Threat of flooding sees Whangārei CBD businesses close early

North Haven Hospice Shop worker Clint Baker and other volunteers prepare for possible flooding, using plastic bags and tape. Photo / Michael Cunningham

After news broke that Northland had entered a seven-day state of emergency, a flurry of Whangārei stores closed shop and barricaded their businesses against the incoming weather.

For most, it was a precautionary measure to keep staff and stock safe, but it was also clear customers were few far and between as the weather descended.

Owner of Paper Plus in Whangārei, Barry Wienand, told the Advocate he chose to shut early after the announcement because “it’s better to be safe than sorry”.

“We want the staff to get home safe,” he said. “You can replace the stock, you can replace the store, but you can’t replace the people.”

Barry Wienand, owner of Paper Plus in Whangārei closes early to get his staff home safe. Photo / Michael Cunningham

He said you can never be too cautious - an echo of the advice Civil Defence Northland has been pedalling in recent days as they asked Northlanders not to take weather warnings lightly.

“[...] and nobody is in town anyway, everybody’s heading to higher ground,” Wienand said.

“It’s not always great to shut the doors, there’s no revenue as an owner, but as I say, this [stock] can all be replaced - it’s people that we worry about.”

Wienand said the shop next door had been impacted by flooding in the past, but Paper Plus had been lucky due to a good drainage system at the back of their shop.

Cameron Street Mall was quiet in the wake of Tuesday's announcement, with many businesses already shut. Photo / Michael Cunningham

The same can’t be said for the North Haven Hospice Shop. Volunteers were trying to seal the door to keep any potential floodwaters at bay.

The shop is no stranger to the damage severe weather can cause, as it was surprised by a flood in 2020 which caused it to close for a week.

Volunteer Clint Baker told the Advocate he was “not really surprised” at the announcement, and immediately took a cautious approach.

“I’m just hoping everyone’s gonna be okay,” he said

“We’re just doing the best we can to help make sure that if something does go wrong, we’ll minimise the damage.”

“Civil Defence has advised everybody to get dry and stay home if we can, so we’re trying to get all out volunteers to go home as quickly as they can to keep everyone safe,” said Baker.