Photos: Northland floods
Photos: Storm damage in AucklandKEY POINTS:
2.10pm: Northpower says it is bringing in extra staff from as far south as Wellington in an effort to restore power.
12.14pm: The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) has dispatched four Unimog trucks and a P-3K Orion aircraft to help with civil defence efforts in Northland. They will carry supplies and transport stranded people out of areas other vehicles could not reach.
A P-3K An Orion is also flying over the area to survey damage and relay information back to rescue teams on the ground.
12.01pm: PM Helen Clark to visit Northland to inspect damage.
11.17am: Coromandel petrol stations hit by power cut with no electricity expected for at least 12 more hours so pumps out of action. Motorists without a full tank of petrol advised to think twice before leaving the peninsula. Alternatively, drivers could travel via Whangamata or Waihi, where electricity was not cut.
10.55am: Far North District Council says about 60 trees down on roads and more were likely to fall in the high winds which were still gusting at up to 150kmh. Said conditions were still "really dangerous".
10.39am: Rain figures for Northland for the 24 hours to midnight released. A total of 273mm of rain was recorded in Kaeo, 218mm at Puhipuhi, 181mm in Whangarei, 166mm on the eastern Mangamuka Ranges, 163mm on Kerikeri's western hills and 148mm at Ohaeawai.
10.21am: Rivers began to drop in the Far North today but a state of civil emergency in the region was expected to stay at least until the end of the day. Dozens of roads remain closed and dozens of houses remain empty.
10.19am: Rubber-neckers at Waiake Beach, near Torbay, North Shore, moved on by police after two boats ran aground.
9.41am: Ontrack lifted the blanket 40km/h speed restriction imposed yesterday afternoon on rail traffic on the Auckland network between Te Kauwhata and Waitakere. However, the line north of Waitakere, providing freight services to North Auckland, remained closed as a result of flooding in Northland.
9.40am: Whangarei District Council urged residents of Whangarei Heads to stop using water if possible as the water reservoir is getting low and power cuts have cut power to water pumping stations.
9.38am: Twenty thousand Telecom customers in the upper North Island were still cut off at 7.30am today. Mobile phone cells at 25 sites in the upper North Island were also out of service, it said.
9.10am: MetService issues new forecast: Weather to ease but gales will persist south of the Bay of Islands today. Winds predicted to reach 120km/h in exposed coastal places in the North and on the Coromandel Peninsula.
More rain expected in Northland today and up to 60mm over the coastal Coromandel. In parts of Gisborne and Tolaga Bay rain to continue until tomorrow morning with up to 150mm possible in the ranges.
Strong southeasterly winds of up to 120km/h were likely around Ruatoria with up to 20mm of rain an hour.
8.52am: Thames Hospital is still relying on a generator for power. All surgery has been cancelled for today, but the outpatients' department remains open.
8.51am: SH1 heading over the Brynderwyns remains closed with slips and trees across the road and will not be open until lunchtime. Contractor for Transit Shaun Hearnden said there is a way through via Dargaville.
8.41am: A number of houses in Coromandel lost their roofs, trees were down, fences were damaged and power was out in all of the peninsula except Whangamata and Waihi - Thames Coromandel deputy mayor Adrian Catran.
Wind damage down the western side of the peninsula, from Coromandel to Te Aroha, appeared to have been the worst - Civil Defence's Ron White.
8.38am: Firefighters have isolated a chlorine leak at the public pools in Kaitaia. Colin Kitchen said there was about six-feet of water over the pool, which had triggered an alarm.
Northern region's John Harvey said there are also about 40 homes that have flooded in and around the town.
8.37am: Emergency calls have begun to wind down in Whangarei but firefighters remain anxious about the strong winds in the region.
8.34am: Far North power company Top Energy said about 1500 people were without power overnight. The company has reconnected most people and was now moving out to the more remote areas.
8.24am: MetService says the storm is tapering off in Northland and Auckland, but further rainfall is expected as the front moves across the Coromandel Peninsula.
8.07am: State Highway 25 at Coromandel is blocked due to fallen trees.
8.05am: Telecom says the power outages are affecting its network and exchanges have switched to battery power in some areas. The company is urging customers to avoid making non-essential calls.
The strong winds have damaged one of two large dishes at the Warkworth satellite station, affecting calls to and from some Pacific Islands and the Chatham Islands.
8.02am: New Zealand Post cancels all mail deliveries in Northland today.
7.50am: Slips have closed roads to the north and south of Kaeo, Northland, and other roads are only just passable. Several communities are isolated and the coast road between Matauri Bay and Whangaroa is blocked at both ends.
The army is due in the area with a four-wheel drive Unimog truck but police heard it may be trapped in Whangarei.
7.30am: Hundreds of homes on Auckland's North Shore still without power. Harbour Bridge half in darkness because of failed street lights.
5.57am: All roads leading to Whangarei blocked as a result of flooding and slips.
5.00am: Harbour and Hauraki Gulf ferries resumed again today after they were cancelled as high seas battered Waitemata Harbour in Auckland last night.
3.26am: Police and emergency services urged people to stay at home and off the roads as the weather carnage headed south overnight to cause similar but less severe problems in Auckland and the Coromandel Peninsula.
12.41am: The weather emergency caused one of the busiest nights on record for emergency services with more than 2500 calls to the Police Northern Communications Centre in Auckland in 10 hours.
11.00pm: SH1 closed to all traffic from SH14 turnoff through to Waipu.
- NZ HERALD STAFF, NZPA, NEWSTALK ZB
