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Emergency / Weather

Emergency Mobile Alert: Red rain warning for Manawatū, Rangitīkei and Ruapehu; threat to life from flooding and landslides

MetService expects 140–180mm of rain with peak intensities overnight; officials urge people to avoid travel and be ready to self‑evacuate.

Source: NZ Emergency Management
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Emergency Mobile Alert: Red rain warning for Manawatū, Rangitīkei and Ruapehu; threat to life from flooding and landslides
Map of the area the EMA was sent to / Supplied

An Emergency Mobile Alert was issued at 4.57pm on Sunday warning of severe weather under a red heavy rain warning for Manawatū, Rangitīkei and Ruapehu, covering areas north of Feilding and east of State Highway 1.

MetService is forecasting 140 to 180mm of rain, with peak rates of 10 to 20mm an hour expected Sunday night and into Monday morning. Emergency Management officials say there is a threat to life from dangerous river conditions, significant flooding and landslides. Travel is likely to be disrupted, some roads may become impassable, and some communities could be isolated.

Red is MetService’s highest level of weather warning. Authorities are asking people in the affected areas to make decisions early and prioritise safety:

  • Avoid travel. Do not enter floodwaters.
  • Have your grab-bag ready and plan for power and communications outages.
  • Act quickly to self‑evacuate if you see rising water.
  • If you are asked to evacuate, do so immediately.
  • Call 111 if your life is in danger.

Updates will be posted by the Manawatū-Whanganui Civil Defence Emergency Management Group:

Further MetService updates are expected as the system peaks overnight into Monday.

This article was originally written by AI. You can view the original source here.