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Weather: Marlborough District Council sending teams into flooded Wairau Valley township

Crews working on damage west of the Waihopai Bridge near Renwick, Marlborough. Photo: Supplied / Marlborough District Council The Marlborough District Council is sending teams into the cut off Wairau Valley township where it is understood homes have flooded. Mayor Nadine Taylor said emergency vehicles and a fuel truck to power a Marlborough Lines generator had been able to access the settlement, although State Highway 63 was closed between Renwick and St Arnaud. Many homes in the Wairau Valley lost power on Friday and while power had since been restored, Taylor said it was not yet known how many homes had been flooded. She said it was likely to be a few days until the full extent of damage was known. "It's still a fluid and dynamic situation in terms of understanding what's happened to some of our smaller outlying towns and settlements," she said. The council said there had been significant damage to SH63 in the Bankhouse area west of the Waihopai Bridge and Renwick because of the heavy rain. Contractors were clearing gravel to try to get the road reinstated at least to one lane but it would will probably remain closed from Renwick to Wairau Valley for the rest of Saturday. While the weather had improved, the council said areas remain flooded and the ground was saturated, with potential for further slips and road closures. The council said stopbanks held up well overall but emergency repairs were needed in the Waihopai Valley. Taylor said river engineers found weak spots where river water could be seen bubbling and seeping through the stopbank, with work on repairs to begin on Monday. The Spring Creek stop bank performed well despite engineers' concerns when drilling showed it was compromised in 2022/23, the council said. The council asked people to only flush toilets when necessary and use water sparingly. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.