26/06/2026
Stay safe everyone.
Good afternoon South Wairarapa,
The rain has well and truly set in and isn't expected to ease until early tomorrow morning.
There are multiple road closures in place with more expected through the night. There are also reports of surface flooding at multiple locations in the district so we are asking the South Wairarapa community to follow this advice:
- Avoid road travel now unless necessary
- If you live in a low-lying area that is prone to flooding, you should consider self-evacuating to stay with friends and family.
- Make sure you have enough supplies at home to last a few days if you become impacted by road or access closures.
- Streams and rivers may rise rapidly. Surface flooding, slips, and difficult driving conditions are possible.
- Never walk, swim or drive through flood water. Respect road closures notices and signs, no not try to pass through.
- In an emergency or life threatening situation, call 111
- Please report urgent issues via 06 306 9611
🚧 Current roading status at 7am Saturday 27 June
- Pahautea Road CLOSED spillway working
- Pukio West Road CLOSED spillway working
- Lower Valley Bridge at Kahutara CLOSED
- SH53 Waihenga bridge CLOSED
- Longbush Road CLOSED between Millars Road and Hinekura Road, crews will be attempting to clear this later Saturday morning
- The road is CLOSED at the Lake Ferry Road and Kahutara Road intersection (originally Lake Ferry Road and Whakatomotomo intersection)
- Ponatahi Bridge is CLOSED
- White Rock Road is CLOSED at Lagoon Hills
- Please avoid driving along Cape Palliser Road, there a slips at various sections of the road.
- Surface flooding along Lake Ferry Road
- Surface flooding at Longbush Road
- Surface flooding along Bidwills Cutting Road
- Surface flooding on sections of White Rock Road and Cape Palliser Road
- Whakatomotomo and Te Rata Roads are impacted
⚠️ Martinborough alternative routes - there are no alternative routes in or out of Martinborough.
- Ponatahi route - CLOSED
- SH53 Waihenga - CLOSED
- Kahutara Lower Valley Bridge - CLOSED
- Hinekura and Longbush Roads - Longbush Road CLOSED between Millars Road and Hinekura Road.
✅ Keep up to date
- General information and road closures - https://swdc.govt.nz/news/heavy-rain-warning-26-june-2026/
- Alternative routes around the district - swdc.govt.nz/alternative-routes-around-the-district/
- Visit https://www.metservice.com/warnings/home for the latest weather information and warnings.
- Follow Wellington Region Emergency Management Office for situation updates. The WREMO website has more info on household preparedness: https://www.wremo.nz/get-ready
- Follow NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi - Wellington - Wellington for highway disruptions.
- Power outage info - https://outages.powerco.co.nz/
- Keep up to date with road closures and other updates: swdc.govt.nz/news/heavy-rain-warning-26-june-2026/
