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1988 flood,catalyst for the flood wall.
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DescriptionDavid Stuart.."1988 flood,catalyst for the flood wall,perhaps Westport may have to look at similar solution."Date of Photo1988Map[1] ContributorDavid Stuart
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Location (city or town)GreymouthEvent1988 flood,catalyst for the flood wall.
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Category Tagflood
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Date Created12th August 2021CommentsJamile David Whyte
Or how about the wesport council dredge the river
Terry Snee
Jamile David Whyte yeah, right....they'll hear the calls for it but will not listen....
Steph JF
I remember it well!
Tones Avic Derek
yip exactly, the more silt on the riverbed the higher the water level, geology and science are wondedrful things. that is apparently why we have schools
Heather Newby
Tones Avic Derek i learnt a lot at primary school but very little at high school
George Brown
Unfortunately the kids are no longer taught to count ,write or spell !
Heather Newby
George Brown i had a spelling notebook and I had to learn 10 words a night at primary school.. it set me up well..
Tracy Piner Mahon
Remember that one well!
Cher Murdoch
Tracy Piner Mahon me too
Greg Smith
I remember that
Sandra Arnott
Yes remember this one!
Michael Thoms
Yep remember that day
Anne Milligan
Walls both sides of the Grey river protects town & Cobden. Same needs to be done for the Buller & Orowati rivers.
Spr SimRacer
The dredge was out in Westport today, not sure if it was doing any work, but it was mobile. A little too late don’t ya think…
Ian Haussmann
Came up so fast
Graham Ngatuere
Folks need to be made accountable...
They soon jump up and down for the rates...and sometimes some are over charged in their rates...
In regards to the dredge...
No excuses... people wait until something happens by that time the damage is done...
Dredge and Walls need to Happen NOW...The next one will be TWICE What we have just experienced...
You will all look back on this fact one day...
My Risk Analysis requires No Scientific or engineers report....
Mother Nature blows Climate Change right out the DOOR...
YOU ONLY HAVE TO LOOK AT WHAT HAPPENED HERE TWO AND A HALF WEEKS AGO...
Tell me I'm wrong or were you all Blind....
WAKE Up Folks....
Geoffrey King
That was when Barry Dallas said it was a Grade 3 flood and not to worry.....lol
Karen Peters
Geoffrey King yes he did. I remember that well.
Michelle Campbell
Hard to remember Greymouth without the flood wall now
Kevin Mead
The water went across the railway tracks in front of the station (warehouse now). Blocked Smith St at the Shell shop. Had to park the car on Alexander Terrace and walk home to Cobden. Scary walk over the bridge. Lol
Todd Kenneth Ryan A-Court
We bus in from the gold dredge help sand bag mean day
Nick Reedy
Woke up to water all across the airport and knew it was a big flood,Trish McTaggart
Will never forget that day.
Paul Rennie
Going to have to build walls around the Orowaiti in Westport. ASAP.
Trevor Coleman
Paul Rennie yep and put in pumps to handle the surface water don't u think
Paul Rennie
Trevor Coleman that's for real. Even if they are only portable pumps.
John Kerr
Who would have thought? Flooding has happened before, could someone ring the UN and their scare mongering climate doomsdayers.
Sheryl Iraia
Will never forget that year. Lived in Blaketown. Preston Rd.
Maureen Burnett
The building I worked in got well and truly flooded. We were lucky cos the M.O.W guys did all the cleaning up!
Murray Parfitt
Cars floating down the road at Union Garage. Work there and help clean up. Jonn Burns across the road. What a mess .
Greg Hine
Remember it very well! Exciting times for a 9 year old living in Blaketown!
Steph JF
Greg Hine exciting times for your aunty consumed by floodwaters rising in revvies while working & being carried out the window on your uncle Keith's shoulders to get to dry land. The water level was above my head
Steph JF
Greg Hine too true Greg
Letty Macphedran
When Livia was born
Kyle Webster
Back when the river used to come through town...
Craig Adair
Rebecca Marley
Sue Bousfield
Remember it well.
Darryl Eason
Yes mate I remember it well ,
Donald Nicholas
I remember that well. Two one hundred-year floods in one year.
Pete Lusk
We gonna need a wall right around Wpt because the flooding comes from both the Buller and it’s overflow into Orowaiti R. Council is talking $10m.
Greg Hine
Pete Lusk yep, Greys one is the same, all water courses including estuaries were walled.
Joshua Hunt
I remember dad in the back yard rowing around in a canoe
Jane Clayton
Henry Clarke and Catchment Board did a great job protecting Greymouth from further flooding
Rebecca Marley
I feel sad for my Mum when seeing this Our home on Preston Road was completely inundated, condemned and demolished… the Council denied liability, the Insurer declined the claim due to the failure of the Council’s infrastructure. We not only lost our home, we lost absolutely everything we owned and tragically our beloved pets which drowned… the negligence and financial loss is still painful over 30 years on!
Pete Lusk
Rebecca Marley that’s terrible, we just got flooded but insurance is playing ball, so far it’s been good.
Or how about the wesport council dredge the river
Terry Snee
Jamile David Whyte yeah, right....they'll hear the calls for it but will not listen....
Steph JF
I remember it well!
Tones Avic Derek
yip exactly, the more silt on the riverbed the higher the water level, geology and science are wondedrful things. that is apparently why we have schools
Heather Newby
Tones Avic Derek i learnt a lot at primary school but very little at high school
George Brown
Unfortunately the kids are no longer taught to count ,write or spell !
Heather Newby
George Brown i had a spelling notebook and I had to learn 10 words a night at primary school.. it set me up well..
Tracy Piner Mahon
Remember that one well!
Cher Murdoch
Tracy Piner Mahon me too
Greg Smith
I remember that
Sandra Arnott
Yes remember this one!
Michael Thoms
Yep remember that day
Anne Milligan
Walls both sides of the Grey river protects town & Cobden. Same needs to be done for the Buller & Orowati rivers.
Spr SimRacer
The dredge was out in Westport today, not sure if it was doing any work, but it was mobile. A little too late don’t ya think…
Ian Haussmann
Came up so fast
Graham Ngatuere
Folks need to be made accountable...
They soon jump up and down for the rates...and sometimes some are over charged in their rates...
In regards to the dredge...
No excuses... people wait until something happens by that time the damage is done...
Dredge and Walls need to Happen NOW...The next one will be TWICE What we have just experienced...
You will all look back on this fact one day...
My Risk Analysis requires No Scientific or engineers report....
Mother Nature blows Climate Change right out the DOOR...
YOU ONLY HAVE TO LOOK AT WHAT HAPPENED HERE TWO AND A HALF WEEKS AGO...
Tell me I'm wrong or were you all Blind....
WAKE Up Folks....
Geoffrey King
That was when Barry Dallas said it was a Grade 3 flood and not to worry.....lol
Karen Peters
Geoffrey King yes he did. I remember that well.
Michelle Campbell
Hard to remember Greymouth without the flood wall now
Kevin Mead
The water went across the railway tracks in front of the station (warehouse now). Blocked Smith St at the Shell shop. Had to park the car on Alexander Terrace and walk home to Cobden. Scary walk over the bridge. Lol
Todd Kenneth Ryan A-Court
We bus in from the gold dredge help sand bag mean day
Nick Reedy
Woke up to water all across the airport and knew it was a big flood,Trish McTaggart
Will never forget that day.
Paul Rennie
Going to have to build walls around the Orowaiti in Westport. ASAP.
Trevor Coleman
Paul Rennie yep and put in pumps to handle the surface water don't u think
Paul Rennie
Trevor Coleman that's for real. Even if they are only portable pumps.
John Kerr
Who would have thought? Flooding has happened before, could someone ring the UN and their scare mongering climate doomsdayers.
Sheryl Iraia
Will never forget that year. Lived in Blaketown. Preston Rd.
Maureen Burnett
The building I worked in got well and truly flooded. We were lucky cos the M.O.W guys did all the cleaning up!
Murray Parfitt
Cars floating down the road at Union Garage. Work there and help clean up. Jonn Burns across the road. What a mess .
Greg Hine
Remember it very well! Exciting times for a 9 year old living in Blaketown!
Steph JF
Greg Hine exciting times for your aunty consumed by floodwaters rising in revvies while working & being carried out the window on your uncle Keith's shoulders to get to dry land. The water level was above my head
Steph JF
Greg Hine too true Greg
Letty Macphedran
When Livia was born
Kyle Webster
Back when the river used to come through town...
Craig Adair
Rebecca Marley
Sue Bousfield
Remember it well.
Darryl Eason
Yes mate I remember it well ,
Donald Nicholas
I remember that well. Two one hundred-year floods in one year.
Pete Lusk
We gonna need a wall right around Wpt because the flooding comes from both the Buller and it’s overflow into Orowaiti R. Council is talking $10m.
Greg Hine
Pete Lusk yep, Greys one is the same, all water courses including estuaries were walled.
Joshua Hunt
I remember dad in the back yard rowing around in a canoe
Jane Clayton
Henry Clarke and Catchment Board did a great job protecting Greymouth from further flooding
Rebecca Marley
I feel sad for my Mum when seeing this Our home on Preston Road was completely inundated, condemned and demolished… the Council denied liability, the Insurer declined the claim due to the failure of the Council’s infrastructure. We not only lost our home, we lost absolutely everything we owned and tragically our beloved pets which drowned… the negligence and financial loss is still painful over 30 years on!
Pete Lusk
Rebecca Marley that’s terrible, we just got flooded but insurance is playing ball, so far it’s been good.
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West Coast New Zealand History (14th Aug 2021). 1988 flood,catalyst for the flood wall.. In Website West Coast New Zealand History. Retrieved 9th Apr 2026 12:19, from https://westcoast.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/29780