Hundreds Expected To Be Cut Off For Days After Storm Washes Out Vital Bridge
by RNZ · SCOOP28 June 2026, 2:55pm
Hundreds of people cut off by this week's storm will likely be isolated for several days, some without power, and authorities are considering getting food and supplies through by boat or by air.
On Sunday river levels remained high and surface flooding was still affecting areas across the district, with many roads still closed, the South Wairarapa District Council (SWDC) council said. Access into and out of Martinborough was limited, the Ponatahi bridge was expected to remain closed until at least Monday afternoon, and SH53 bridges at Waihenga and were still closed.
All Wairarapa communities south of the Tūranganui Bridge near Lake Ferry were cut off when it was washed out by flood waters. About 460 homes are affected, including in Ngāwi, Lake Ferry, Whāngaimoana and Cape Palliser.
The communities who relied on the lifeline Tūranganui Bridge were also cut off by damage to it in February, when locals formed human chains to pass food across the river.
On Sunday, work had begun on repairs to it, but SWDC asked that people stay away from the bridge and the areas surrounding it, as: "the site remains unstable and could place both the public and workers at risk".
The Wairarapa Emergency Operations Centre was still operating, and working on welfare and assistance.
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South Wairarapa Mayor Dame Fran Wilde said the extent of the damage was far worse than expected, and the trajectory of the storm had been different from forecasts.
"It is going to be a little bit of time before we open the Tūranganui bridge," she said. "It won't be before the middle of the week, I understand. And we're looking at how we can get urgent supplies and relief through to people in the meantime, and seeing how else we might get there."
Power had been restored to most of Wairarapa, but about 180 properties remained without electricity.
Lines company Powerco said those without power included people in the cut off areas: "Due to these access issues our crews can't currently reach parts of the electricity network to make repairs. They're working to regain access as quickly as possible."
Delivering food to people who need it by air or by boat were being considered, the council said.
Emergency Management duty controller Sam Bishop said the Civil Defence focus would be on how to support the isolated communities.
"We do know that the South Wairarapa communities are supporting each other quite actively, especially using back roads through farms to support their affected community members. But we are actively looking at how we support them."
During the storm, people in Wairarapa were asked to stay off the roads and people in flood-prone areas or hilly places vulnerable to slips were told to consider evacuating.
Firefighters in the wider Wellington Region, which includes Wairarapa, were kept busy responding to calls for help resulting from the strong winds and heavy rain.
While the storm did significant damage to the electricity network, with power outages to thousands, in Wellington, Waikato, Coromandel Peninsula, Bay of Plenty, Taranaki, Whanganui and Manawatū.
Wilde said South Wairarapa did not declare a State of Emergency as there was no threat to life.
Repeated weather events, which appear to be hitting once every eight weeks, had left the region struggling to respond, Wilde said.
"The same bridges and roads that we've repaired earlier this year have been washed out again, so I'm kind of at my wits end, because we're a tiny population of 12,000 and we can't afford to keep on doing these repairs."
On Saturday, SWDC said it was likely not all damage to roads and infrastructure had been identified, and warned people in the area to be cautious, particularly of slips: "The ground remains heavily saturated, and there is a significant amount of debris on roads across the district - these will all take time to clear."
The council was updating road closure information on their website, and asked for people to call to report road and infrastructure damage.
Temperatures below freezing in South Island
Meanwhile, MetService said icy temperatures aren't yet over with parts of the South Island plummeting to well below zero overnight.
Lake Pukaki dropped to -7C overnight, while Clyde and Alexandra both dropped below -6C.
Meteorologist Michael Pawley said more cold temperatures are expected over the next couple of nights with places like Twizel expected to drop to between -3C and -4C.
He said while the current temperatures are slightly below the average for this time of year, they're not unexpected.