A tree fell over the road and power lines on Sala Street. Photo / Andrew Warner
A tree fell over the road and power lines on Sala Street. Photo / Andrew Warner
Fallen trees were cleared off streets and power was restored to the majority of affected households as the clean-up efforts after Cyclone Gabrielle continued in Rotorua yesterday.
MetService reported the cyclone had travelled well to the east of Gisborne and was expected to continue moving away to the southeast of New Zealand.
Bay of Plenty Civil Defence and Emergency Management Group public information manager Lisa Glass said “things will be starting to return to normal” throughout the region.
“Most businesses that closed or shut up early should be back in action, but some may still be in clean-up mode, so check ahead of time if you are heading into town.
“Roads and power issues will be addressed now that the weather has eased off, but some areas are more complex and will take time.”
Crews had cleared fallen trees on Galatos Rd, Hamurana Rd, Leonard Rd at Landscape Drive, Maniatutu Rd and Ohakuri Rd, though further work was required, Rotorua Lakes Council reported at 5pm yesterday.
Two slips on Brett Rd were yet to be cleared and closures still applied to Hatupatu Dr and Dods Rd.
There were only five power outages remaining in Rotorua, affecting about 51 customers as of 4pm yesterday.
Unison relationship manager Danny Gough said crews had put in a “superhuman effort” to restore power to homes after about 9000 were affected by the cyclone.
“I’d like to congratulate them on that. They’ve done an amazing job.”
Across Rotorua, clean-up efforts continued as toppled trees were cleared and power lines repaired.
Quality Trees Rotorua business owner Gage Ward said he’d received “countless phone calls” from “worried customers” this week.
“It has been a hectic last few days,” Gage said.
Gage’s advice for property owners was to “be proactive”.
“People don’t understand that you can have a big tree that looks all right, but it’s not. Just keep an eye on your trees and, if in doubt, get someone to sort it, because if it does come down it’ll be a bigger job.”
Sala St resident Reni Clark spent Monday night listening to the sound of trees cracking and crashing down. She woke on Tuesday to see a tree hanging over her property, suspended by power lines.
Sala St resident Reni Clarke. Photo / Andrew Warner
The road was closed from 9am to about 4.30pm to repair the damages and clear fallen trees all along the street.
“They had so much clearing to do. It was unbelievable, but now we’ve only got a few specks of leaves and branches on our driveway. It looks like our normal street again.”
Clark said her neighbours had also pitched in with chainsaws, trailers and other equipment to help clear debris.
“Our worry now is this one tree by our house. It’s pretty tall and pretty thin and there’s no more trees around to protect it.
“It would take some really bad weather, and we’ll hear it coming down and it will take our house out.”
Clark said a relative from up the road had started a petition to ask the council to cut many trees along Sala St back.
“We have just been very lucky that no one’s been injured.”
The council’s sports fields reopened yesterday morning, as did Tītokorangi and Whakarewarewa forests, but the council recommended caution when visiting any of these places.
A DairyNZ spokesperson said region-specific support was being offered to cyclone-affected farmers in the Bay of Plenty, Coromandel and other parts of the upper North Island.
Farmers were encouraged to reach out and access the resources and agencies available, DairyNZ farm performance general manager Sarah Speight said.
“We won’t know the full extent of damage across the regions until floodwaters recede, but we will continue working closely with those directly impacted to understand the support required.
“But DairyNZ and other sector partners are providing regionally relevant support where possible, including feed budgeting assistance, as many cyclone-affected farmers had damage to crops and feed supplies.”
