With an Orange Heavy Rain Warning in place for Marlborough north west of the Awatere Valley, residents are urged to prepare for more rain tomorrow from 9am until 1am Saturday.

MetService advises we can expect 80 to 100 mm of rain. Peak rates of 10 to 20 mm/h are expected Friday afternoon and evening and there is a moderate chance of upgrading to a Red Warning.

Marlborough’s Emergency Coordination Centre is ready to respond, should it be required. A planning and intelligence meeting was held this afternoon, Emergency Services Manager Matt Kerr said.

“The region’s emergency management agencies are on standby and ready if needed tomorrow and on Saturday. We are closely monitoring the forecasts. Council’s hydrologists will determine if rivers are likely to become a concern or not, and we will decide what level of response capability may be needed, from tomorrow.

“At this point in time Council hydrologists and rivers engineers are not expecting the Wairau River to get as high as two weeks ago. Based on the current forecast models the maximum expected is 3,000 cumecs at the SH1 bridge; it may be alot lower than that, which means it is well within the safety limit for the Spring Creek community. It’s unlikely any precautionary evacuation will be advised.”

“With the ground already saturated, it won't take much rain to bring localised surface flooding again. People should take precautions - limit your travel, look out for flood water and slips and be aware that streams and rivers may rise rapidly.

“However groundwater levels in some parts of Marlborough are at an all-time high and we may see further localised flooding in parts of Rārangi and in Spring Creek, for example.”

Marlborough Roads crews have continued works today to clear the large slip on Northbank Road.

Scheduled opening times for Friday 11 July remain from 7.30am to 9am and 4.30pm to 5.30pm. On Saturday and Sunday an additional midday opening will be added providing openings at 7.30am to 9am, 12pm to 1pm and 4.30pm to 5.30pm.

The openings will continue to be reviewed and if there is an opportunity to increase them safely, this will be done.

Due to the hazardous nature of the slip, the heightened risk of continued rock fall and forecasted heavy rain we will continue regular monitoring on the slip. Should it be deemed unsafe the road will not open and notification sent.

Further updates will be provided through Marlborough District Council’s Facebook page, on its website and the Antenno alerting app.

For preparedness advice
Go to the Floods page on the Get Ready website

If you or someone else is in immediate danger, call 111.

For more information on floodwater and contamination
Go to the Floods and health page on the Health NZ/Te Whatu Ora website

To keep up to date with the latest information and alerts sign up to Antenno. All you need to do is install the app and save the specific addresses of places you care about such as your home, work, rental property or school. Antenno will notify you when something relevant to your chosen place(s) arises.
Sign up to Antenno

Keep an eye on MetService for watch and warning updates
Go to MetService warnings and updates

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