Sami-Jade Vanbuskirk and her mother Nancy Summers were told to pack one bag each and leave the flat above the museum's Lighthouse Function Centre early yesterday morning. Museum manager Marie Saunders said she asked the women to leave because the wind had pried some flashing loose above the entrance to the building. She also notified the Dargaville Fire Brigade who went there to check the roof.
The museum had a responsibility to ensure the tenants' safety, Ms Saunders said.
Ms Vanbuskirk described the need to evacuate from the building and a firefighter's warning of the potential danger of flying roofing material as frightening. The museum has relocated the pair to a nearby hotel until the roof is fixed.
Parts of Dargaville were in danger of flooding while elsewhere in town the taps ran dry. A few streets were without tap water for several hours yesterdayafter a stormwater pump failed near the corner of Carrington and Churchill Sts.
Meanwhile, pressure on the floodgates along the Northern Wairoa River threatened to deluge Dargaville yesterday afternoon when the king high tide came upriver. But there was only slight spillage over the embankment along the town's river frontage after the meeting of the tide and run-off, nothing like floods in previous years which had required major sandbagging.
''It was only surface water and it didn't reach any buildings or the main street,'' Kaipara District Council spokesman Ben Hope said.
The heaviest rain, from Northland Regional Council figures, fell at Waimamaku, 75km north west of Dargaville, where 97.5mm was recorded in the 24 hours to 4pm yesterday.Northland Civil Defence spokesman Murray Soljak said no major emergencies were reported despite heavy rain and strong winds in places.
Far North Civil Defence co-ordinator Alastair Wells said the main issue was downed trees blocking roads and bringing down powerlines. The Fire Service had about 40 calls across Northland on Thursday night to clear fallen trees. Despite the heavy rain and king tide no significant flooding or road closures had been reported.
Northland harbourmaster Jim Lyle said several boats had broken their moorings and been washed up around the Bay of Islands, but overall the damage inflicted by the storm was ''not too bad''.
Top Energy spokeswoman Philippa White said about 2000 households around the Far North were without power overnight Thursday/yesterday.
Repairs could take until late yesterday. Areas without power included the area between Hukerenui and Maromaku, Pakaraka, Rawene, Kohukohu and Horeke, Mangamuka, the south side of Whangaroa Harbour, Totara North and Herekino. Northpower recorded outages in Baylys Beach, Glinks Gully, Mahuta, Omamari, Redhill, Ararua, Porter Rd, Poyner Rd, Kai Iwi, Mamaranui, Maropiu Settlement Rd, Waihue.
