A Waikato man says he had never seen damage like the scenes on his parent's Waipā farm following Friday's intense rain.
By Keiller MacDuff of rnz.co.nz
The South Waikato was hit hard by severe weather that hammered the North Island, causing widespread flooding and slips, and the death of a motorist in floodwaters.
Ryan Vickers said the weatherbomb that hit parts of the district was so localised, he had no idea how bad it was from his Hamilton home just 30 minutes away.
But after a long and nervous night for his mother, who was left trapped on the farm after flooding destroyed vehicle access, he drove to the property at the base of Mt Pirongia on Saturday.
What he saw shocked him.
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"I've lived in rural communities most of my life, and I've never seen anything like it."
Vickers said a relatively small creek on the property flooded, presumably banking up before bursting with huge force.
"I feel like what must have happened is a slip covered the creek further up, and then it kind of broke, like a dam breaking.
"What came down was the water shifting massive boulders bigger than cars and just throwing them down the mountain.
"It took out logs and trees. Stuff within five metres either side of the river [has] just been shredded, picked up and thrown down the hill.
"Then it got to the bridge, the crossing mum and dad had going up to their farm, and it's just smashed that as well."
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To get to the Waipā farm, Vickers was forced to take back roads and travel across farmland, before using heavy machinery to clear tracks and create a path out through the back of the farm.
He said while the property had a generator, he expected it to be without water for days.
Fences, bridges, roads and livestock have been damaged or swept away, and several nearby properties are cut off.
He said it was a close-knit community, and everyone would pitch in to help out.
His mother was no stranger to intense weather and flooding, but she described the noise of tumbling boulders as terrifying.
"She was worried, given what happened at the Mount, she was worried a slip could come down at their place, and she was up there by herself because Dad's working on another farm at the moment."
His mum got no sleep on Friday, and was a little "shell-shocked" by the experience, he said.
Vickers said the increasing frequency of these type of events pointed to a shift in the climate.
"All these hundred-year events that happen every few years, something's changed hasn't it?"
The South Waikato region took a particular beating from Friday's thunderstorms, with roads, homes and infrastructure damaged in widespread flooding.
Around 80 people were forced to evacuate their homes and a motorist died when his vehicle became submerged at Puketotara on Saturday night.
Flooding and slips have closed State Highway 3 between Te Awamutu and Ōtorohanga, State Highway 39 - Pirongia to Ōtorohanga, and State Highway 31 - Kawhia to Tihiroa, as well as dozens of local roads.
Mayor Rodney Dow said the district had experienced widespread flooding, slips and inundation.
"The situation in Ōtorohanga is serious."
A local state of emergency for the Ōtorohanga district was declared in the early hours of Saturday morning, with a declaration for Waipā following on Saturday afternoon.
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