Flood warnings for Gisborne - Te Karaka residents told to self-evacuate.

The Team from Neighbourly.co.nz

Gisborne is under a Heavy Rain Warning and with the amount of rainfall the rivers are rising. Gisborne District Council shared a Flood Warning at 1pm asking residents to prepare for evacuation. As of 2pm, Te Karaka residents were then told to evacuate due to the Waipaoa River rising.

What you need to know:
- Te Karaka residents are to evacuate now, the evacuation centre is at Te Karaka school.
- The evacuation level for the Waipaoa River for Te Karaka was 7.5m and this has now been exceeded.
- Hikuwai River water level at Willowflat was also at 7.9m and rising.
- Sustained rainfall is forecast by the MetService through to Sunday 12pm.
- Tairāwhiti Emergency Management manager Ben Green said the orange heavy rain warning was expected to be raised to red this afternoon.

Information links:
- Updates have been posted from Tairāwhiti Civil Defence here.
- Keep up to date with weather warnings here.
- You can find state highway information here.
- You can contact Gisborne District Council for more information or to report any issues: service@gdc.govt.nz / 0800 653 800 / www.gdc.govt.nz...

If you live by a river and you’re concerned, officials urge you to make a decision to evacuate during daylight hours: head for higher ground and stay out of floodwaters, be aware of land slips.

This Neighbourly post will not be updated throughout the afternoon, so keep up to date using the links above. Stay safe, Gisborne.