Heavy rain hits parts of New Zealand by Sean Batty
Parts of New Zealand have been hit by heavy rain over the last two days, flooding a number of towns and suburbs. In northern Taranaki, torrential rainfall caused the river Oakura to burst its banks, inundating nearby houses and buildings with a deluge of water.
Heavy rain began to fall in the early hours of Tuesday morning, with the Taranaki regional council reporting more than 60mm of rain over just four hours. In total the region received 20mm more rain than it normally gets across the entire month of May.
Several schools in the central city of Nelson were closed, as many storm water systems and gutters have been struggling to cope with the quantity of water. Firefighters have been attempting to pump large volumes of water away from residential areas to minimise the damage.
The rain has since begun to subside, and the heavy rain warning for the region has been lifted. With the water levels beginning to return to normal, and the high tide passing without any further harm, many residents are today thankful that the damage was not worse.
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