“They were a little bit off in terms of the timing. They were predicting the timing earlier than it actually happened by about nine hours or so,” she said. The West Coast Regional Council warned in 2017 lives could be lost and up to $144 million of property damaged if a major flood were to hit Westport.
Peter Meecham/Stuff
Locals watched on earlier this month as the Buller River became inundated with water. The seaside town has very limited flood protection, and a limited monitoring and flood alert system. The water level in the Buller River at Te Kuha peaked at 12.8 metres at 1.35pm on July 17, several hours ahead of the peak flooding in Westport. This was the biggest flood recorded since the Te Kuha monitoring site was established in 1963.
Niwa environmental monitoring technician Mike O’Driscoll used a radar gun from the Westport and Orowaiti bridges to measure the speed of the Buller River at its surface on July 17, the height of the recent floods. Those measurements, coupled with surveys of the riverbed level carried out from a jet boat after the flood, provided the data for flood flow calculations. As the bridges were being closed, the measurements showed a flow of 7640 cubic metres per second – the largest direct measurement of river flow ever completed in New Zealand.
Peter Meecham/Stuff
A quad bike makes its way up Derby Street in Westport after floodwaters inundated parts of the town.
Thursday, 29 July 2021, 11:03 am
Flood flows on the Buller River this month were the
largest of any river in Aotearoa New Zealand in almost 100
years, NIWA measurements show.
NIWA hydrodynamics
scientist Richard Measures says records show even larger
flooding of the Buller River in 1926. It’s not the
largest river in New Zealand but it does experience the
biggest flood flows. The flood levels through the Buller
gorge are incredible he said.
NIWA environmental
monitoring technician Mike O’Driscoll used a radar gun
from the Westport and Orowaiti bridges to measure the speed
of the Buller River at its surface on July 17.
Press Release – NIWA Flood flows on the Buller River this month were the largest of any river in Aotearoa New Zealand in almost 100 years, NIWA measurements show. NIWA hydrodynamics scientist Richard Measures says records show even larger flooding of the Buller River in 1926. …
Flood flows on the Buller River this month were the largest of any river in Aotearoa New Zealand in almost 100 years, NIWA measurements show.
NIWA hydrodynamics scientist Richard Measures says records show even larger flooding of the Buller River in 1926.
“It’s not the largest river in New Zealand but it does experience the biggest flood flows. The flood levels through the Buller gorge are incredible” he said.
Photo: Google Maps
Smith joined the regional council last October, but has been on personal leave since late April after a clash with council chairman Allan Birchfield over resource consent issues and the respective roles of management and governance.
Leaked e-mails revealed Smith had sought advice about alleged bullying behaviour and interference by the chairman.
Birchfield denied bullying and launched an employment investigation into the CEO as he departed on gardening leave.
The crisis sparked a bid by four of the seven councillors to unseat Birchfield, but a coup was averted when the council s iwi partner Poutini Ngāi Tahu intervened.