Cameron Rd was closed near Tauranga Primary School. Photo / Emma Houpt
Cameron Rd was closed near Tauranga Primary School. Photo / Emma Houpt
A state of emergency was declared late Monday night for the entire Bay of Plenty with power outages, fallen trees and road closures affecting the region.
It came as Cyclone Gabrielle pummelled North Island regions overnight, with major flooding and slips cutting off many residents and homes - sparking an urgent plea from authorities for those who are safe to stay home today.
State of emergency
Western Bay of Plenty Mayor James Denyer declared a state of emergency on Monday night as the conditions from Cyclone Gabrielle worsened.
The declaration was signed by Denyer on Monday and aligns with the Bay of Plenty Civil Defence Emergency Management Group, who also declared a state of emergency for the Bay of Plenty region.
Residents in Waihī Beach, Athenree, Maketū and Pukehina were warned to stay on high alert overnight, with Bay of Plenty Civil Defence concerned about coastal inundation - or flooding from the sea - for people living on the coast.
It reminded residents to stay on high alert after warnings were sent earlier saying they may be forced to evacuate.
Orchard Church in Te Puke – 20 MacLoughlin Drive, Te Puke
Katikati Baptist Church – 2 Wedgewood Street, Katikati
Athenree Homestead and Station - 360 Athenree Road, Athenree Gorge
These centres, operated by local community response teams, had the bare essentials.
Devonport Rd closed this morning.
Tauranga
Multiple trees are down across Tauranga, including a large one that has closed Cameron Rd near Tauranga Primary School.
A Devonport Rd resident, who would not be named for privacy concerns as she lived by herself, said she was worried about the pōhutukawa trees that lined the street. The woman said she could hear regular cracking from smaller branches snapping off in the strong gusts, and she did not know much more wind it could take before the larger branches would rip off, which they did.
The woman said she was scared, especially as it was dark and she did not know whether it was safest for her to self-evacuate or stay put. The woman said she saw southbound traffic “driving dangerously”, travelling on the other side of the road to avoid the branches.
The road was carpeted with broken branches and debris.
Trees down on Cameron Rd.
Eastern Bay of Plenty
A mandatory evacuation order was made to around 100 homes in the Whakatāne area around 3pm on Monday after Acting Mayor Lesley Immink announced a state of emergency.
They were all homes in West End Ōhope, up to and including the Beach Point Apartment complex, and about nine homes identified on Harbour Rd, Port Ōhope that were particularly low-lying.
More than 350 properties needed to evacuate in Ōpōtiki due to concerns about coastal surges and inundation.
Bay of Plenty Civil Defence Emergency Management Group public information manager Lisa Glass said there were people in emergency centres and marae overnight.
Glass said loud emergency phone alerts were sent out to coastal communities Waihī, Maketū and Pukehina as staff were “worried” as the tide got “super-high”.
There were also some door-to-door evacuations for properties in little Waihī, as well as evacuations earlier in the day in Whakatāne and Ōpōtiki.
She said the “good news” was that a mass emergency evacuation at high tide was not needed, which was what staff were trying to avoid.
Power outages
On Tuesday morning, 19,502 customers were without power in the Bay of Plenty and Coromandel.
That included 94 properties in Katikati without power, 566 in Athenree and 79 in Waihī, 118 in Whakamārama, 77 in the Lower Kaimai, 307 in Omanawa, 45 in Te Puna, 193 on Matakana Island, 186 in Tauranga, 113 in Bellevue, 765 in Maketū, 156 in Pukehina, 134 in Pongakawa, 52 in Paengaroa, 231 in Oropi and 272 in Te Puke.
The Thames and Coromandel area was hit the hardest, with 15,901 customers affected.
A helicopter was on standby to help Powerco crews assess lines around the Coromandel. However, flights are dependent on conditions easing.
Most of the outages were caused by high winds and trees bringing down lines, and reconnection efforts were hampered on Monday by the ongoing severe weather conditions and access issues which left crews unable to reach fault sites.
Road closures
Due to multiple fallen trees, State Highway 29 between Hanga Rd and Old Kaimai Rd was closed.
State Highway 30 between Rotorua and Kawerau and SH2 between Pukehina and Matatā were closed due to slips and fallen trees this morning.
Due to multiple slips, the Karangahake Gorge closed.
Coromandel hit hard
Beachfront properties in Coromandel towns were swamped by surging seas on Monday night.
Civil Defence authorities said the district’s roading network was “totally compromised”, with vital roads including Buffalo Beach Rd (SH25) underwater or blocked by fallen trees and downed powerlines.
Most of SH25 around the Coromandel Peninsula was closed or only open for essential trips for much of the day with slips, flooding and fallen trees making it unsafe in multiple locations.
