Power boss defends $100,000 donation to Westport floodwalls rnz.co.nz - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from rnz.co.nz Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The month was the sixth-equal warmest July on record.
Flooding on the Buller River and surrounding area affected Westport last month.
Photo: Supplied/NZ Defence Force
Flood flows on the Buller River were the largest of any river in the country since 1926 after the deluge last month. The stand-out rain event between 15 July and 18 July brought over 690mm of rain to parts of the West Coast in under 72 hours.
Along with the West Coast, well above normal rainfall (more than 149 percent of normal) fell in large areas of Marlborough, Nelson, Tasman, Canterbury high country and northern Otago.
Parts of coastal northern Northland, inland Bay of Plenty and around Wellington central and the Kāpiti Coast had above normal rainfall.
The mood has been very good - Westport flood victim rnz.co.nz - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from rnz.co.nz Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Photo: Supplied / West Coast Regional Council
The council has included the Westport project in its 2021- 2031 long term plan which is yet to be released to the public.
But Beal said the scheme involved extensive stopbanks and floodwalls - essentially ringfencing the town from the Buller and Orowaiti rivers and would cost $10.2 million. It is designed for a one-in-a-100-year flood in the Buller . and whether it would have protected the town this time, the simple answer is yes, unless there was a flood bank failure, Beale said. There would likely still have been surface flooding damage to some properties from storm water but not to the same extent or over widespread areas.
Flood-hit Westport braces for more heavy rain amid clean-up rnz.co.nz - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from rnz.co.nz Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.