April 06, 2017
Stop banks fail as Bay of Plenty flooded
Whanau in the eastern Bay of Plenty are bracing themselves for this afternoon's high tide as creeks and rivers in the area breach their banks.
All 2000 residents of Edgecumbe were evacuated when the Rangitaiki River burst through a concrete stopbank about 7.30am.
Poroporo west of Whakatane was also flooded, and Taneatua was cut off.
High schools in Whakatane were closed at noon, and Fonterra shut down its Edgecumbe dairy factory.
Journalist Whetu McCorkindale says the flooding is worse than the last big deluge in 2004.
"Just heading to the outskirts of Whakatane, the water is right there. This didn't happen in 2004. Our whanau here are familiar with floods but this is a big one," he says.
The bad weather is moving south, with heavy rain and gale warning issues for north Canterbury.
FULL INTERVIEW WITH TE WHETU McCORKINDALE
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