THE NELSON FLOOD
The phone rang at about 6am on Thursday 15 December with news that a friend’s house on Halifax St East had been ravaged by a landslide and was everyone ok? This was the third day of heavy rain in Nelson. Were we dry? Check! Was everything in order? Check? Was I slightly confused? Check! Was I still asleep? Double check!
I arrived at the scene shortly after to witness another landslide just behind the house. This caused the contents of the garage to pop from the side of the building, with crunching and smashing sound effects as the pressure mounted up in an unearthly manner. Please see photo one in gallery. At that moment I realised this was a big event for Nelson and my concern was that the rain was still coming and hard. Friends arrived to the scene and valuables were removed from the property and stored in various sheds around the city. The owner was left stunned, but remarkably carm and thankful to be okay.
Fortunately the rain did finally stop, but caused huge flooding and devastation to the Nelson and Tasman region, which on last glance has caused 300 people to be evacuated, others have been left stranded and clean up costs are still to be established. As a local photographer and artist I have recorded some of the days events and the clean up operation that followed. If you would like a copy of any of the photographs in this gallery or wish to see more please contact me directly for more information. Thanks for looking.
15 December 2011 - Halifax St East, Nelson
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