Hale-lujah: Ex-tropical cyclone brings biblical downpours and wind to the Coromandel

Farmland on the Hauraki Plains was saturated by rain brought by ex-tropical Cyclone Hale.

The Coromandel was directly in the crosshairs of Hale, the summer season’s first tropical cyclone (latterly downgraded to an ex-cyclone) that made landfall on the peninsula on January 10, bringing with it strong winds, and huge amounts of rain and associated flooding that cut many areas off from residents.

The cyclone was particularly unwelcome in a region already sodden from inclement New Year weather that severely impacted the region’s roads and infrastructure. Many tourists and holidaymakers cut short their summer travels and headed home, producing a negative economic knock-on effect for tourist operators and businesses already struggling to rebuild in Covid’s aftermath.

Summer visitors beat a hasty retreat from coastal areas like Thames, Tairua, Pauanui, and Whangamata after heeding warnings from Civil Defence, local councils and MetService.

Major arterial routes like State Highway 25A linking Kopu with Hikuai became impassable. Waka Kotahi contractors were on the scene and motorists were asked to follow the directions of stretched emergency services.

In a release, Thames Coromandel District Council’s (TCDC) emergency management team had been advised that 400mm of rain was forecast to fall through to 10pm on January 10, making ex-Cyclone Hale an “extremely damaging storm event”.

Thames was drenched and battered by the winds of ex-Cyclone Hale on January 10.

There were reports of power outages in Kōpū, Ōpoutere, Whenuakite, Hot Water Beach, Whitianga, Whangamata and Waiau, with hundreds of households affected. Powerco staff worked hard during the most severe weather to restore connections.

TCDC asked Coromandel Town residents to conserve water for a 48-hour period due to increased sediment load in the water supply caused by flooding. The council explained the water treatment plant must process at a much slower rate due to the additional sediment or even be shut off. TCDC also reported that the sheer weight of rain had left catchments overwhelmed, and advised residents to “expect widespread surface flooding, slips, storm surge, and road closures to continue”.

Civil Defence controller for the Coromandel region, Garry Towler, said: “The message to everyone is stay off the roads and beaches for your own safety — it’s dangerous.”

Further inland, the Hauraki Plains experienced severe flooding to grazing pasture that forced many farmers to move stock to higher ground. The Kaiaua Fire Brigade warned locals, and those on holiday to be prepared as the storm might still “pack a punch to our area”.

As HC Post went to print, the Mercury Bay Boating Club in Whitianga, famed for launching New Zealand’s first bid for the America’s Cup, was under erosion threat due to rising tide after a storm surge washed away a part of its waterfront boundary.

Mercury Bay Boating Club Commodore Jonathan Kline told the NZ Herald the situation to save the building was “dire” as the Whitianga coastal property was severely compromised by the effect of stormy seas over the past fortnight. Nearly 400 homes in the town were reported as being without power, and lawns and reserves close to the sea were disappearing under growing pools of floodwater.

Unfortunately for weather-weary residents, the worst may not be over yet for the Coromandel and surrounding districts with MetService also monitoring whether New Zealand will be hit by another cyclone next week. Forecasting models have predicted another sub-tropical storm to form over the coming weekend and possibly move towards the east of the North Island.