A local state of emergency has been declared for the peninsula as heavy rain has caused significant flooding in the settlement of Little River.
The NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi has stated that the floodwaters have not yet receded enough to reopen the road. Additionally, MetService has extended an orange heavy rain warning for the peninsula until 8pm.
Approximately 260 homes across Banks Peninsula are still without power, with cell phone coverage disrupted for many residents. Of these properties, around 130 are located in areas such as Little River, Okuti Valley, Peraki Bay, Robin Hood Bay, and Te Oka Bay.
Orion has warned that some homes may remain without power until tomorrow.
Telecommunications Forum CEO Paul Brislen mentioned that Two Degrees is now fully operational in the Banks Peninsula region, while One New Zealand and Spark are still experiencing outages.
In case of emergencies, individuals can still reach emergency services using the Two Degrees network. The forum has been collaborating with Civil Defence and the Life Lines group to develop a plan for repairing the damaged fibre line.
Brislen explained that efforts to restore the cell network could take a day or two as they first need to locate and assess the damage before proceeding with repairs.
