A truck taking out powerlines caused traffic to be diverted and left dozens of home without electricity in Whangarei.
The truck, believed to have been carrying water tanks, took out four powerlines and three telecommunications lines on Kiripaka Rd, near the intersection with Otuhiwai Cres, about 3.30pm yesterday. Northpower workers were quickly on the scene to reconnect the downed lines, with 62 customers without power for varying lengths of time. Power was restored to all by 5.26pm.
Whangarei police Senior Sergeant Darren Sullivan said officers had put in cordons and traffic was be diverted around the lines. Firefighters were also at the scene in case they were needed. The road was reopened to all traffic before 6pm.
Meanwhile, a Northpower spokesman said a lightning strike at 3.19pm yesterday is believed to have been the cause of power being cut to 5700 people between Maungatapere and Dargaville for eight minutes.
The spokesman said there were two outages at Parua Bay, Whangarei Heads and Pataua North yesterday. The first occurred at 1.37pm, leaving 2071 customers without power for 22 minutes. Power was lost again at 2.37pm and fully restored by 4pm.
