West Coast Red Warning for Heavy Rain 

15 July 2021
  
  
A MetService Red Warning for Heavy Rain in northern Westland and Buller from 9pm Thursday until early on Saturday has been issued.
  
Red Warnings are reserved for the most impactful weather events and are only issued after close consultation with the relevant regional authorities including Council and Civil Defence Emergency Management teams.
  
MetService meteorologist Lewis Ferris says, “The West Coast is known to receive large amounts of rainfall but in this case the amount and persistence of heavy rain forecast is at the tipping point to where we could see significant impacts for communities and transport links on the West Coast.”
  
The current warning has rainfall accumulations between 300 and 400mm from Thursday night to Saturday morning, with peak rainfall rates of 20-30mm/hr expected from Friday afternoon. This rain is expected to cause dangerous river conditions and may produce significant flooding. Slips and floodwaters are likely to disrupt travel, making some roads impassable and possibly isolating communities.
  
"We are asking people to act now to keep themselves and their whānau safe and to heed the advice of authorities,” adds Ferris. “Anyone with travel plans in Westland and Buller on Friday and Saturday are urged to keep up to date with road information from Waka Kotahi NZTA. This is especially relevant due to the school holidays bringing more families to the West Coast. Please share this information with anyone you know travelling in the region.”
  
There is also a Severe Weather Watch for Strong Wind in place for this region along with Orange Warnings and Watches for many areas across the country. Keep up to date with your local forecast and the Severe Weather Watches and Warnings at http://bit.ly/AllWarnings
  
This is only the third Red Warning issued by MetService, since the colour-coded warning system was introduced in 2019. The most recent was for the heavy rain that caused significant flooding in Canterbury at the end of May this year for which a regional state of emergency was declared. 
 



Bede O'Conner
President 
West Coast Federated Farmers
[email protected]
0274 968 105