- A State of Emergency was declared in Wairoa and Heretaunga as heavy rains hit, prompting 115 evacuations.
- Rivers like Waipaoa and Wairoa have surged past danger levels, leading to widespread flood warnings, including emergency mobile alerts.
- Roads, including State Highway 35, are closed due to flooding and slips.
- Power was shut off in Wairoa, and there are outages in Mahia, Mahuga, Tuahuru, Onenui, Rototahi, Hata, Anaura Bay, Mata, Tapuaenoa, Waimata Valley, Riverside Road, Kanakania, Waigake, Raupanga, Ruakituri and Whangara.
Dozens of Wairoa residents have been forced to evacuate as officials fear the town’s storm-swollen river could cause further flooding.
The northern Hawke’s Bay town has been under a State of Local Emergency since 6.36am, with rising water prompting the evacuation of 115 people, including 90 residents of Kopu Rd and McLean St to Wairoa’s Memorial Hall. Hundreds more are thought to have self-evacuated.
About 1500 properties across the region are without power.
Wairoa Mayor Craig Little said power had been cut off in the town due to water levels near local substations, while sandbags had been put in place to protect main street businesses.
A helicopter is on standby to check on hard-to-reach properties and people, with iwi and response teams on standby at locations throughout the district, he said.
Fire and Emergency New Zealand rescued two people who were trapped in a car surrounded by knee-deep flood water in Wairoa around 5.23am.
Little said the rainfall – as much as 200mm had fallen within 24 hours in some parts of the East Coast – had been greater than first forecast.
River levels were expected to continue rising today, amid ongoing rain and water flowing in from the Hangaroa and Ruakituri rivers.
“High tide was at 8.45am. The Wairoa River mouth remains a challenge with large swells limiting the river water from getting out,” Little said.
He said there would be a full investigation into why the river bar had failed – and that locals were dealing with “rain anxiety”.
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Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell is flying to storm-hit eastern regions this morning to survey damage and speak to mayors. Mitchell was expected to land in Napier before holding a meeting with the region’s mayors. He then intended to travelling north to Wairoa.
Residents were being encouraged to stay home, and asked not to drive around flooded areas, as vehicles were causing waves that were pushing into houses.
“Severe weather is also impacting council water infrastructure and people are asked to please stay away from any flood water and to treat it as if it is contaminated,” said Little.
He urged people to “stay vigilant and watchful” and evacuate if they needed to and could do so safely.
“Please stay calm, we are doing everything we can to protect our people and have involved as many services as possible to help.”
Firstlight Network said it was responding to “widespread outages” across the region from south of Wairoa to Te Araroa.
“Our team is working to restore power as quickly as possible, however with wind and rain that has hammered the area over the past 24 hours, access is restricted due to road closures, swollen rivers and major slips,” the company’s operations manager George Drysdale said.
“In Wairoa, people are without power due to a substation which has been temporarily flooded due to the high tide and swollen Wairoa River. We are currently waiting for water to reside before power can be restored, which will hopefully be later this morning.”
The slow-moving storm has smashed the Tairāwhiti and Hawke’s Bay regions overnight, bringing two months’ worth of rain in some areas that has caused flooding, rough seas and gale-force winds, with more to come today.
A local state of emergency has also been declared in Heretaunga in Hawke’s Bay.
The wind and rain has been hammering the area from East Coast to the Wharerata hills south of Gisborne, with around 200mm of rain in some areas in the past 24 hours.
A State of Emergency has been declared in the Heretaunga ward of the Hastings district due to coastal inundation in Haumoana, where the sea has inundated the land.
In Te Karaka, where the Waipaoa River has been rising, levels have topped 8m. The township – which was devastated by Cyclone Gabrielle – is now inaccessible. Just before 6am, Te Karaka residents received a Civil Defence emergency alert warning them to evacuate immediately.
Some households in Gisborne city were also being urged to evacuate as the Waimata River rose. The Hikuwai River in Tolaga Bay is also high, with one Tolaga Bay rain gauge receiving more than 285mm of rain since Sunday.
In northern Hawke’s Bay, the Wairoa River has risen higher than expected, hitting the orange five-year flooding level at the town bridge around 5am and now at red level, according to Fire and Emergency New Zealand (Fenz). The district council has told locals to self-evacuate to the War Memorial Hall.
Fenz central shift manager Murray Dunbar says the fire service has been called to help in Wairoa, where the district council wants assistance evacuating people near the mouth of the river.
At 6.10am, Wairoa locals received an emergency mobile alert warnings those in streets near the river: “LEAVE NOW. There is serious flooding in Wairoa. River levels rising rapidly.”
Those evacuating are warned not to walk through floodwaters, which may have washed away parts of the road and could be contaminated.
Fenz has also been asked to help with evacuations in Haumoana. A state of emergency has been declared in the local ward of Heretaunga, with police knocking on doors and asking residents to evacuate. The local council is warning of heavy swells in the area, with the rising tide due to peak at 8.30am.
At least seven roads north of Gisborne, including State Highway 35, have been closed due to flooding, slips and collapsed banks, while many other roads are damaged. SH35 is closed between between Uawa and Okitu.
SH51 between Waitangi Bridge and Marine Parade, Napier, is now open in both directions, having been closed for a number of hours on Wednesday.
SH2 between Putorino and Wairoa reopened late afternoon Wednesday, under convoy for all road users.
Crews onsite will be piloting traffic from Mitchell Road to Kiwi Valley Road, due to surface flooding.
This may mean there’s a delay for road users, while they wait for the pilot vehicles to begin the convoys.
The Portland marine area has also had its first red alert amid the storm, with potential wave heights of over 8m offshore of the Mahia Peninsula, where three fishermen are still missing after their boat is thought to have capsized.
Gale-force winds peaked last night with gusts over 100km/h and an average wind speed of almost 70km/h. This morning gusts were still reaching 76km/h.
The weather was so rough last night that two Air New Zealand flights, from Wellington and Auckland, had to turn back around 8pm.
Fenz shift manager Murray Dunbar said there had been around 12 weather jobs overnight around Gisborne area, including a couple of flying trampolines, a roof that was blown off, a window blown in and a tree that fell on a house.
MetService warnings
MetService has decreased the amounts of rain expected to fall in the Hawkes Bay region.
MetService said residents north of SH5 should anticipate 40mm to 80mm of rain inland and less than 40mm about the coast.
These amounts are in addition to the rain that has already fallen.
MetService said 40mm to 70mm of rain about the inland ranges and coastal hills south of SH5, and less than 40mm elsewhere is expected.
In Gisborne, 20mm to 40mm of rain is expected.
MetService said there is a minimal chance there will be an upgrade to a red-level warning.
