ohinekoao gauge behind Matata, with 140mm in the foothills behind Opotiki and 10mm at Whakatane.

Peak rainfall intensities reached 28mm per hour at the Brown’s Bridge site at Opotiki.

Mr Blackwood says eastern Bay of Plenty rivers and the Kaituna River experienced moderately high flooding last night. The Kaituna River reached a peak flow just above the five-year flow at 3am on Monday. The Otara River and Nukuhou Stream also reached five-year peaks early this morning. The Rangitaiki River experienced only minor flooding.

At 8am, all rivers were receding slowly except the Whakatane River, which is expected to peak around midday.

Warnings issued to farmers will remain in place for today.

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