Hi, well crikey what a day yesterday turned out to be. We went into Nelson yesterday morning and were amazed at the torrential downpours that were happening occasionally - it was incredible. After doing our shopping we headed home through more heavy rain and by the time we got to Richmond (around 10 minutes from home, Nelson is about 25 minutes from home) the rain had stopped but it was still cloudy and you could tell there was more rain to come.
After getting home I started another canvas and John did some ironing, watching TV, while it continued to rain now and then. About 4.30pm there was an IMMENSE downpour with lots of thunder and lightning. We were due to go out to our friends' Mike and Milli's for a combined birthday dinner celebration. I had a really funny feeling that something weird was about to happen but I had no idea what. Just a sort of shivery, uneasy feeling. We set off to go to their house at around 6.15pm in the rain and the first thing we noticed was flooding on the coastal highway in the same spots that flooded badly a year or so ago in December. I wanted to turn round right then and there in case we couldn't get home. This wasn't the worst part. We came over the bridge heading towards a big roundabout where we would turn left into Richmond and there was water EVERYWHERE!! We turned left through the water and drove very slowly along the main road which was completely flooded. By this stage I just wanted to turn round and get home, it just felt so scary. John thought we should carry on but I was really starting to panic by now so I phoned Milli to say we would be turning around and going home. I felt REALLY bad cancelling dinner like that but I honestly felt it was the sensible and necessary thing to do.
We managed to turn around and went all the way back along the main road (with the water getting deeper all the time). We got to the roundabout and turned right through VERY deep water and then the engine cut out because the electrics had obviously drowned. That was a really horrible moment especially as our BMW is computer controlled (as they are these days) so we wouldn't have been able to put it in neutral and push it off the road. Apart from anything else you couldn't tell when the road ended and the verge began! Luckily John managed to get the car restarted and we limped over the bridge and back home, through more flood water. I have NEVER been so happy to see our driveway in my life. We phoned Milli again to say we were back and I asked if her house was okay and she said it was. Everything we were reading on the internet last night led us to believe we wouldn't have made it to their house anyway, there was just too much water!
This morning we saw on facebook that there house was completely flooded - I couldn't believe what I was reading!
Richmond Mall was flooded too which means Jellicoe will have had some damage. I'm worried about the Outlet Store too because one report on the internet said Wakatu Estate (where the shop and workshop is) was thigh-deep in water!! I tried to phone them earlier but the line was busy. I'll try again soon. Also our vet clinic is below road level on the main road we were on and I'm really worried about them - their phone went to the owner's answerphone this morning.
Here is an item from the New Zealand Herald (Auckland newspaper) today so you can get an idea of the extent of the flooding. We are expecting more heavy rain and thunderstorms later this morning but I hope they are wrong for once!! I'm going to go and try to phone the Outlet Store again. Smiles, rather wet ones!http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10878804
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