Aotearoa Road home narrowly misssed being damaged by a fallen tree, but it did land on two cars. Photo / Dean Taylor
Te Awamutu Fire Brigade attended a dozen callouts overnight Monday as high winds from Cyclone Gabrielle caused damage.
These included callouts to a fallen tree on SH3/Ōhaupō Road near Racecourse Road which was blocking the northbound lane, and another to Arapuni Road about two kilometres east of Kihikihi, where a vehicle had run into fallen branches.
Passersby had stopped and assisted the driver from the vehicle.
A number of trees on the stretch of road were dropping branches and in danger of falling.
Soon afterwards, the brigade was called to Rewi Street, where one of the former Spendelow Pie buildings had fallen over.
Neighbour Bessie Kay saw the flattened building for the first time on Tuesday morning, and said that she had heard noises but didn’t realise it had been damaged.
She said the first noise she heard was like a small explosion, and she saw damage to the power pole outside her house.
Owners Brian and Christine Jeffs said the building had been undergoing demolition - the roof had been taken off and the back wall taken down.
The three remaining walls were flattened by the winds, landing on a neighbouring driveway and the footpath.
Two workers arrived on Tuesday morning to clear the debris.
The Jeffs intended to also demolish the concrete building and restore the 440-square-metre section to a grassed residential building site intended for sale.
South of Te Awamutu, winds had created havoc, with a number of trees downed on the roads around Wharepapa South overnight Monday.
Aotearoa Road resident Rosemary Cramond and her daughter got little sleep due to the wind noise and electrical storm, which was eventually too much for a large cedar near their home.
Rosemary said the tree was hit twice by lightning at about 11pm, and in the early hours she heard it fall towards the house, where they were trying to get some sleep.
“I saw the tree get hit by lightning and heard the noise it made,” said Rosemary.
“It sounds like the sizzle of a steak being dropped onto a hot plate.”
Rosemary said they were lucky the tree only grazed the corner of the house, although it did land on both their cars and blocked off the front and back doors.
“God must be smiling on us because we are both safe,” she said.
They also lost landline and internet coverage, and cellphone reception was non-existent, so she had to get a neighbour to call for assistance.
Rosemary was expecting family and friends to arrive later in the morning to cut the tree up and restore access.
She said she was grateful for the assistance because it was a daunting task.
Waipā District Council reports the biggest impact has been in Leamington, with more than 10 trees down in Lamb Street and in Gwyneth Common, off Scott Street. Trees also took down power lines.
The main street in Cambridge has also been hit, with a liquid amber falling at about 8pm and taking two hours to clear.
There has also been some flooding in low-lying areas.
The council’s focus has been to ensure safety by moving trees off roads and paths. It asks people to drive carefully and to immediately report any issues by calling 0800 WAIPADC (0800 924 723).
Waipā Networks has been assessing the network damage caused by the extreme weather, and crews have been busy undertaking repairs and restoring power as efficiently as possible.
Several areas were affected across the network, including the urban centres of Cambridge, Te Awamutu and Kāwhia.
Updates on progress to restore power are available on Waipā Networks’ outages page: waipanetworks.co.nz/outages/.
The man was taken to hospital suffering from smoke inhalation.