20 March 2012, 9.55am

Hawke’s Bay Regional Council Media Release
For Civil Defence and Emergency Management

Wet in the Bay so take care

Staff from Hawke’s Bay Regional Council met this morning and advise that the current rainfall situation is not expected to pose a threat to people in the region.

HBRC staff have been in touch with each of the councils across the region. In spite of steady rain overnight, all rivers remain below a 1-in-5 year event level. There have been reports of surface flooding in Kopuawhara, Mahia where stream levels reached 5 year event levels. Local authorities report steady rain but no reported surface flooding problems as yet. HBRC staff continue to monitor the situation.

While ground is softening and rain is expected to continue through mid to late week, the region’s drains have been reasonably empty to start with and pumping systems are operating well.

Rainfall of between 150 and 200mm in the ranges and 100 to 150mm in coastal areas is expected over the coming 24 hours, but this is at a manageable level for the region’s main rivers.

Localised surface flooding is to be expected, but HBRC does not anticipate more than this.

Drivers should be mindful of road conditions within the region, and keep an eye on water-logged soil as some slips will occur.

HBRC staff also expect 4-6 metre SE swells south of Cape Kidnappers and north of Waipatiki through to Wairoa, with 2-3 metre SE swells between the Cape and Waipatiki, due to ease Wednesday morning. High tide is 5.00pm today.

A further update will be released if the situation changes.

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