A badly damaged power pole and line on Whatatiri Rd which caused a power outage in the area.
A badly damaged power pole and line on Whatatiri Rd which caused a power outage in the area.
Whangārei mum Shaye Covich and her children are making the most of the television and showers after power came back on, unlike thousands across Northland that are still in limbo.
Power went out last weekend at her Ngunguru home, and although the past few days had been tough on her young family, they managed to get by with a bit of Kiwi ingenuity.
“We had filled up bottles with water, we got the candles going - luckily my partner is a labourer, so we had a floodlight hooked up to a car battery, and he made an irrigation pump because the floodwater was starting to come in,” she recalled.
The couple scooped up floodwaters and filled up the toilet cistern.
Whangārei real estate agent Julie Cooper says power cuts are frustrating, but her family is getting by.
Whangārei real estate agent Julie Cooper lives on Whatitiri Rd in Maungatapere, and her family lost power about 7pm on Sunday.
“Luckily my husband is a mechanic, so we ran a generator for a couple of hours to keep our fridges going and use a gas califont we use during camping to have our showers, but we haven’t had cellphone or internet coverage for three days.
“One of my workmates in Tītoki has had power restored, and my parents live on McKinley Rd and they have power. But I feel lucky we have what we have. It’s frustrating, but we get by,” she said.
Another resident on Whatitiri Rd said the power went out twice on Sunday but came back. About 7pm on Sunday night, it went off and hasn’t come back on since.
“After a wild westerly wind on Monday night, we had trees all over the roads in both directions – some taking power lines with them. It was at that stage we knew we weren’t going to be back online anytime soon,” she said.
Further down the road at the crossroads, she said both Kokopu and Mangakahia Rds had flooding which limited access to town.
Vodafone cell reception was patchy on Monday and dead by Tuesday morning. Her family then lost Spark reception just before lunch and are now completely off the grid.
“Personally, we are lucky enough to have gravity-fed water, a gas hob and a few camping items which are getting us through. I was able to get my gas bottles filled. I hear Whangārei was fast running out of supply.”
By 7pm yesterday, she said it would have been four days with no power.
“I have family who have taken my meat to freeze and washing to do, but for those who have no running water or refrigeration options, I can only imagine how challenging it must be for them.”
