Power restored after tornado

Power has been restored to Western Bay homes that managed without electricity for more than two days after a tornado left powerlines and poles a tangled mess.
The Good Friday tornado that started in Kawerau just before 11am ripped its way across the Western Bay leaving a trail of destruction of fallen trees and power poles before dying out near Te Puke.
The final 40 homes to get power last night were at Maketu, Te Puke, Ohinepanea, Otamarakau Valley, Paengaroa, Pongakawa and Pukehina. The power cut affected dairy farmers in the area, with some having to miss three milkings.
Powerco network operations manager Ross Dixon said field staff had put in a sustained effort during the past three days and nights, repairing multiple faults. Mr Dixon said the tornado had damaged many high-voltage sections of the Bay of Plenty network, and several properties would have had power but no hot water.
Snapped poles were replaced and a large number of lines had to be restrung following the extreme weather, which cut power to 3500 consumers in and around Pongakawa and Te Puke on Friday.
Most of the consumers had power back on by Saturday morning.
"We have repaired all the damage to the high-voltage sections of our network and repaired more than 200 low-voltage faults as well," Mr Dixon said.
"Easter holiday-makers are starting to return home and we have received a couple of new calls about low voltage faults, so there may be half a dozen individual properties without power and our field staff are addressing these as the calls come in."
Mr Dixon thanked affected consumer for their patience and support for field staff. "Our staff have had a full-on three days since the tornado struck and have been buoyed by support from members of the public."
Bay of Plenty Federated Farmers president Derek Spratt said some dairy farmers were left without power for 36 hours, forcing them to miss three milkings.
Other farmers had to shift stock to neighbouring properties to use their cowsheds as power trickled back to some farms. He said the missed milkings put pressure on the cows and made them reduce their milk production. I t was lucky the problem came late in the season, when cows were giving less milk and most farmers were looking to dry off their herds late next month.
Mr Spratt said the power cut would have created major issues if it had been in the flush of the season.
Members of Federated Farmers would meet Powerco representatives to discuss quicker ways of getting power restored to farms.
Business owners in Katikati were still mopping up the mess and airing out their properties after water poured into about half a dozen shops on Friday.
Blocked drains on Beach Rd contributed to the flooding.
Most kiwifruit orchards, due to be picked over the next few weeks, missed the brunt of the tornado. However, Pongakawa avocado growers Helen and Andre Hickson had at least a dozen avocado trees and 25 melia trees felled by the tornado.