Flood!

I was awakened from my sticky, congested sleep this morning by a text from J, saying, "Wanganui East is flooded, not many streets are open, try to stay home if you can." Given that I am still feeling rather nasty, and the antibiotics don't seem to have been informed that they are meant to be decongesting my sinuses, I was planning to stay home all day anyway. But flooding?

Not only flooding, a state of emergency, evacuations, and no power in some areas due to flooding and strong wind. Yikes!

Here is a link to the latest new story about it:
http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/contamination-concerns-flooded-whanganui-river-5649766

The river has been very high for a while now, because we've gotten so much rain, and then the heavy rain last night was the last straw. When I came home from the doctor yesterday (more about that later), I wanted to stop and take pictures of how high it was, but was feeling too sick. Anyway, it was already right up to the top of the banks, and they were starting to sand bag around the edges. Apparently, it was not quite enough, although it did make a huge difference in keeping the damage to a minimum.

An earlier article went into a bit more detail about the contamination, saying, "manhole covers lifted along Anzac Parade and the floodwater was contaminated with raw sewage." As if flooding is not bad enough.

Here is a link to that article:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11140679

Looking out my windows, there aren't even noticeable puddles anymore, so we are clearly high enough that the water is not threatening our neighbourhood. However, I read a list of roads that are closed this morning, and a lot of them are on my way into town. (I only knew a few street names here, so if I recognize them, it's because they're on my way to somewhere).

I feel very lucky to have electricity and dry floors, but I am very concerned about all the families that are still waiting to be allowed back into their houses, and about the damage they will find when they arrive. The thought of my house being contaminated by raw sewage, or water damage beyond repair is very scary, and I hope that families will be getting the support they need. Please send thoughts and prayers their way! Thanks!

I went ahead and pointed out two of the places that the article mentions as places to stay clear of. Anzac Parade (Hwy 4), as you can see, runs right along the river, next to Kowhai Park. The worst of the flooding seems to be around that area, and it is people who live on Anzac Parade who have been evacuated, for the most part. Apparently, Putiki is relatively low ground, so it has historically had problems with flooding, and the trend continues.