Extreme storm leaves once-in-40yr trail of devastation

By STUART DYE and NZPA

New Zealand was last night sorting through the mayhem from a brutal storm, the like of which is seen in summer only once every 40 years.

Thousands of people were without power, roads and schools were closed, towns evacuated, air and ferry services disrupted, crops flooded, trees felled and buildings damaged.

Scientists say the weather system that caused the gales and rain was different to that behind the "weather bomb" which hit the Coromandel nearly two years ago."It is truly, truly abnormal," said MetService ambassador Bob McDavitt.

First estimates from the Insurance Council yesterday afternoon put the cost of fixing the mess at $50 million.

The storm caused floods in the Hutt Valley, north of Wellington and in the Rangitikei district.

A Rangitikei District Council spokesman said the damage was probably the worst in 25 years.

The Rangitikei floods forced the evacuation of about 500 people in Feilding, Marton and Tangimoana.

Local officials, who declared a state of emergency, said the floods were at a level that occurred only once every 50 to 100 years.

In the Hutt Valley, about 150mm of rain fell in the 24 hours to 8am yesterday, causing the Waiwhetu Stream to break its banks and forcing the evacuation of about 100 people from 50 homes.

The Government last night said it would give $20,000 each to the Manawatu and Rangitikei mayoral relief funds.

One 35-year-old man was confirmed dead after he went fishing alone on Saturday night off Eastbourne in Lower Hutt, while another was presumed drowned as a result of the storm.

An Auckland woman was also seriously injured when a felled tree crashed through the roof of her North Shore home, pinning her to her bed.

The body of the 35-year-old Petone man was found below the sea wall of Days Bay at Eastbourne in Lower Hutt at 10am on Monday, police said.

The man was reported missing after he went fishing alone in a 2.4m plywood dinghy on Saturday night in bad weather that hit the Hutt Valley.

Lower Hutt police said his name would be released when family had been notified. A post-mortem examination was to be carried out tomorrow.

The other missing man disappeared when the launch he was on sank last night in high winds and huge swells near the entrance to the Marlborough Sounds.

The storm, which caused winds of more than 160km/h in some areas, cut power to about 6500 people in the lower North Island. Hundreds of homes in West Auckland were also without power from Sunday evening.

The weather closed highways and several schools in the lower North Island. Interisland ferry crossings were cancelled, and aircraft flights were disrupted in some areas.

Insurance Council chief executive Chris Ryan said staff estimated damage to the lower half of the North Island from the floods at up to $50 million. Flood damage claims were coming into insurance companies from the Wellington region, particularly the central city and Lower Hutt.

Flooding claims throughout the North Island were also high. The damage could match that of the 1976 Wellington floods, which cost insurers the equivalent of $45 million in today's money, Mr Ryan said.

Central Hawkes Bay was also hit by heavy rain, which caused flooding and stock losses. Some farmers complained that they did not receive adequate warning from MetService.

More unsettled weather is expected, with heavy rain possible tomorrow or on Thursday.

Many people evacuated from their homes are not expected to return for days.

National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research scientist Jim Renwick said the remarkable thing about the storm was its timing.

"We get storms of this strength once every five to eight years," he said, "but in February only once every 40 years."

The big blow

* The cost: About $50 million of insurance claims are expected - the worst damage since 1976.

* The cause: A burst of cold air from the Antarctic ice shelf collided with moist air from a weak tropical low, creating a violent storm of a type seen only once a decade.

* Most rain: 200mm on Sunday and up until noon yesterday in the Orongorongo Ranges, the most since records began in 1969.

* Strongest winds: The peak gust, of 167km/h at Wellington Harbour entrance, had been reached already this year, but the widespread nature of the wind, combined with the rain, caused the damage.

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