Steady rain has fallen across the Wellington region since midnight, causing minor disruption.
A few roads have been closed by small landslips, the Johnsonville to Wellington railway line has closed after a passenger unit was derailed by a slip, a water reservoir in the Hutt Valley is being discharged into the Hutt River for fear it will overflow, and the Hutt River has risen due to rainfall and the reservoir spill, causing minor flooding.
Tawa Fire Service has been doing brisk business since about 10 a.m. responding to minor events around the region. Motorists on State Highway 1 face minor delays at Paekakariki due to a partial road blockage caused by the weather.
Rainfall has been consistent across the southern part of the region with private weather stations reporting rainfall, which began last night, at steady rates since 2 a.m.
Tawa has recorded 39 mm since midnight, bringing the month’s total to 152 mm, and the year to date to 871 mm.
Rainfall figures for selected weather stations in the region for the 12 hours to midday are:
Raumati South 47 mm
Mana 37 mm
Karori East 96 mm
Strathmore ca 74 mm
Miramar 60 mm
Lower Hutt 67 mm
Pinehaven 50 mm
Kintore (near Martinborough) 39 mm
After several drier years, 2006 now seems to be the wettest since 1998, a particularly wet year. During October 1998, Wellington was isolated from the rest of New Zealand by road and rail closures on two occasions. There were several days of disruption owing to extensive flooding in the Hutt Valley, on the Kapiti Coast and in other parts of the region.