Cyclone Gabrielle: 50 Auckland apartments evacuated after fears 30m tower will collapse

People living in about 50 Mt Eden apartments have been ordered to urgently evacuate after high winds from Cyclone Gabrielle have cast fears that a 109-year-old tower could collapse.

Auckland Emergency Management (AEM) tonight established a temporary exclusion zone around the Colonial Ammunition Company Shot Tower on Normandy Rd, prompting the evacuation, or partial evacuation, of several residential and commercial buildings.

AEM controller Mace Ward said the forecast high winds and weather conditions could cause about 30m tower to collapse, damaging surrounding buildings.

The shot tower on Normanby Rd in Mt Eden is under threat of collapse. Photo / George Heard

The evacuation order was made after advice from engineers, who undertook a structural inspection of the tower, and MetService.

”Our building assessment team, alongside welfare officers and the police have been on site alerting residents of around 50 apartments that they need to urgently leave their homes,” Ward said.

“This is an understandably upsetting situation for these people, however, the risk of injury as a result of the tower collapsing, is unacceptable.”

Engineers advised that all buildings within 35m of the tower should be evacuated and reassessed before the surrounding buildings are safe to reoccupy.

Residents in the exclusion zone have been encouraged to seek alternative accommodation with friends and whānau.

Civil Defence Centres are also set up across Auckland to house those forced to evacuate.

Residents across other Auckland suburbs have been evacuated as Cyclone Gabrielle bears down on the upper North Island, bringing extreme weather. Multiple homes are being evacuated in Birkenhead on the North Shore due to falling trees.

Fire and Emergency NZ say the number of 111 calls is increasing in Northland, Auckland and Coromandel, and they are prioritising the response to calls where life and safety is at risk.

Nine North Island regions have now declared states of emergency, with fears that a storm surge tonight - including in Auckland - will lead to more flooding and slips, driven by relentless rain and wind whipped up by Cyclone Gabrielle.