Weather: Cyclone Hale - widespread flooding, slips and evacuations; Gisborne / Tairāwhiti declares state of emergency

The Coromandel Pensinsula is this morning cut off to motorists due to slips and flooding caused by the heavy rain that has battered the region.

The Hikuwai (Gisborne) area copped 156.5mm of rain in the 12 hours to 7am today, MetService says.

State Highway 25 is now closed between Thames and Coromandel after an overnight slip between Te Puru and Tapu. A slip has also blocked SH25A between Hikuai and Kopu.

A state of emergency was declared in the Gisborne area late last night as North Island communities brace for more wild weather today.

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A state of emergency was declared in the region late last night.

“We want to ensure our community is aware we have more rain to come and rivers are still rising.

“We have surface flooding across the region and ask everyone to please respect any road barriers that are up.”

It comes after former tropical cyclone Hale wreaked havoc, causing widespread flooding, slips, damaging sea swells and forcing families to flee homes.

Tairāwhiti Civil Defence controller Nedine Thatcher 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.

This morning State Highway 25A remained impassable between Hikuai and Kopu.

The storm is causing travel disruptions around the North Island.

A fallen tree has been blocking traffic on the State Highway 25 Napier to Taupō Road.

Part of State Highway 2 between Wairoa and Napier is closed due to slips.

State Highway 35 between Gisborne and Ruatoria has been closed overnight.

Sections of State Highway 25 and 25A on the Coromandel Peninsula are closed due to slips.

In Northland, State Highway 11 south of Paihia is closed due to a fallen tree.

River peaked at 13.2 metres

Meanwhile in Tairāwhiti, Civil Defence said while the rain was easing the Hikuwai River at Willow flat reached near Cyclone Bola levels peaking at 13.2 metres.

Civil Defence was continuing to monitor the region’s swollen rivers overnight.

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 for the event.

“Our catchments are struggling to cope,” the council said.

Just days ago, a storm flooded roads and ruined holidays at 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.

Earlier modelling suggested it could peak at 12.5m by high tide last night.

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.

Large chunks were carved out by Hale, coming after nearly four metres of land was already lost into the sea since May 2021.

Locals struggling to keep the erosion from reaching the boating club said the house next door to the boat club was also under threat.

MetService reported that Auckland’s north and Northland were hit by nearly a month’s worth of rain in the 24 hours since the ex-cyclone made landfall.

Overnight, more rain was forecast to fall on the already sodden ground with authorities warning of more slips and slumps around the region.

🌊 Seeing some big waves in Northland from #CycloneHale!pic.twitter.com/jpMX8rZUwq

— NIWA Weather (@NiwaWeather) January 9, 2023

Back in Gisborne, the emergency valve at the Gladstone Rd Bridge had to be opened to release pressure.

“The Wainui Rd pump station is at the highest level we’ve ever seen,” the council’s Four Waters operation manager Chris Hopman said.

“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.

Shortly afterwards, SH1 between Glenmohr Rd and Waipū was completely closed due to flooding.

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 due to 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 due to 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 area 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 NorthIsland, including Gisborne. Photo / Liam Clayton, Gisborne Herald

MetService last night also issued heavy rain watches for Mount 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 2023, 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 missing landfall altogether.

MetService’s Alwyn Bakker said there was an indication of something forming but 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.”