Photo: Manawatū StandardIf floods equivalent to the devastating 2004 event hit Manawatū today, it is predicted the outcome would be more extreme "as a result of climate change". New Zealand has always been prone to flooding, but extremes such as Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 and various weather events across the motū, including this week's incoming tropical cyclone, were just "a little taster" of climate change, one of Aotearoa's leading climate scientists Sam Dean said. February was the first time all of Horizons region had been placed into a state of emergency since 2004's indelible flood event, which hit much of the lower North Island. The 2004 flood was understood to be one of those one-in-one-hundred-year events, but Dean said it was likely that within decades these events would become more frequent because of climate change. Climate change predictions and figures were included in Horizons recent flood vulnerability mapping to ensure at-risk townships were prioritised for mitigation methods and coastal townships at risk of sea level rise were properly managed.

Source: Stuff April 09, 2026 09:35 UTC