Heavy rain warnings remain in place for Westland, Buller and the Canterbury headwaters. People on the West Coast are being advised to avoid travel until the weather improves. State Highway 6 is closed south of Hokitika to Makarora until further notice. "That particular link is vital and we realise how important it is and we'll be doing everything we can to get it reinstated as quickly as possible." Hey said the bridge will be fixed as soon as possible. "Most of the people don't really know about the situation, the people who wanted to go from Franz Josef to Queenstown, they couldn't go because the bridge was damaged," Franz Josef Four Square duty manager Sonel told Newshub. The bridge was an important link on the West Coast and without it tourists have been left stranded. "We won't know until we get a good look at things when the river levels go down again." Hey said the NZTA will be reassessing the bridge situation on Wednesday, but it could be a while before the situation is clear. "Going through Canterbury all the way down to Wanaka and vice versa, we've also got a closure in place on State Highway 73, there's a slip up there." NZTA Spokesperson Colin Hey told Newshub the Lewis Pass is currently the only option for West Coast travellers. "It's been 20 years since we've seen the rain levels that we're currently seeing at Milford sound, 430mm in the gauge already recorded there," MetService spokesperson Georgina Griffiths said on Tuesday morning.Ī state of emergency was declared just before 6PM on Tuesday.įurther rain fell overnight and Civil Defence said in a statement on Wednesday morning there is widespread flooding in Westland.Īerial inspections will take place on Wednesday morning. Rain soaked the district on Tuesday, reaching levels that had not been seen for decades. Weather: 'Atmospheric river' bringing monster storm to New Zealand this week.Weather: 'Exceptional rain event' on West Coast expected to worsen.Waiho River Bridge destroyed by surging storm in South Island.The Waiho River Bridge spectacularly crumbled in front of onlookers on Tuesday after heavy rain in Westland. The New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) is working on how to fix the bridge which collapsed over the Waiho River on the West Coast, as wild weather lashes the country.
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