Revised Forecast Predicts Less Rain, Care Still Needed

Fears of widespread flooding in Northland are easing with a newly-issued MetService forecast now predicting much less rain will fall today.

At 9am today, forecasters were concerned Northland may have been in line for another 100-150mm of rain by 10pm on top of substantial amounts that had already fallen in some areas over the weekend.

However, a revised forecast, issued just before noon, now says occasional rain with a few heavy falls is likely in Northland for the remainder of the day, with another 20 to 40mm rain possible, much less than earlier feared.

Graeme MacDonald , Civil Defence Emergency Management Senior Programme Manager for the Northland Regional Council, says while parts of the region may still suffer some surface flooding as rain swollen rivers peak over the next few hours, the revised forecast is good news.

Earlier today Mr MacDonald revealed parts of Northland had received almost 240mm of rain – more than two months’ worth – in just 30 hours to 6am today.

Civil Defence officials had been worried rain in line with the MetService’s previous forecast could have caused more serious problems, but Mr MacDonald says while officials will monitor the situation, that now looks unlikely.

He advised people to continue to take care on the roads and be wary of rising river and stream levels over the rest of the weekend.

River and rainfall data from throughout Northland is also automatically posted at two hour intervals on the Regional Council’s website www.nrc.govt.nz/riversandrain

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