Communities brace for more wild weather, new details emerge on poker house heist and why emergency services are wary of Apple’s newest feature in the latest New Zealand Herald headlines. Video / NZ Herald
As ex-cyclone Hale tracked south over the country today, it brought fresh flooding and slips to the lower North Island, while continuing to pummel the already drenched east coast.
Earlier today, as the storm tracked south, State Highway 1 between Blenheim and Picton was inundated by flooding, reducing the road to one lane and delaying ferry crossings as motorists got stuck in long queues into the port town.
Surface flooding had “added an extra hour to the journey in and out of Picton”, Waka Kotahi NZTA’s journey manager Tresca Forrester said.
SH1 between Mangaweka and Hunterville was also closed due to flooding but has since reopened.
Traffic was delayed at Koromiko, the southern entrance to Picton, where 99mm of rain has fallen in the last six hours, flooding the highway, Waka Kotahi said.
SH57 between Shannon and Tokomaru in the Manawatū-Whanganui region has since reopened after strong winds closed the road this morning.
A rural property has been buried under storm debris in Tolaga Bay as swollen rivers burst their banks.
Photos supplied to the Herald show entire paddocks covered with storm debris after heavy rain pounded the Gisborne region.
The area surrounding the Mangatokerau Bridge in Tolaga Bay is buried by forest debris. Photo / Miss-Kate Rochelle
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Tairāwhiti is still under a state of local emergency after it was declared at 10pm on Tuesday, due to excessive levels of rain that caused the Hikuwai River to climb to 13.5m, higher than Cyclone Bola.
It has since dropped to 6.5m as the rain subsided, but authorities are still urging caution among residents.
People are urged to avoid the water and continue to use less water even though the water levels are falling because wastewater discharge into the rivers is still occurring and is anticipated to continue for another day or two.
In the last 24 hours, there was 102.4mm of rain at the Stout St gauge, 81.4 mm at the Gisborne Airport Met Station, 177.2mm at Raparapaririki, inland from Ruatoria, 142mm at Waimata River (at Goodwins Rd Bridge), Waikura Valley had 224.,5mm, and Hikuwai River (at No 4 Bridge) had 207mm.
As of midday Wednesday, 51 local roads were closed, and more are being discovered by personnel.
To enable the removal of significant woody debris, the Gladstone Rd Bridge will be closed from 7pm tomorrow until 6am on Friday. Staff are attempting to accomplish the mission in one night, but because of the weather and tides, it may take longer.
Meanwhile, a desperate bid to save a Whitianga building from being washed into the sea has worked, with a makeshift sea wall holding fast after this morning’s high tide.
The seaside clubhouse for the Mercury Bay Boating Club has managed to escape further damage after losing land beneath its front veranda overnight.
Club commodore Jonathan Kline said this morning’s effort by scores of club members and local residents was phenomenal.
”I woke up this morning in a very bad state and then we made a few decisions to proceed with what we were told not to do yesterday and I feel great.
Tairāwhiti/Gisborne continues to be under a state of emergency and authorities say more rain is on the horizon after ex-cyclone Hale wreaked havoc in the area.
Some communities are cut off and more than 1300 households were without power after Hale pummeled the region overnight.
”We’re asking everyone to please be patient and continue to avoid all unnecessary travel,” Tairāwhiti Civil Defence controller Nedine Thatcher Swann said.
“We have multiple road closures, there is still surface flooding and as more people get out and about this morning we are hearing more reports of large cracks in roads.
“At 3am the Hikuwai River peaked at 13.51m - this exceeds the Cyclone Bola level of 13.31m.
“This is a record-breaking height for the Hikuwai River.”
Swann said there was a still a lot of water in the catchments and river levels remained high with woody debris collecting at bridges around Tairāwhiti.
”We also have more rain forecast for the end of this week and into next week so we are not out of the woods yet.”
A bridge has been washed out and is covered in forestry slash and widespread flooding and slips have forced families to flee their homes.
The Uawa Civil Defence has posted photos and videos to their Facebook showing the Wigan Bridge on Tauwhareparae Rd out of Tolaga Bay completely covered in water and wood debris.
“The bridge is somewhere under there,” it wrote.
The Hikuwai (Gisborne) area copped 156.5mm of rain in the 12 hours to 7am today, MetService said.
The Coromandel Peninsula was this morning cut off to motorists because of slips and flooding caused by the heavy rain that has battered the region.
SH25 remains closed between Thames and Coromandel after an overnight slip between Te Puru and Tapu.
A slip also blocked SH25A between Hikuai and Kopu, but the road has since reopened, however it is only working at a one-lane capacity.
Tairawhiti Civil Defence reported that 1270 homes across the region were without power.
”Our focus is restoring power and access to all our cut-off communities, but it may take time.”
Swann asked the public to stay off the roads “and take this weather event seriously”.
People on the North Island’s East Coast have borne the brunt of the ex-cyclone, with a heaving dump of rain and gale-force winds cutting power and closing roads.
Watches and warnings for heavy rain and severe gales remained in force overnight for several already-drenched regions, but MetService is forecasting Hale to move off to the southeast late today.
A main road out of Coromandel remains blocked overnight by a slip but the worst of the weather appears to have passed with rain and wind easing on the eastern side of the peninsula.
The storm is causing travel disruptions around the North Island.
A fallen tree has been blocking traffic on the SH25 Napier to Taupō Rd.
Part of SH2 between Wairoa and Napier was closed by slips.
SH35 remains closed between Tolaga Bay and Ruatoria, however, it is now open between Te Araroa and Hicks Bay.
Waka Kotahi is urging motorists to stay off affected roads. If they must travel, they should expect the unexpected and stay alert for unreported hazards.
Further damage could occur on the network, even as the weather improves, due to saturated ground and unstable slopes.
One-in-20-year storm
Thames Coromandel District Council described the storm as a “one-in-20-year event” after a briefing with MetService and Waikato Regional Council, who warned to expect rainfall figures across the region to total 400mm.
“Our catchments are struggling to cope,” the council said.
Just days ago, a storm flooded roads and ruined holidays on the Coromandel Peninsula.
Yesterday about 500 households in the area were without power and firefighters had to clear floodwater from at least one property.
Storm-lashed Gisborne families near the Hikuwai River around Mangatuna self-evacuated after Civil Defence warned ex-cyclone Hale was “potentially one of the worst” they had seen”.
Up to 250mm of rain and swells of up to 6m were expected across the district.
Civil Defence controller Greg Shelton said the river was rising rapidly last night.
There was a major risk of thousands of hectares of farmland and property being damaged as the river threatened to reach a record-breaking level that would trigger mandatory evacuations.
Coastline campers staying around Kaiaua on the Firth of Thames were also told to evacuate.
“Rough seas from Cyclone Hale caused some pretty substantial beach erosion in Whitianga,” Niwa tweeted.
Whitianga erosion at Mercury Bay Boating Club. Photo / Hayden Woodward
The Mercury Bay Boating Club lost metres of bank that dropped into the sea as high tides and swells crashed against the unprotected shore.
“We need to open the valves into waterways to avoid wastewater overflows into people’s homes and through manholes on the street, which can cause health risks.”
The weather caused chaos on the roads with flooding, and near Dome Valley north of Warkworth, a tree was brought down by the winds.
Police warned of major delays caused by the tree that blocked the northbound lane on State Highway 1.
Ex-cyclone Hale hits Northland. Water from paddocks runs over Kokopu Rd. Photo / Tania Whyte
In Northland, state highways were closed because of flooding and flights were cancelled.
SH1 through the Brynderwyns was closed shortly after midday due to slips and surface flooding before reopening around 8pm yesterday.
From tomorrow, Waka Kotahi said that due to the slips, the area will be reduced to a single lane under stop/go traffic while they clear the slips and cut trees.
Unsealed roads will remain closed to freight trucks in the region until 8pm today.
SH15 between Loop Rd, Otaika and Maungatapere was closed from late morning yesterday, also because of flooding. SH35 was closed from 7pm between Tolaga Bay and Ruatoria after some roads slumped.
Gisborne District Council urged extreme caution on roads after motorists had to be rescued from their vehicles in a flooded stream.
All four Air New Zealand flights to and from Whangārei Airport yesterday were cancelled because of the weather.
A spokesperson for the airline said affected customers would be contacted directly and put on the next available services.
MetService forecaster Allister Gorman said Hale travelled quickly — first moving towards the Hauraki Gulf before turning east again.
The rain caused widespread surface flooding in Whangārei, which copped a month’s worth of rain in a day.
Hire scooters are in for a splash in Whangārei's Porowini Ave as ex-cyclone Hale hits Northland. Photo / Tania Whyte
As of 3pm yesterday, Whangārei had received 96mm of rain in 12 hours.
Most parts of Northland received at least 30mm of rain yesterday, with 45mm in Kaikohe and 33mm in Kerikeri.
Federated Farmers Northland president Colin Hannah said farmers were struggling to get crops in or make silage in the rain.
“Things are so wet no one can get crops in, silage has been delayed for months and a lot of the grass is starting to rot underneath now with so much rain.”
Hannah, whose farm is just out of Whangārei, said it was his sixth flood in the last year.
MetService has issued strong wind watches today for the Waikato around the Kaimai Range and Eastern Taupō, which could mean southeast winds approaching severe gales at times.
Heavy rain warnings remain in place for the Coromandel Peninsula, Gisborne, Hawke’s Bay, the Eastern Wairarapa and Tararua Range.
Ex-cyclone Hale caused flooding across many parts of the North Island, including Gisborne. Photo / Liam Clayton, Gisborne Herald
MetService last night also issued heavy rain watches for Mt Taranaki, Marlborough and Canterbury coast from Cape Campbell to Kaikoura and the Seaward Kaikoura Range, and the Central North Island hills and mountains.
Hale, New Zealand’s first tropical storm of the year, started hitting the North Island late on Monday night — earlier than previously forecast.
The weather is expected to ease this evening, but MetService is monitoring the possibility of another cyclone hitting New Zealand next week.
Weather forecasting models are predicting a storm to form in the tropics over the weekend and possibly move towards the North Island further east - or miss land altogether.
MetService’s Alwyn Bakker said it was too early to say anything with certainty.
“We are monitoring it and if necessary we will issue warnings. If it does become important we will let the public know. Right now the focus is on the cyclone we do have.”
