Cyclone Gabrielle: 10 of the worst tropical cyclones to hit NZ

Ex-tropical cyclones have a disastrous track-record in New Zealand. We look at 10 of the worst to hit us in recent decades.

Giselle, 1968

Ex-tropical cyclone Giselle is largely remembered for creating ferocious storm conditions that sank the inter-island ferry Wāhine in Wellington Harbour with the loss of 51 lives at the time and two more later.

Apart from the ship-related deaths, the storm also killed five people on land.

Giselle, which had formed near the Solomon Islands four days earlier, on April 6, 1968, produced New Zealand’s strongest recorded wind gust, 269km/h, near an exposed ridge top on Wellington’s west coast.

The Wāhine ferry sank amid stormy weather driven by Cyclone Giselle in 1968, with the loss of 51 lives. Photo / File

Wellington was hit hardest, but other areas were badly affected too. Roofs were blown off, windows were smashed and several houses were blown down by the wind. Torrential rain caused flooding in many parts of the North and South islands and thousands of farm animals drowned.

The Insurance Council says claims arising from the loss of the Wāhine cost $173.6 million, in values inflation adjusted to 2017, and those from the storm cost $60.8 million.

Bola, 1988

State Highway 5 after heavy flooding during Cyclone Bola in 1988. Photo / Warren Buckland

Ex-tropical cyclone Bola formed in late February 1988. It slowed down as it moved over the east coast of the North Island in March.

For three days the storm poured out a torrent of rain from Hawke’s Bay to East Cape. The worst affected area was the hill country near Gisborne.

In some places more than 900mm of rain fell in 72 hours and one place was inundated with more than half a metre of rain in a day. Floods damaged houses, roads, railway lines and bridges. Thousands of people were evacuated from their homes.

The hill country was scarred by numerous landslides and farmers lost large sections of pasture and orchards. Insurance claims cost $72m, adjusted to 2017 values.

Fergus, 1996

Workers inspect the remains of the section of State Highway 1 on the Brynderwyn Hills that was closed after a slip following Cyclone Fergus. Photo / NZ Herald

Another ex-tropical cyclone that had brewed up in the Solomons, Fergus, looped around the Pacific before striking New Zealand in late December 1996.

It caused heavy rain, flooding, landslips, high winds and high seas from Northland to Gisborne. Northland and Coromandel were the worst affected areas and one person was killed, in Thames.

The insurance claims cost $2.4m, adjusted to 2017 values.

Drena, 1997

Drena's huge seas pounded the Ports of Auckland container terminal in 1997. Photo / NZ Herald

Just two weeks after Fergus, ex-tropical cyclone Drena hit New Zealand, on January 10, 1997.

It brought high winds and high seas to the upper North Island, which caused damage to property, according to the National Institute for Water and Atmospheric Research (Niwa).

Taranaki and Nelson had high seas, and there was flooding in Canterbury, Otago and Southland.

In Auckland, boats were damaged and cars were blown across lanes. More than 100 people were evacuated from their homes. Roads were closed and thousands were left without power.

Three people died: a man hit by falling power lines and a couple who were swept away in a car.

The insurance claims cost $4.8m, adjusted to 2017 values.

Wilma, 2011

Temporary welfare shelters were set up in Northland to house about 70 people who were evacuated from their homes because of rising floodwaters during 2011's Cyclone Wilma. Photo / Northern Advocate

Ex-tropical cyclone Wilma moved rapidly across the northeastern North Island on January 28 and 29, 2011.

It delivered heavy rain and caused severe flooding and landslips.

Temporary welfare shelters were set up in Northland to house about 70 people who were evacuated from their homes due to rising floodwaters.

The insurance claims cost $21.3m, adjusted to 2017 values.

Debbie, 2017

Flooding in Edgecumbe in 2017. Photo / George Novak

The remnants of Debbie passed over New Zealand from April 3 to 6, driving widespread flash flooding.

In Auckland, a cliff collapsed on to an apartment block at Kohimarama, sending a 10m wide mudslide which smashed windows and burst through doors.

Fifteen people were evacuated from the apartment block, and another six people were evacuated from the neighbouring properties.

In Whanganui, a state of emergency was declared and several hundred residents were asked to leave their homes, and in Kaikōura, a mudslide caused by heavy rain blocked SH1.

But nowhere suffered more than the Bay of Plenty town of Edgecumbe, where a stopbank on the Rangitāiki River burst, washed through streets and forcing the evacuation of almost all of its 1600 residents.

Aerial pictures showed a town underwater, with some locals seen paddling through streets in boats and kayaks.

After floodwaters reached as high as 1.5m in places, about 70 per cent of homes were believed to have suffered flood damage and about 10 houses were thought to be beyond repair.

Insurance claims later mounted to about $91.5m - much of that stemming from damage in Edgecumbe.

Fehi, 2018

Pedestrians battle wild weather delivered with the remnants of Cyclone Fehi in February 2018. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Fehi caused a vast amount of damage as it crossed New Zealand on February 1 and 2, hitting much of the country with heavy winds, big downpours and coastal storm surges.

Hardest-hit was the South Island’s West Coast, where 115 tourists became stranded at Fox Glacier amid heavy rains and high winds.

Roads between Haast and the Fox Hills were then cleared the following day, allowing travel to begin again.

Greymouth was also hit by heavy rain and gales, which led to power cuts, closed schools, and shut shops in the CBD.

The Westland Milk Factory in Hokitika stopped production and dozens of farmers in the region had to dump milk because of power cuts and impassable roads.

In Nelson, Ruby Bay residents had to be evacuated after a storm surge inundated homes.

Gita, 2018

Some of Gita's damage around Riwaka, Nelson. Photo / Tim Cuff

As ex-tropical cyclone Gita tore into New Zealand from February 20 to 22, hundreds of residents across the Nelson and Tasman regions were forced to flee their homes.

After flooding hit Motueka, Tākaka and Maraha and the Riwaka Plains, and numerous slips on Tākaka Hill Rd closed SH60, about 5000 people in Golden Bay and Collingwood were left cut off.

By February 20, the Takaka Fresh Choice had completely run out of bread, milk, and other essentials, so food supplies had to be brought in by barge.

The storm also hit hard in Taranaki, where a tree fell on a water main near the water treatment plant south of New Plymouth, leaving 10,000 homes without water for three days and 26,000 homes on a boil water notice for seven days.

Total insured losses across New Zealand reached NZ$35.6m, with $4.5 million worth of damage in Taranaki alone.

Dovi, 2022

Locals work to dig yacht "Crumbs" free from Manly Beach north of Auckland, after the remains of Cyclone Dovi slammed New Zealand. Photo / Neville Marriner

The cyclone drove widespread heavy rainfall over New Zealand as it hit the country around Valentine’s Day on 2022.

Wellington measured its wettest February day in history – a whopping 152mm fell at Kelburn – at a time anti-vaccine mandate protesters were camped outside Parliament.

Ferries across the Cook Strait were cancelled due to the threat of strong wind gusts and large swells, while a large mudslide pushed a house off a cliff near Melling and SH1 was forced closed.

Elsewhere in the region, a vehicle was trapped beneath a landslide in Plimmerton, while a tree crashed into an Evans Bay home and another landslip toppled a retaining wall into a Wadestown house.

In Carterton, a man had to be rescued from his vehicle when it became trapped in floodwaters.

In the South Island, where hundreds of residents north of Westport were cut off by landslides and infrastructure damage, severe storms contributed to the wettest February in the island’s history.

A preliminary damage estimate was put at nearly $54.8m.

Hale, 2023

Forestry slash on Jeremy Murphy's Tologa Bay sheep and beef farm after ex-tropical Cyclone Hale. Photo / Jeremy Murphy

New Zealand’s first cyclone visit of the 2022-23 season came with Hale, which brought strong winds and huge amounts of rain into Coromandel and other north-eastern regions around January 10.

The cyclone was particularly unwelcome in a region already sodden from inclement New Year weather that severely impacted the region’s roads and infrastructure.

Many tourists and holidaymakers cut short their summer travels and headed home, producing a negative economic knock-on effect for tourist operators and businesses already struggling to rebuild in Covid’s aftermath.

Summer visitors beat a hasty retreat from coastal areas like Thames, Tairua, Pauanui, and Whangamatā after heeding warnings from Civil Defence, local councils and MetService.

Major arterial routes like State Highway 25A linking Kopu with Hikuai became impassable. Waka Kotahi contractors were on the scene and motorists were asked to follow the directions of stretched emergency services.

In the East Coast, one resident was forced to cross a flooded river to get supplies, while slash from local forestry blocks flowed down waterways and turned bridges into dams.

Days later, a 12-year-old boy died at Gisborne’s Waikanae Beach reportedly after falling off a floating log and then being hit by it.