Tuesday 24 May 2005

Rainfall records wanted

Did you measure the rain last week? If so, Environment Bay of Plenty would like to hear from you.

The regional council wants to gather more information on the rainfall that led to serious flooding and sparked civil defence emergencies in Tauranga and the Whakatane district.

It will combine data received from private records with its own monitoring to gain a better picture of the event. “It will help us fill in the gaps so we can map the intensity and extent of the rain over that period,” says scientific officer Shane Iremonger.
Environment Bay of Plenty already monitors 60 rainfall gauges throughout the Bay of Plenty. However, many people keep records of their own “and we would really appreciate copies of them”, Mr Iremonger says.

Mr Iremonger is seeking daily rainfall records from Sunday 15 May onwards.

At the peak of the rainfall, 94.5mm fell at Awakaponga in a single hour on Wednesday 18 May

ENDS

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