Aotearoa Road home narrowly misssed being damaged by a fallen tree, but it did land on two cars. Photo / Dean Taylor
Aotearoa Road home narrowly misssed being damaged by a fallen tree, but it did land on two cars. Photo / Dean Taylor
While impacts were felt throughout the Waipā district, chief executive Garry Dyet said Leamington in Cambridge was hardest hit. Trees in Lamb and Carlyle Sts took the full force of huge winds, leaving “carnage”.
“We’ve got more than 100 trees across the district either destroyed or seriously compromised. It’s heartbreaking but I’m just grateful no one was seriously hurt,” Garry said.
“We’re mindful that compared to some parts of New Zealand, Waipā has got off pretty lightly. So, while we might be facing some inconvenience, we’re a lot better off than many others.”
Emergency services on Arapuni Road, about 2km east of Kihikihi. Passers-by helped the free the driver trapped in their vehicle which had crashed into branches which had fallen into the road. Photo / Dean Taylor
Since last Tuesday, when the full scope of the destruction was revealed, the council has had five contracted crews and specialist arborists working “full noise” throughout Waipā. After resting on Sunday, crews will be back in the district this week.
The priority continues to be public safety, including dealing with uprooted and compromised trees, clearing roads and accessways, and releasing powerlines, buildings and fences. While most of the critical work will be completed over the next couple of weeks, less-urgent work may stretch into April and possibly beyond.
“That means if you have logged a job with us, unless the tree deteriorates further, please be patient and know we have it in hand,” Garry said. “Our council team and our team of contractors have done a phenomenal job under incredibly trying circumstances and I couldn’t be prouder.”
A parked Toyota Hilux took the impact of a fallen tree in Alexandra Street. Photo / Dean Taylor
He also issued another plea to residents to stay away from unsafe and fallen trees and not take it upon themselves to cut firewood.
“The last thing we need is people wandering around with chainsaws — that’s a nightmare scenario. We’re very happy to leave firewood in piles for people to take away and we’re doing that as fast as we can. But having people come onto work sites is making the whole cleanup more difficult and slower so please folks, keep your distance.”
While most crews had some rest over the weekend, a massive 100-tonne crane was used to remove two gum trees behind the Cambridge Racquets Club at Lake Te Koo Utu on Saturday. In the coming days, the focus will be on Lamb and Carlyle Sts in Cambridge, with specialist equipment on site to deal with the massive quantity of debris.
Flooding on a local road off Te Pahu road after the Cyclone Gabrielle. Photo / Waipā District Council.
In Victoria St in Cambridge, two liquidambar trees will be removed on Wednesday from the centre traffic island. Work will begin at 6am and is likely to cause disruption for four or five hours. Traffic management will be in place and footpaths will remain open.
Garry said calls, messages and queries had flooded into the council during and immediately after the cyclone. Most of the calls involved trees, flooding or slips …”exactly the kind of things we needed to know about”, Garry said. But some calls or queries were odd.
“One person rang to ask if swimming lessons at the local pool would still be on, despite the cyclone. Someone else rang to ask council how long food in their freezer might last.
“We had a complaint that showers were closed at the Cambridge Superloo. That’s despite the cyclone taking out power and water at that facility, so that was a bit strange.”
Some people also rang the council to complain about, or report, power outages — despite council not being responsible for providing power. Those calls were diverted to Waipā Networks.
“All in all, we’ve managed to get through the week pretty well. But there is a lot of work ahead and we need our community to be patient so we can clean up as fast and as safely as we can.”
