Disruption continues across much of the motu this weekend as the effects of stormy weather continue to be felt.
Crews are working on clearing slips and damage to roads as the country recovers from a week of wild weather. (File photo). Photo: Supplied
Homes now red stickered
The week's wild weather left a wake of travel disruptions, with many roads and properties damaged, including two Lower Hutt houses that were red-stickered this morning.
The cliff-top houses in Lower Hutt's Stokes Valley have been evacuated, due to the risk of further landslides after heavy rains.
The Holborn Drive homes sit above Eastern Hutt Road, a major thoroughfare connecting the northern suburbs of Lower Hutt with Upper Hutt, and the road remained closed.
Holborn Drive resident Jaime Philips initially had to flee one of the two houses with her family on Thursday night after the storm.
On Friday an engineer assessed it as structurally sound, but further geotechnical assessments by the council found a risk of more slips and they had to leave again last night.
The red sticker went on today at 10am, and Philips said at this stage it was in place for seven days. They are not allowed to enter their home without an escort from council or emergency services.
"They basically gave us the opportunity to grab all of our critical things that we needed to do... organise for our pets and stuff to be evacuated, and we had to evacuate the house within about an hour and a half of them arriving."
The house was built by her mother-in-law and was her husband's childhood home.
"I have cried bucketloads today, it's very emotional. But we are OK, our animals are OK and we're just crossing our fingers they come up with a solution to rescue our house. We just have to wait and see."
Philips said 3m of the property had disappeared, and the cliff-edge was now just 4m from their home.
She said a bulldozer had cleared about 12 tonnes of rock and soil from Eastern Hutt Road beneath the cliff their house sits on.
Hutt City Council said forecast rain next week could increase the level of risk in the area.
Lower Hutt Mayor Campbell Barry said the main priority now was taking steps to keep people safe.
Travel delays still affecting many
Thousands of people were stranded in airports and holiday spots around the country, as airlines struggle to clear a backlog of travellers amid peak school holiday numbers.
And more stormy weather is on the way, MetService said heavy rain and severe gales were set to hit the upper North Island from Sunday evening, with the largest falls in Northland, northern Auckland and the Coromandel Peninsula.
This morning flights were cancelled in Christchurch, Auckland and Wellington, with more expected to follow suit during the day. During the week Air New Zealand cancelled more than 200 flights in a 48 hours period.
Many of the flights that were able to take off were delayed while crews were scraped together amid reduced staffing because of sickness.
Warnings issued for roads and highways
Those travelling by road would not be immune to delays either - damage to roads had left a number of state highways and local roads with partial closures or reduced speed due to flood damage, and drivers have been urged to take extra care.
Waka Kotahi issued a general warning for drivers in Hawke's Bay on Saturday morning, where surface flooding and potholes were affecting several roads.
Several state highways had damage, with a fresh slip partly blocking one lane on the Featherston side of the Remutaka Hill.
State Highway 6 linking Murchison and State Highway 65 reopened with one lane on Saturday, after it was closed by a large rockfall on Wednesday.
From today, heavy vehicles with trailers are not be permitted to use State Highway 35 on the East Coast. The transport agency said storms had made the road at Kopuaroa unsafe, with a risk of truck roll-overs due to the narrow lane width, and an extremely narrow and tight approach.
Waka Kotahi National Emergency Response Manager Mark Owen said while other vehicles could still use the highway, drivers were encouraged to avoid unnecessary travel.
It was hoped the road could be reopened to trucks by the end of next week.
Timaru residents allowed home, but with an eye to warning alarms
Urgent repairs continue today on the flood-damaged Opihi River stopbank in the Timaru district.
A section directly in front of the Mill Road Huts was scoured away by storm surges in the river on Tuesday.
Residents were evacuated but have since been allowed back to their homes, with a warning system in place to alert them if the water flow exceeds 50 cumecs.
An alarm will provide a three-hour advance notice if evacuation is required.
Timaru also still had an urgent conserve water notice in place until further notice.
Boil water notices continue
Boil water notices are in place for the Otago towns of Otemata, Omarama and Ōmakau, after flooding got into drinking water supplies.
Waitaki District Council said the notice includes water used for food preparation and hygiene purposes, such as brushing teeth.
The water was too stirred up to treat to healthy levels but was improving, and testing was expected to be carried out on Monday.
This slip came down onto a Wellington home this week. Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver
Hunt on for owner of boat sunk at Porirua
Council officials are looking for the owner of a launch which sank at Porirua after it was rammed by a yacht in Thursday's storm.
Staff from the regional council went out on Porirua harbour in rough conditions and managed to save the yacht, which had snapped its moorings.
Unfortunately the launch sank.
A spokesperson says the launch appears to be abandoned, and Greater Wellington will work with Porirua City Council to dispose of it.
Meanwhile, more than $11,000 has been donated through Givealittle so far to the owner of an uninsured catamaran-houseboat, which was destroyed when it was blown ashore in Lowry Bay in Wellington Harbour during the storm.
Slips and road hazards continue in Wellington region
Wellington City Council also warned road users to watch out for slips and other hazards in the next few days as saturated soil continues to move.
City council spokesman Richard MacLean said the slip blocking Lennel Road in Wadestown was the largest but there were dozens of others.
"That slip has got bigger ...and so now there is an estimated between 300 to 400 cubic metres of rock and dirt blocking the cutting."
"There are lots more small slips coming down around town during the day... and there's probably going to be more slips, so our advice to motorists is just to take it easy - especially on twisty roads where you can't see around corners.
"Watch out, because even if it's just a few rocks or boulders on the road it cane be really hazardous, especially for cyclists or motorcyclists."
MacLean said council contractors would continue to work over the weekend to clear the Lennel Road slip and other damage.
Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon
Rental companies to be affected for some time
Rental car companies were feeling the ripple effect of the week's flight disruptions throughout the country.
Hertz General Manager of Operations, Bevan Alter said there had been huge demand for rental cars, with travellers desperate to reach their destination another way.
Luckily, cancellations due to bad weather meant there had been enough cars for those who needed them.
Call to nationalise flood protection works
The Canterbury Regional Council has called on the government to open its flood protection wallet.
The call comes as mayors from across the country met this week for a Local Government NZ meeting, where the challenges from climate change, and how to respond were discussed. And has been aired a week when millions of dollars in costs was run up in storm-effects, to be covered mostly by regional councils across the country to deal with flooding, bridge wash-outs, slips and repairs to roads.
Many mayors voiced the desire for central government to begin working more closely with regional councils on the issue, and to provide greater support.
Ashburton councillor Ian Mackenzie wanted the government to invest $150 million per year to co-fund flood protection infrastructure across the country.
Mackenzie told Local Democracy Reporting it was more cost effective to fund preventative measures than pay for clean-ups.
The regional council already spends about $15m annually on flood mitigation.
