Hawke's Bay floods: Ocean Beach road still closed | Hawkes Bay News | Local News in Hawkes Bay

Road access to Ocean Beach is still closed after slips following last week's storm.

The buildup of silt from the flooding and slips made the surface too slippery for vehicles, especially when damp from overnight dew.

Residents who remained at Ocean Beach after the flooding had asked the council to keep the road closed until it was completely safe.

The Hastings District Council said nine houses were red-stickered at Ocean Beach, most of them holiday homes which were not occupied.

In Waimarama, the last 500 metres of Te Apiti Rd remains closed to two-wheel-drive vehicles.

A council-organised "Magpie Army" will descend on Waimarama this weekend to help with the clean-up.

So far 63 people have registered for both tomorrow and Sunday.

Red-stickered properties at Waimarama were re-assessed yesterday, with official decisions by inspectors being reported to the council today.

Telecommunications in some communities had also been affected by the wet weather - but not just to those on the coast.

Chorus's Taradale customers reported problems with their phone lines last week, and a spokesman said a cable in the area was damaged by the heavy rain. A temporary repair should have restored services to all 80 customers affected.

However, about 250 customers elsewhere remained without functioning phone lines.

"Chorus is working as quickly as possible to get customers back online, and have brought in 17 additional technicians into the area to help with ongoing restoration work," it said.

In Central Hawke's Bay, Civil Defence controller Te Aroha Cook said when the final permits were issued to Pourerere Beach residents today, the region would officially be in "recovery mode".

Assessments of the badly damaged properties were completed yesterday and residents were allowed to enter with council permission, signalling the end of the "response mode".

"No other changes have been made in terms of roads opening, but come Monday we will have re-assessed in terms of roads that may reopen or cordons that have moved," she said.

The MetService forecast for this weekend is for rain tomorrow morning with a possibility of turning heavy in the afternoon and easing by the evening, apart from a few showers in the western ranges.

A north-easterly wind will also be fresh about the coast, easing from the evening and turning north-westerly.

On Sunday, weather will be fine apart from a few showers about the western ranges and a gusty north-easterly.