The Day the Rain Stopped

There was a rainbow too faint to photograph, and later a bit of blue sky and an hour of sunshine. The damage is widespread and terrible. Houses ruined, farms wrecked, roads and bridges impassable, vehicles swamped, and so many people suffering loss. The South Island is cut in two where a bridge has slumped in a place where there are no alternative routes, due to washouts and broken bridges.

I didn’t go out to look. There were mainly service vehicles on the road. I didn’t want to get in the way, and anyhow there will be nowhere to stop safely, with soggy road verges.

I went for a walk and saw how close the floodwaters came to me- about 20 metres from my boundary in one place. Today it looked rather peaceful. Muddy water lay in hollows, and a pair of paradise shelducks seemed happy to have ponds in their territory. They can be seen at the halfway line. She has a white head and he is black.