Fire Service has cordoned off the grass area of Whakatane Heads as a safety precaution to keep people away from the big swells leading up to high tide.
- Video by photographer Stephen Parker
5:41PM Severe weather warnings remain in place for Eastern Bay of Plenty, Gisborne and Hawkes Bay. The Bay of Plenty Civil Defence Emergency Group Coordination Centre says it has continued to monitor the effects of Tropical Cyclone Pam throughout the day.
Bay of Plenty Civil Defence Emergency Management Regional Manager Clinton Naude said today's high tide brought large swells that affected some coastal areas, roads and properties especially at Waihi Beach and on the East Cape.
"With tide, wind speed and swell now dropping, we expect conditions to ease. People should continue to take care on the roads and avoid coastal areas as much as possible overnight. The next high tide is due around 3am and could bring more tidal inundation," he said.
The NZ Transport Authority, Fire Service and powerline maintenance staff responded to reports of power outages to six houses, roof damage and road debris near Waihau Bay on the East Cape today. New Zealand Transport Agency has issued a road warning for SH35 between Hawai and Waihau Bay where debris is scattered and the sea has been breaking over the road in several locations.
Swells of 9m were recorded off the coast of Tauranga. Temporary closures have been put in place on the Moturiki (Leisure Island) and Mauao (Mt Maunganui) base walking tracks and Whakat?ne Heads access road due to high seas.
The Bay of Plenty Civil Defence Emergency Coordination Centre deactivated at 5pm this evening. Civil Defence staff will continue to monitor the situation overnight through normal duty systems.
Any residents requiring assistance overnight should contact their local council, supplier or emergency services through usual channels in the first instance.
3:44PM More than 500 customers in Springfield have been affected by a power outage today, says Unison.
It was one of three major outages due to Cyclone Pam.
The other two were in Esk Valley in Hawke's Bay (150 customers) and Taupo (190 customers).
Power has been restored to most, with Esk Valley customers and 73 Taupo customers still affected.
Unison Networks' Relationship & Customer Care Manager, Danny Gough, said crews were working hard to resolve the faults and restore power as quickly as possible.
"The majority of the outages have been caused by trees and debris on power lines, as a result of this heavy rain."
Unison is advising customers to prepare for further possible outages, and to call 0800 2 UNISON if they are without power.
"Whilst the weather hasn't been as severe as was predicted, this could change at any time. "As part of your household emergency kit, make sure you have a battery operated radio and torch, a full gas bottle for cooking on your BBQ, and if you rely on electricity for heating, we also recommend a portable gas heater."
Customers can visit Civil Defence websites and social media pages for updates on Cyclone Pam.
3:19PM Whakatane District Council have said focus is now on large swells and storm surges in the wake of Cyclone Pam.
Swells of 5m-plus have been seen along the coastline, and with high tide due at 3.30pm today, there is significant potential for wave encroachment in low-lying areas.
Road access at the Heads has been temporarily closed to avoid safety hazards to onlookers during high tide this afternoon.
Members of the public are advised to stay well clear of district beachfronts while large swells persist.
2:55PM Bay of Plenty Civil Defence said Tauranga City Council closed the base track at Mauao (Mt Maunganui) and blocked access to Moturiki Island due to safety concerns as wild winds whipped up seas in the area.
The tracks would stay closed until at least 6pm.
Members of the public have been sharing photos of the huge seas on social media.
Forecasters from WeatherWatch warned residents of the East Cape, Gisborne and Northern Hawkes Bay to "hunker down" and wait for conditions to ease later today.
Police have said State Highway 35 is blocked due to a slip,
An estimated time to clear is two-three hours.
10:41AM: MetService meteorologist John Law said said Hicks Bay and the East Cape had average wind speeds of 85km/h, and gusts of wind of up to 120km/h.
"It's quite exposed but it is also where we are going to find this wind. As we got through the rest of this morning and through into this afternoon Cyclone Pam will carry on moving south and eastwards, and as it gets closer we are going to see those winds picking up for the rest of the morning."
Eastern Bay of Plenty would experience stronger winds as well, Mr Law said. "We are going to carry on seeing the rain as well. In the last 24 hours [Gisborne] has had around 51mm of rainfall in the city itself.
"If you go up into the ranges there has been about 100mm of rainfall. It's been persistent, but also pretty heavy at times.
Severe weather warning for heavy rain remained in place for Gisborne, Hawkes Bay and the eastern Bay of Plenty.
The Bay of Plenty east of Edgecumbe would also experience strong winds. A watch was also in place for strong winds in Taupo, Hawkes Bay and Wellington, Mr Law said. - NZME
9:15AM The Bay of Plenty Civil Defence said there have been no major damage reports to date but strong winds and large seas are expected to continue throughout the day.
A severe weather warning is still in place with a strong wind warning for Bay of Plenty east of Edgecumbe.
8: 15am: Wind and rainfall have been moderate throughout the Eastern Bay of Plenty overnight, with no significant surface flooding or other storm damage reported.
The MetService has downgraded Cyclone Pam to a category 3 event and the severe weather warning for the region remains in place.
Have you got any photos, videos of the wet weather? Email us news@dailypost.co.nz
Image 1 of 22: Whakatane Heads - photos sent in by Melissa Wood.
Civil defence, fire service and police teams and roading contractors remain on standby. Residents are advised that the potential for high winds and heavy sea conditions will continue for the remainder of today and to exercise caution on roads throughout the region, as debris could present a safety hazard.
In the Opotiki district, high seas deposited debris on the highway at various locations along SH35.
Contractors are checking SH35 (around East Cape) and SH2 (Waioeka Gorge) for any damage, but there have been no calls for assistance during the night.
Schools from Maraenui to East Cape are closed today.
In the Whakatane district, no storm damage has been reported and the maximum wind speed recorded at Whakatane Airport was 30kph.
Overnight, close to 11mm of rain was recorded in Whakatane and a further 15mm is forecast in the period through to 2pm.
Wind gusts of up to 70kph are possible. Heavy sea conditions will continue to be experienced and people living or travelling through low-lying coastal areas throughout the Easter Bay of Plenty should exercise caution, particularly in the hours either side of the next high tide at 3pm.
Civil Defence will give a further update mid-afternoon, or earlier if there is any significant change in the weather situation.
8am: Rotorua Lakes Council's Civil Defence team remains on standby and is continuing to monitor the passage of Cyclone Pam as it travels to the east of New Zealand.
At this stage it has not been necessary to activate the council's emergency operations centre in Rotorua.
So far no serious storm related issues in Rotorua have been reported to the council.
Cyclone Pam has now been reclassified as an intense extra tropical cyclone. However a severe weather warning remains in place.
Early reports indicate no significant damage throughout the Bay of Plenty region overnight but the situation is being monitored as winds are expected to develop this morning, particularly east of Whakatane.
Extremely strong wind gusts, heavy rain and large waves are still expected in some parts of the region.
7.50AM: The Bay of Plenty Civil Defence Group emergency coordination centre was activated at 5am, to support the response to Cyclone Pam across the region.
Civil Defence said early reports indicated no significant damage overnight but there was a localised power outage at Waihau Bay.
7.46AM: Weatherwatch head analyst Philip Duncan said "the storm was powerful yesterday and remains dangerous and powerful today" as it begins to close in on East Cape.
"As we head through Monday morning the gales are likely to increase around the north eastern North Island -- with damaging gusts likely for some areas."
The cyclone's centre was just north of East Cape and as the day progressed it would track in closer to Gisborne, he said.
Mr Duncan said although Pam had been downgraded to an ex-tropical cyclone, the winds and rain around it remained "severe and powerful".
Mr Duncan said latest models showed there was a "little more distance between Gisborne and the centre of the storm".
Although this would not make much difference to rough weather forecast for the north eastern corner of the North Island, it would limit how far west into the North Island the storm reached, Mr Duncan said.
