Ex-Tropical Cyclone Tam: Power outages across Northland, 100km/h winds

The worst is yet to come for Northland as Ex-Tropical Cyclone Tam moves towards the north of New Zealand this evening.

MetService reclassified the storm to a subtropical low early this afternoon however warned the system remained powerful and potentially damaging.

The region remains under an orange heavy rain warning until 9pm on Thursday and a strong wind warning from 3pm today until 8pm on Thursday.

Debris on the ground from high tide earlier in the day at Kissing Point in Whangārei. Photo / Denise Piper

Civil Defence met with local emergency services, councils, contractors, lines companies and partner agencies earlier this morning to prepare for response where necessary.

State Highway 1 at Mata near Salmon Rd has been reopened following a blockage this afternoon.

Diversions were in place after a tree blocked both lanes.

Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency initially advised motorists to delay their journey or allow for extra time.

Nearly 1000 homes and businesses are now without power in the Far North, according to Top Energy.

This includes 835 customers in north Hokianga, where power is expected to be restored by 7pm.

There are also smaller outages around Duncan Rd west of Kaitāia and Pokapu Rd, which are expected to be restored by 6pm.

A further fault in Awarua is impacting 87 homes, with a restoration time unknown.

Northpower is now reporting just one outage, with 420 customers in the dark in Paparoa.

Earlier today, up to 1740 customers were without power in Whangārei and Kaipara but crews are restoring the lines.

Flights in and out of Whangārei have been cancelled today due to low visibility.

According to Whangārei District Airport manager Mike Chubb, the first flight out of Whangārei was also cancelled tomorrow.

“I have no reason to believe tomorrow is going to be any better. It’s just too unreliable.

It might be possible to get a plane in from time to time, but a bit hit and miss so I think better to just call it.”

He said Air New Zealand would communicate with passengers as best they could and would resume operations if conditions improved.

Winds have already reached 100km/h in exposed places across the region and in the past 12 hours, about 20mm of rain has fallen.

Makgabutlane said while there may be periods of calm today, the weather would ramp up again this afternoon.

The gusts proved strong earlier today when the southbound lane on State Highway 1 near Uretiti was blocked after winds toppled a tree.

A Fire and Emergency spokesperson said they were called to the scene just after 11am and were directing traffic with help from police while crews tackled the tree with a chainsaw.

There was also trouble in Northland waters over the past 24 hours, according to Northland Harbourmaster Jim Lyle.

A 12m concrete yacht sank at Totara North. However, it was not considered a navigational hazard and there was nothing that could be done until the storm had passed, he said.

Whangaroa Coastguard president Chris Wilkins believed the vessel was one of the “nearly” abandoned ones.

A likely abandoned concrete yacht sunk at Totara North in shallow water. Photo / Harlan Cox

“It is in shallow water with most of its mast showing.”

Wilkins said the Whangaroa Coastguard had not received any callouts yet.

“The only advice for people on vessels is to find a well-sheltered anchorage. of which there are plenty in Whangaroa, and hunker down for the night.”

Meanwhile, Lyle said another report had come through of a small yacht running aground on mud at the side of the Hātea River on Tuesday evening.

Northland Regional Council data shows the heaviest rainfall thus far was in the hills north of Whangārei, with Glenbervie Forest recording 21mm between 6am and 7am.

The largest concentration of rain was in eastern areas of the region around the Bay of Islands and Whangārei.

The worst of the rain is expected to lash western areas this evening.

Makgabutlane said people should watch out for wind speeds ramping up late this afternoon and into the evening.

Whangārei Mayor Vince Cocurullo urged residents to remain vigilant.

Crews at the top of the Brynderwyn Hills were monitoring slips or damage caused in the storm so they could be rectified immediately, he said.

More crews were stationed around the community, ready to help.

Swell building at Ocean Beach in Whangārei Heads this morning as Cyclone Tam approaches. Photo / Karina Cooper

He was liaising with emergency management staff this morning for updates and encouraged people to report damage to the council immediately.

Northland Waste have asked that only blue bins, used for glass recycling, and well-secured rubbish bags are put out for collection.

There is no collection on Good Friday and rubbish that would usually fall on that day will be picked up on Saturday instead.

Meanwhile, Far North District Council have road crews investigating unconfirmed reports of slips and trees blocking roads.

The Pou Herenga Tai – Twin Coast Cycle Trail has shut for the day because of weather.

There was some disruption to traffic earlier this morning as Fire and Emergency crews attended a large tree branch blocking a road in Kensington, Whangārei.

Crews arrived at 8am and had cleared the road by 8.20am. No one was injured.

Brodie Stone covers crime and emergency for the Northern Advocate. She has spent most of her life in Whangārei and is passionate about delving into issues that matter to Northlanders and beyond.