Palmerston North Flooding

2004 – The Year of the Floods

The Image Gallery Covers the Flooding of Palmerston North during 2004.

Converted from original video format,
Photographer: Guy Defryn

Photographer: Graeme Richards

Updated: 19^th October 2004: Added images for the current flooding.

Each of the PN images is 30% of the original size, (25% for August and later). If you want access to larger images, please send me an email with a description of which images you are interested in.

21/6/04 Due to the number of viruses being sent to me, I have changed the email address it is now flood at graeme.org.nz , please copy to your email software and replace the 'at' with the @ sign.

Visit the Image Gallery

Below and the links to the right are from the February Floods:

The event is ultimately over at this stage, but some details of the event:

Of the Manawatu gorge, Saddle road and Pahiatua track, only the Pahiatua track is open (2nd March)
Manawatu gorge was expected to closed for a further 3 weeks after 28/2 to clear slips and sort out the road that has dropped out, upto 50m long in places. This has been extended by a further 4 weeks this last weekend due to a slip that was at least equal to the other 5 slips preceeding.
It currently looks as 160,000 cubic metres of rock and soil has sliped away above the Manawatu gorge road. This is equivalent to 320,000 trailer loads, or 145 rugby fields covered to the depth of 10cm of material to be removed.
The 1995 slip that contained 100,000 cubic metres of soil took 80 days before the road was open to traffic again.
Numersoud buisnesses in Woodville, the town on the eastern side of Manawatu gorge are reporting upto 80% drops in turnover since the closure.
Pahiatua buisnesses are recieving increased buisness as locals purchase locally and are avoiding traveling to Palmerston North via the Pahiatua track, the only remaining road that is still open between them.
The Saddle road is expected to be closed until April until a new bridge is installed.
Estimated damage cost expected to reach $250 million, $65million +/- 30% on esential infrastructure, $159-180million to farms,including crop losses in the order of $24million dairing losses of $133million and sheep and beef at around $47million. Not all farmers affected have been able to be contacted yet.

Civil Defence emergencies declared in Manawatu and Rangitikei
More than 200 Marton and Fielding residents evacuated
All Fielding and Marton schools closed
Some Palmerston North schools have part day
Saddle Road bridge,Ohau Bridge south of Levin washed out
Feilding's Derby St bridge impassable
Bridges believed to be washed out or impassable include Kiwitea bridge, Kimbolton Rd, two near Colyton and another in Read's line
Manawatu Gorge, Saddle Road and Paiatua Track closed
Milk train derailed at Oringi - Caused farmers to dump thousands of liters of milk
7.30am Monday 16th only one road open between PN and Fielding
PN Ashhurst road closed
Rangitikei Line closed
State Highway 1 closed at Sanson and Bulls
State Highway 2 closed between Woodville and Dannevirke
Trucks on interislander ferry break lashings, one tips over, Waves reach 11m
Phones down in Marton and Fielding
More than 1400 evacuations in the lower North Island
2 Deaths and one person still missing (During the event)
Fielding water supply completly ran dry, bottled water was being brought in and some residents are traveling to PN for clean water
Air force uses helicopters to pick up stranded people
Hawkes Bay - 190mm in under 24 hours
Cold air from Antarctic and a moist weak tropical low mix on Sunday night, the result is seen below
167km/h was measured at Beacon Hill in the Wellington suburb of Seatoun
20,000 homes in the lower North Island were affected by power cuts Monday(16th) night
Early estimates put the damage bill at over $50 million, the Insurance Council is predicting this to rise substantially, now around $100 million, (2nd March likly to be $250 million)
One house on the edge of Fielding, was washed away on Monday evening
Lower Hutt's worst February on record - in 24 hours it has had 170 millimeters of rain
Manawatu river breached banks about 3am Tuesday just south of Foxton
Railway lines have been washed out near Bunnythorpe and Dannevirke
Rail Passenger service between Auckland and Wellington was closed
An Auckland woman was seriously injured on Sunday when a tree crashed through the roof of her North Shore home pinning her to her bed
Most sea and air services had resumed by late Monday.
Monday, more than a 1,000 people in the Hutt Valley were evacuated