Flooding in Whitianga as high tide approaches. Video / Mike Scott
“Dangerous” river conditions and “significant” flooding were expected overnight in Hawke’s Bay as heavy rain and strong winds from Cyclone Gabrielle pelted northern and mountainous parts of the region into the evening.
By 9pm the number of homes without power in Napier and Hastings had grown to 950, while two of the region’s three main arterial routes - SH2 between Napier and Wairoa, and SH5 between Napier and Taupō were closed for the night.
HB Civil Defence Emergency Management, along with local council response teams and emergency services around Hawke’s Bay, were keeping a close eye on the developing situation.
“At the moment there is no need for residents to evacuate - those who should move have already been contacted – however, if you feel concerned, please don’t hesitate to voluntarily self-evacuate to whānau and friends.”
Civil Defence Centres were on standby and prepared to open if needed.
State Highway 5 was closed at Eskdale near Napier. Photo Paul Taylor
“The best thing you can do to protect yourself and your whānau is practice your emergency plan and make sure you have a grab bag prepared with anything you need.
“If evacuation is required overnight, teams will be deployed to advise residents. And if you are told to evacuate, please follow the evacuation advice you are given at the time.”
Napier City Council said at 9pm Cyclone Gabrielle was making itself known but “we’re confident we have got this under control”.
“Our systems and networks are handling the weather. Pumps are working as they should. We’ve got a team working through the night keeping a close eye on what our community needs, and where there may be issues.”
THE FORECAST
MetService at 3.15pm upgraded the orange warning of heavy rain to its highest level of red due to the feared impacts of the rain, which was scheduled to last until about 7am Tuesday.
People were should expect 250 to 350 mm of rain in the ranges and the eastern hills south of Napier, possibly up to 400mm in the Ruahine Range, and 100 to 150 mm elsewhere.
“This rain is expected to cause dangerous river conditions and significant flooding. Slips and floodwaters are likely to disrupt travel, making some roads impassable and possibly isolating communities,” MetService said in a statement.
A tree down on State Highway 2 near Bay View on Monday. Photo / Paul Taylor
There were likely to be peak intensities of 10 to 20 millimetres per hour in general and 25 to 40mm/h about the ranges overnight on Monday.
The heavy rain took some time to arrive on Monday - but by 6pm there were reports of flooding in rural areas.
The heaviest rainfalls for the day in the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council monitoring network were at Pukeorapa near Nuhaka (120mm), north of Bay View at Kaiwaka (100mm), in the Kaweka Ranges at Te Koau (122mm) and Ngahere (96.5mm), and northwest of Napier at Glengarry (94.5mm).
Further south, the highest was at Waipoapoa in Southern Hawke’s Bay (86mm). In the Napier CBD there had been 32mm, and in the Hastings area there had been 23mm at Bridge Pa and 16mm at Keirunga, Havelock North.
About 650 homes were at 5pm without power across Napier and Hastings District, lines company Unison’s website said.
There were four outages in Napier, including one near the Maraenui Golf Club which had knocked out power to 400.
Earlier a tree branch fell over Karamu Rd South, from Hastings Boys’ High School grounds, which required contractors to be sent to the scene. About 84 Unison customers lost power in Karamu Rd South, Garnett St, Murdoch Rd West and Railway Rd after lines came down at 3.08pm.
Unison was warning rural customers in Hawke’s Bay that they could be without power for days after Cyclone Gabrielle blows through.
The company was advising communities to be well-stocked with gas and torch batteries as required and have ways to keep warm.
“Unfortunately it appears that it is going to have a significant impact on our regions and potentially our overhead networks, particularly in those rural and hilly areas,” Danny Gough, Unison relationship manager, said.
An unplanned power outage of 116 homes near SH2, Waikare Rd, Glenbrook Rd and Putorino Rd had yet to be restored five hours after the 11.45am cut.
Gough said a large tree had fallen in a paddock and hit lines near Ridgemount Rd.
About 56 Unison customers remained without power around Waikoau Rd, Kaiwaka Rd, Darkys Spur Rd, Waipunga Rd and Mokamoka Rd. Unison relationship manager Danny Gough said they hoped to have power restored by that evening.
Sea conditions at Te Awanga, Hawke's Bay. Photo / Warren Buckland
A strong wind warning was in place from 6pm on Monday to noon on Tuesday, with sometimes severe east to southeast gusts reaching 120 km/h in exposed places.
The Tararua District and Wairarapa can expect heavy rain from 11pm Monday to 3pm Tuesday, with up to 180mm about the ranges and 120mm in lower-lying areas. Surface flooding and slips were also possible.
There was also a strong wind warning with gusts of up to 120km/h in exposed places in Tararua.
The national forecaster’s barbecue forecast consisted of just two words: ‘Yeah, nah’.
‘Only flush if you must’
The Hastings District Council was on Monday urging people to “give the shower a miss” and “only flush if you must”.
The council wrote on Facebook that it needed people to reduce their wastewater usage until Tuesday morning.
“We are expecting Hastings’ wastewater and stormwater networks to come under pressure so please reduce the amount of water going down the drain today through to tomorrow morning ... don’t do the dishes or put a load of washing on.”
Roads and travel advice
SH5 Napier to Taupo is closed. Waka Kotahi issued a statement advising people not to travel “unless absolutely necessary”.
High rainfall could cause the full closure of Te Reinga Bridge near Wairoa to vehicles and pedestrians.
The bridge was only open to light vehicles with a three-tonne limit on Monday.
Wairoa District Council chief executive Kitea Tipuna said it would continue to monitor river levels and the other trigger points for the bridge, which is under temporary repairs.
“Public safety is paramount, and we thank the community for their ongoing patience.”
Waka Kotahi was this afternoon highlighting Cyclone Gabrielle’s path further south by issuing warnings for rain and strong winds on Hawke’s Bay-Manawatu links Saddle Road (from Woodville) and Pahiatua Track.
Rail lines from Napier, Taranaki and Palmerston North down to Waikanae will be closing tonight, as heavy rain and high winds push south, it says.
Northern Hawke’s Bay
Farmers hit by devastating repeated heavy rain in Northern Hawke’s Bay almost a year ago, and in some cases still waiting to do repairs in a summer that never came, were bracing themselves for the impact of Cyclone Gabrielle.
Particularly hard-hit were residents of Ruakituri Valley, off Tiniroto Rd, northwest of Wairoa, where the main access bridge had to be anchored by heavy machinery to secure the structure after the shifting of the piles beneath.
Initially, the bridge was restricted to foot traffic only, with some families having vehicles parked at either end to facilitate easier movement to and from Wairoa and Gisborne, rather than using the much longer and largely unsuitable longer detour.
While permanent repairs were expected to be completed by mid-year, farmer Nukuhia Hadfield said residents had been told last week that could now be the end of the year - depending on the weather, including the threat from the current cyclone.
She said mid-afternoon on Monday that while it was raining it was “just another wet day” by comparison with the weather almost 12 months ago, when rainfalls over 1000mm were reported on some properties.
Farmland was devastated on some properties, with farmers unable to get machinery in and out for repairs, because of the continuously sodden conditions, with some areas remaining untouched for the whole year, she said.
Many schools closed
All Wairoa district schools and Napier high schools had decided to stay closed on Monday and Tuesday out of “an abundance of caution”, and most Hawke’s Bay schools were likely to shut on Tuesday.
Napier Boys’ High School principal Jarred Williams sent an email to parents on Sunday evening saying it was due to the unsafe conditions Cyclone Gabrielle could cause.
“We are aware it is an unpredictable situation but we are acting out of an abundance of caution and would rather make an overcautious decision than have students, staff and parents in unsafe conditions,” Williams said.
The Wairoa District Council made an update on its Facebook page on Sunday evening that said it had received notification of a district-wide decision to close schools on Monday and Tuesday, made in consultation with the Ministry of Education.
Many Napier primary schools and Hastings and Havelock North schools made the decision to open on Monday.
EIT Te Pukenga was open on Monday, but some individual classes were cancelled. Its campus is set to shut on Tuesday, with a plan to reopen on Wednesday.
School events were also taking a hammering with Weet-Bix Tryathlon organisers announcing on Sunday night that Wednesday’s Hastings event was off because it was not possible to set it up safely.
The waves starting to build on the Hawke's Bay coast. Photo / Warren Buckland
Napier City Council and Hastings District Council kerbside rubbish and recycling Tuesday collections have been postponed due to the weather.
Wheelie bins and crates usually collected on Tuesday 14 February will instead be picked up on Saturday 18 February.
The councils ask that residents keep crates out all day on Saturday as services may be running slightly slower than usual, and to have them kerbside by 7am.
Greg Patterson from MJ Barbershop on Emerson Street said that it was “very quiet” in the central business district on Monday.
“You’d think there was a lockdown.”
The Port of Napier was a desolate place, with all bigger ships vacating the berths and headed to sea amid a port closure pending the storm which was gathering pace in Hawke’s Bay and throughout the rest of the North Island.
The only vessel left in port was 19-metre fishing vessel the San Aramand, which because of its smaller size was able to be berthed on Wharf 3 to wait out the weather.
Napier Port Co communications manager Chris Lonergan said early afternoon the Container Terminal receival and delivery, Thames Street Depots 1 and 2 and Port Pack warehouse remained “open and operating as usual,” but operations would stop if winds hit 40 knots.
”We may stagger the entry of trucks through the gates depending on wind conditions to in order to minimise any risk from gusts,” he said.
It was expected to peak around midnight, and conditions on the breakwater, sheds and roadway would be monitored closely.
About 20 ships, including three cruise lines, had been due this week, but none will now berth before Thursday.
The Napier City Council was also taking precautions on its waterfront, with motorhome and camper van entry to a purposed freedom camping area at the southern end of Marine Parade closed.
Evers-Swindell Reserve, Haumoana Domain and all regional parks in Hawke’s Bay were also closed on Monday.
Tararua District Council closed Ferry Reserve, Mangatainoka Reserve and Marima Domain, with campers in those areas advised to move to Woodville Campground.
Six-metre swells are also forecast to hit parts of Hawke’s Bay tonight as Cyclone Gabrielle moves through.
MetService issued a storm warning for the coast of most of the North Island on Monday morning, including Hawke’s Bay from Portland Island to Cape Kidnappers.
The update said the easterly swell will rise from three metres to four and a half metres on Monday afternoon, and reach six metres on Monday night.
High tide in Napier is forecast for Tuesday at 12.21am. Rain was falling across Hawke’s Bay and waves were growing on the Cape Coast and north of Napier, though high tide arrived at noon without significant damage.
MetService said the high seas will begin to ease on Tuesday morning and the six-metre easterly swell will gradually ease to three metres by late in the day.
At Clifton Motor Camp at roughly 2pm they were still “just ticking along”.
One guest had been moved from a tent to a cabin, others - who were part of the crew for the weekend’s Outfield Festival - were sleeping in their vehicles and the other “stalwarts’' have alternative power sources available to them, said a spokesperson for the motor camp.
”It’s just like a regular storm at the moment. Even though it’s raining it’s only steady, it’s not bucketing down and there’s not a lot of wind,” said the spokesperson, who preferred not to be identified by name.
”We’ve got four lots of people in the camp and I’ve had messages from them that they’re happy to stay where they are. If we lose power, though, we’ll have to close down. That’s a health and safety issue.”
Hawke's Bay is now under a red severe weather warning. Photo / MetService
Down the coast at Haumoana, resident and chairman of the Walking on Water advocacy group, Keith Newman was advising people to be “overly cautious” about the forecast wild weather and high tides.
He suggested people should look at options other than staying on the coast tonight, with those who remain needing to be “aware”.
”If that sound of the ocean gets pretty threatening, I think we need to have alternatives up our sleeves,” Newman said. Moving to higher ground was the safest option, he added.
Hawke’s Bay Coastguard’s Henry van Tuel said at 3pm the tides would be higher than expected due to the low air pressure pulling the water up higher than usual.
“Since last night the swell has grown by a metre and is currently 2.7m and the period has reduced to 9 seconds, basically it is big now and it will be getting bigger and it is really close together.”
