Warning system works better

WIDE WET: High water levels in the Manawatu River.

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More than 8000 phone calls were handled by Horizons Regional Council's flood warning system after rain lashed the region this week, signalling a huge improvement in the fault-plagued scheme.

As torrential rain caused waters to rise, the early flood warning system sent 5164 automatic calls out to farmers to let them know rivers on their farms were approaching dangerous levels.

And more than 3514 calls came into the council's Waterline, a service that provides instant updates on how close rivers are to bursting their banks.

The system has had massive upgrades since the 2004 floods, when farmers complained of warning alarm failures. Monday's deluge prompted the most calls the system has contended with since.

New technology also allowed Horizons staff to see where alarms were going off and respond to worst-hit areas.

"It didn't work particularly well in '04, and there's been a lot of work done on it since," Horizons emergency manager Shane Bayley said.

Flood plains were now better mapped, and Horizons was one of the only organisations worldwide who provided river height information and predictions to the public, he said.

Mr Bayley encouraged more people to sign up to the scheme.

In Tararua yesterday, farmers and district council staff were assessing what Mayor Maureen Reynolds estimated to be "hundreds of thousands" of dollars worth of damage in the district.

Whole chunks of road had been swept away, paddocks churned to mud and holes gouged into the earth as rivers overflowed in the torrential rain.

Pahiatua residents were still being instructed to boil water, after parts of the council's filtration plant were swept away by the raging Mangatainoka river.

The river, which usually runs at two or three metres, reached a water level of 14 metres on Monday – just one metre off the record set during the 2004 floods.

The council was currently in discussion with the Government, to see who would foot the clean-up bill. An old Pahiatua water supply was being tapped until the plant could be fixed.

Farmers were being warned to remain on high alert, with Metservice predicting more heavy rain over the next few days.

- © Fairfax NZ News