The Flooding in September 2015

Another lot of heavy rain saw some flooding in the Manawatu River, again.  This time it was only the river and flood plains affected, as the rain fell in the Ruahine Ranges, north of where we are.  The farm land around where we live was not affected at all.  

A sense of adventure stirred within me.  I drove to the road block at Opiki School...and drove through.  {don't worry, people live past the road block}  Just before the Opiki Bridge there is another road block which is where I stopped and parked the car.  We did see some people drive over the bridge to the water on the other side - I can't imagine why, but they did.

When we got out of the car we couldn't see any water as we were on the other side of the stop bank, but we could certainly hear the water.

We walked up the rise and onto the bridge

All the water to the left of the tips of the green trees is flood.  The river is to the right...somewhere under there!

Water for miles!

A view over the other side of the bridge

 After having a look from the edge of the bridge we went home for dinner.  

Because J951 was at home when we went to the river, and I knew he would LOVE to see it too, I went back with him, and Butterfly came with us.  It was just before sunset and the lighting was really nice for photos; J951 enjoys photography.

A rainbow reflecting in the flood waters.

The Opiki Swing Bridge.  Usually the ends are high above the river level.

Close up of the swing bridge

My sunset picture

Butterfly took this of me gazing at the sunset. I am standing in the middle of the road at the north end of the Opiki SH56 Bridge.

The following are J951's photos...

Stop bank in the foreground with the flood waters behind

This is where the sound of the water was coming from, as the river spilled over its banks into the channel between the river and the stop bank

Sunset

Sunset

The waters edge on SH56

The road descending into floodwaters 

Under the bridge

Sunset

~Lorna

The Flooding in June 2015

It would seem that every winter has an interesting weather event.  

This winter it was a month worth of rain in a 48 hour period, and living on the Manawatu floodplains can only mean one thing - flooding.

Thankfully we were spared any damage or threat to life and property.  My thoughts go out to my friends in Wanganui who have suffered much worse.

I have read and heard numerous stories of fellow Manawatu residents driving their vehicles through deep water, flooded farms, close calls with water levels not quite reaching dwellings.  This is our little photographic collection of water on our road.

 It does boggle the mind, the amount of water around.  Eagle commented, "Just think, all that water was a cloud above us not long ago!"  

In the picture below to the left is the Linton Drain, designed to channel excess surface water south to join the Manawatu River near Foxton.  It is very full here with less than a meter, I estimate, from the top of the stop bank.  The water to the right is covering farm paddocks.  

Standing on the little bridge looking north up the Linton Drain.

These are the paddocks near the Linton Drain about 500 meters from our house.

Looking down the road from the little bridge.  Flooding on both sides of the road.

Trees along a boundary fence.

Water for miles.

The view from my kitchen window.  Flooded paddocks seen in the background.

Our back yard was about 20cm deep in water.

Flooding a part of the workshop shed.  

 Now that the rain has stopped, there is the wait while the water level recedes.  We have decided we quite like our new "lake" views, especially at sunset when the light reflections are very pretty!

~Lorna