Checking in

[Weka]

Hi guys
I hope you are all well, it’s been awhile since I posted here and I feel like I’ve lost the flow of what everyone is up too.

Just letting you know that we are all safe and well. Last Friday we had big floods right across Auckland, our house was totally surrounded by flood waters, but thankfully nothing got in the house. Since then we have had constant rain and more flooding. There’s landslides all over Auckland, and now right across the top of the North Island. Roads closed everywhere. In January Auckland recorded the most rain in any month (this includes winter and we are currently supposed to be summer when it’s normally dry) so the wettest month in 170 years when records began. We have had more than double the amount of rain in our previous wettest January. We’ve had over half a meter of rain fall. Everyone knows of multiple people who have had damaged homes or slips near them.

We live right beside a culvert. I’ve always known we would have a flood one day so all valuables are stored upstairs. How we did not get flood waters inside our house is absolutely amazing. The street on the other side of the culvert, the water was above my knees.

The community is trying to clean up, but it just keeps raining and flooding. There’s been 3 flooding events in the last 7 days.

School opening for the year was delayed. Little Miss has started grammar today.

Send me a photo of sunshine. I think I’ve forgotten what it looks like.

[Ally]

Hi Weka

Lovely to 'see' you again and I'm glad you're all ok. xx

[cruiser2]

Weka,

Have seen it on the news. It said you have had a months rainfall in one day. The river near where i live sometimes floods. It does not affect me as
I live up a small hill.
Hope you stay safe and dry.
Please let us know what hpens

[Weka]

Yes, Friday was a month in one day. Since then it’s still raining, the ground is so sodden now that any little bit of rain is causing flooding. My friends street has a slip about to go. Every hour the cracks get deeper.

[Ally]

Gosh Weka. That sounds bad.

Take care. xx

[JanB]

Lovely to see you Weka xx

Have been following you on fb, and it looked really bad.

Keep safe and well, with your lovely family.

And hasn't Oliver grown?

[JoM]

Lovely to see you Weka!

[Kaz]

It's great to see you!

Like Jan I had seen on Facebook that, thankfully, you were ok!

Gloucester is prone to flooding, as we are low-lying in the Vale of Severn, but luckily we're up a gradual hill from the city itself, and didn't flood here in 2007 when lots of the city was underwater!
'
Welcome back!

[Suff]

Great to see you Weka. That sounds really bad for your local community but not so bad for you.

Lucky or prepared? Everyone laughed at me in 1997 when I pulled out my GPS and checked the height above sea level on our house we bought in Scotland. Then I checked the runoff area. They laughed a bit less in 2001 when I did the same in France.

Hope things get better and thinking of your local community. I drove through the Po valley in 2000 after the flooding. It was horrendous and I understand the feeling even from just looking at the shattered faces of people who had lost everything. It was like driving through a war zone.

Stay safe and keep well.

[jenniren]

Lovely to see you Weka. Gosh you have had awful weather, I'm so glad you are safe and well xx