Weather misery continues

Emergency services use ladders to rescue passengers after the Intercity bus skidded off the road near Ohakune. Picture / Geoff Mackley

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Passengers trapped after their bus skidded off the road in a whiteout near Ohakune yesterday waited 45 minutes for rescue while the vehicle hung over a bank.

The central North Island has become a no-go zone after snow blanketed the area, cutting off towns and forcing schools to close. Roads are treacherous due to ice, snow, wind and surface flooding. >> AA road advice

Thirty-three Intercity passengers had to be rescued with ladders after the bus, on its way from Wellington to Auckland, slid off icy State Highway 4 at Horopito, north of Ohakune.

Cameraman Geoff Mackley said the bus was in a precarious position.

"It was hanging over a bank. Only the bushes stopped it from tipping over."

The passengers were not injured and planned to spend the night in Ohakune before heading north today.

Nearly 100 people had to spend the night at the Napier police station after their cars became stranded in snow on the Napier-Taupo Highway last night.

Schools at Taihape, Raetihi and Ohakune sent pupils and staff home over fears they would be stranded as snow fell at an estimated 10cm an hour during the day.

Gale-force winds buffeted Wellington and sleet and ice closed the Rimutaka Hill road. Snow also fell in Taranaki and Hawkes Bay and last night it was snowing as far north as Taupo.

The Central Plateau became impassable with Ohakune and Waiouru cut off.

At 10am yesterday, the only way north from Palmerston North was by a coastal route or through Napier. And police today advised motorists wanting to travel between Auckland and Wellington to delay travel or use the coastal route via Taranaki.

Transit later said drivers could now use SH3 through Taranaki rather than the coastal route after a local diversion was put in place around a truck crash.

Southbound bus services from Auckland to Wellington were forced to detour via Napier.

"There's about 15cm of snow on the ground and all roads in and out are closed," said Waiouru resident Martin Broederlow.

He also said there was a 20-minute power cut yesterday afternoon.

The Desert Road and state highways, including the Napier-Taupo road, remained closed this morning.

"If roads are not closed already they will be closed tonight and we are advising people by radio ads not to travel unless it's essential," said Ruapehu District Council spokesman Paul Wheatcroft last night.

The Civil Defence Ministry said it would monitor rainfall in Hawkes Bay and Gisborne, where MetService forecasts up to 150mm of rain before tomorrow.

Snow is forecast to 700m in the eastern Bay of Plenty.

MetService weather ambassador Bob McDavitt said severe weather warnings had been issued for the central North Island and east coast.

"A cold front has stalled over Hawkes Bay and is now turning into a low-pressure system that will not clear the eastern North Island areas until late on Saturday," he said.

In Wellington, a minor slip closed the Karori tunnel for a time and Cook Strait ferries were delayed by an hour, with passengers having a "bumpy" ride in 4m swells, said a spokeswoman for ferry operator Bluebridge, Wendy Pannett.

MetService forecaster Ramon Oosterkamp said some winters "are a gentle easing into cold weather. This has not been one of them. This has been a viciously cold start to winter".

But the snow was welcomed at Mt Ruapehu, where a skeleton staff at the Turoa skifield watched the giant snowflakes fall.

"It's unbelievable. I reckon it's the best start to the season at Turoa or Whakapapa ever," said Ruapehu Alpine Lifts marketing manager Mike Smith.

In the South Island some families have been moved to motels after suffering 11 days without power.

Prime Minister Helen Clark will today visit snow-stricken South Canterbury, where criticism is growing of the response to power cuts.

AA ROAD ADVICE AT 8AM FRIDAY:

North Island, roads closed:
SH1 between Rangipo and Waiouru
Snow - No Alternative Route Available

SH1 between Waiouru and Taihape
Snow - No Alternative Route Available

SH1 Desert Road
Snow

SH2 between Opotoki and Matawai
Ice - No Alternative Route Available

SH4 between Raetihi and Wanganui
Land Slip - No Alternative Route Available

SH4 between Taumarunui and Raetihi
Snow - No Alternative Route Available

SH5 between Taupo and Eskdale
Snow - No Alternative Route Available

SH47 between National Park and Junction SH41 and SH47
Snow - No Alternative Route Available

SH49 between Ohakune and Waiouru
Snow - No Alternative Route Available


South Island, caution required:
General Warning between Upper South Island and Lower South Island
Ice - Slippery surface. Extreme care

Crown Range between Wanaka and Crown Terrace
Chains essential - closed to towing vehicles

SH73 between Springfield and Arthurs Pass
Snow - Chains essential - closed to towing vehicles

SH94 between Te Anau and Milford (Lower Hollyford Turnoff)
Ice - Chains to be carried - closed to towing vehicles

More information:
Latest from the AA
MetService road snow warning

If you need assistance:
Civil Defence website
Salvation Army

- additional reporting: Derek Cheng, NZPA, DAILY POST (ROTORUA)