Weather updates
Stay on alert
UPDATE - 12:56pm, 2 February 2023
MetService New Zealand have issued a fresh batch of warnings and watches - From 11am today Bay of Plenty west of Kawerau now has a Orange Heavy Rain Warning.
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The red Warning for Rotorua and Bay of Plenty is now lifted but a heavy rain watch is in place as further rain is expected today and into tomorrow morning, possibly heavy at times.
MetService says that “although amounts are unlikely to reach warning accumulations this Watch is for the possibility that lesser amounts of rain may still cause issues due to the recent heavy rain”.
Please continue to take care if you are driving on our roads and be on the alert for slips, treefalls, water pooling, surface flooding and debris.
Council staff and contractors will continue to monitor the situation and contractor crews are continuing clean-up.
Track closure
The track that runs from the eastern end of the Lakefront development area to Motutara Point is closed due to damage and washouts which have made it unsafe to use at this time. Please adhere to barriers and signs that will be going up today. The new Lakefront Boardwalk is still open for use.
Road closures
- Te Kopia Rd – Debris from large slip continually washing across the road. Remains closed due to significant scouring, blocked culverts and slips.
- Dods Rd – Large underslip has washed out a section of road. Repairs will start as soon as possible and the road is open to local residents only.
Re-opened - Hatupatu Dr has been re-opened following checks this morning. Water has receded but lake level remains high so checks will continue.
Calls received since previous update yesterday (Wednesday)
- Matahi Spit Rd – Lake level high resulting in the end of the road being under water. Water levels are up around the BBQ and boat ramp areas.
- Lewis St – Tree branch across the road at Selwyn Rd. Crew moved branch to the berm and plan to remove this today [Thursday].
- Rawhiti Rd – Reports of bamboo coming across the road. Crew has removed a few shoots that were hanging over the road.
- Clayton Rd Extn – Surface flooding.
- Logan St – Blocked grates.
- Urban Area – Several reports of blocked grates. Crews attended all calls received and cleared as required.
- Milne Rd – Treefall at end of road at private accessway.
- Bennetts Rd – Surface flooding caused by high lake levels.
- Hamurana Rd, approx 1km from Te Waerenga Rd – Treefall and slip. Crew cut back tree and put signs up.
- Hamurana Rd – Treefall and slip on road. Crew cut back tree and put up signs.
- Ranolf St – Tree branches on the road. Cleared by crew.
Work completed yesterday
- Paradise Valley Rd – All slips cleaned up.
- All roads in Southern area inspected.
- All roads in the Lakes areas inspected.
- All unsealed roads inspected.
- Grates cleared and various calls attended throughout the day.
- Mangamingi Rd – Drainage cleared, road scour filled, uneven sections graded. The unsealed road surface is likely to be soft due to repairs having to be undertaken in the rain. Crews will continue to monitor.
- Te Kopia Rd – Large culvert unblocked and one large scour filled.
- Dods Rd – To limit further damage to road, crews bunded around underslip, drains were cleared and cut-out pipes installed.
- Tutukau Rd – Four slips cleared.
- Broadlands Rd – Large tomo near East road repaired.
Work continuing today
- Crew working on Te Kopia Rd repairing scouring, clearing culverts and cleaning up slips.
- Dods Rd inspection.
- Crew clearing slips on Totara Rd, will then move to Puaiti Rd to clear slips there.
- Crew clearing slips on Endean Rd.
- Crew checking and unblocking culverts on South Rd.
- Crew checking various sites in urban area, clearing grates and attending to any calls that come in.
- Crew in Northern area checking all roads. Will be sweeping up debris, filling potholes, minor drain clearing and logging any damage for further repairs.