Andreas Lechtenborger shows the effects of wild weather on his home in Titirangi beach settlement. Video / Brett Phibbs
Thousands of Aucklanders remain without power almost a week after Cyclone Gabrielle passed through the city.
Residents in disconnected areas were quick to say their issues were nothing compared to the plight of the East Coast and Hawke’s Bay.
But they told the Herald they would appreciate better communication from lines company Vector regarding when they can expect the lights to be back on.
As of Saturday, about 5500 homes and businesses remained without power in Auckland, Vector said. Power had been restored to more than 36,500 homes since Tuesday afternoon, the lines company said in a statement.
Among the residents on at least their fifth day without power is Titirangi writer Chris Lane, whose property is one of a stretch of homes on Paturoa Rd east of Woontons Ln without electricity.
The exact cause of the fault in the underground lines remains unclear and residents said they have yet to see a Vector technician.
The lines company said on its website the zone of Auckland encompassing Titirangi, the southern Waitākere Ranges, Whatipu and Piha was expected to take up to a week to restore.
“However, we are still assessing the damage in some places, so this might be longer,” the website said.
Lane understood Vector was stretched repairing downed lines amid the storm chaos. But he said residents would have liked a bit more communication and feels “forgotten”.
“We haven’t had anybody from Vector appear, at all, on this road,” he said. “And even if there’s another reason like we’re getting our power from miles away, they could have told us.”
Titirangi man Chris Lane is one of several Paturoa Rd residents who remain without power nearly a week after Cyclone Gabrielle hit Auckland. The footpath and a large chunk of the road near his property have fallen away. Photo / Sylvie Whinray
Lane and his wife are making do cooking on the barbecue but most of the contents of their freezer and fridge are ruined.
They have been trying to log their faults online but every day the Vector website claims there is no outage in their street - something the Herald has been told has happened elsewhere in the city.
The Vector outages map shows the homes without power are mainly in the west and north of Auckland.
In a statement, Vector said it understood customers’ frustration at not being able to access information about their outage.
“We have around 1000 people working on repairing the network, and we will continue this effort to get the power back on for all Aucklanders as quickly and safely as we can.”
A large slip on Paturoa Rd, Titirangi, that claimed a spa pool and left a house much closer to the edge of a new cliff. Photo / Sylvie Whinray
“We are still working through assessments in all areas where damage has occurred and power remains out. In many cases, the first time we were able to access sites was last Wednesday or later due to safety reasons and road or site access.
“As these assessments are completed, we will communicate directly with affected homes and businesses and provide individual restoration times. Some communities will receive these times sooner than others.”
Vector encouraged customers to log their outages on its outage centre if they were not shown on its map.
Up the road in Muriwai, police and traffic controllers have established roadblocks - in one case with concrete barricades - and are barring entry to everyone except locals at both roads to the settlement from Oaia Rd.
The access tracks down from the road are also closed.
Police stop traffic at a roadblock on Waitea Rd, Muriwai Beach. Roads to Auckland's west coast beaches have been closed to the public after slips and damage from Cyclone Gabrielle. Photo / Sylvie Whinray
There is understood to be widespread fear of looting of evacuated houses in the seaside community.
On Saturday a significant number of surfers were turned away from the roadblocks. Access tracks to the gannet colony are also damaged.
