Windows were blown out of apartments at Mount Maunganui
Western Bay of Plenty businesses are still counting the cost of the impact of Cyclone Dovi, with one owner estimating she had lost up to $300 in sales.
Another business owner said having no Eftpos was a "huge disruption and inconvenience" on one of her busiest days and meant theyhad to turn away customers.
Power, phone and internet services were cut to thousands of homes and businesses in Tauranga and the Western Bay due to high winds between 130km/h and 150km/h from Cyclone Dovi.
Power was also cut to 2263 customers in the Coromandel, Thames, Waihi and South Waikato areas, 717 in Whanganui, 418 in Manawatū and 548 in the Wairarapa.
According to the Powerco website, power is still out in several parts of the Western Bay of Plenty with some restoration times estimated around 1pm Tuesday afternoon.
A Powerco lineman waiting to take the barge from Omokoroa to Matakana Island. Photo / Sandra Conchie
Ōmokoroa Beach Store & Lotto shop owner Inderjit Singh said not being able to offer Eftpos meant customers without cash had to be turned away.
"The power went off at about 12.30pm on Sunday. Our closing time is usually 7.30pm but because of the storm we ended up shutting at 5pm.
"I estimate that we lost about $200 to $300 in sales, which is not good. I'm so relieved that we are up and running again ... and the sun is shining.
"The winds were very fierce and quite scary for me and my children."
Kiwi Liquor store manager Sarabjeet Singh said Eftpos was down on Sunday but was up and running again yesterday.
"Because of Covid, many customers like to make cashless purchases. But for our regulars who didn't have any cash, we allowed them to take the items and pay us later."
Singh, who lives in Omokoroa Rd, said the winds were "very fierce and scary" and the storm brought down trees and branches, some onto powerlines.
He said contractors were doing their best to restore power, and other services, quickly.
"It is clearly a very big job, not only affecting Omokoroa but lots of other parts of the Bay of Plenty."
Western Bay of Plenty mayor Garry Webber, who was in the South Island, said his neighbour told him the power was out at his home in Ōmokoroa.
"Everybody has had a horrible time ... we have a lot of outages in Omokoroa."
Bay of Plenty Regional Council staff were at Uretara Stream yesterday after polystyrene was blown into the water from a construction site during Sunday's high winds.
"Small pieces are still visible in the stream but the majority of the debris has been recovered."
A Whakamarama mother of two, who asked not to be named, said the time it was taking to restore power, phone and internet services was understandable, given the sheer size of the repair job.
"I really feel sorry for the Powerco technicians and all the other contractors trying to fix the mess. They clearly have a huge clean-up job ahead because of the storm ... given the extent of damage in Whakamarama with trees and lines down, I think it's going take a few more days."
Another Whakamarama resident, who also asked not to be identified, said she drove to Ōmokoroa to do laundry at the local launderette yesterday because she was still without hot water.
"Fortunately, we have a gas stove so we can heat up a small amount of water.
"But you need sufficient water to wash humans, dishes and so on."
A tree was almost uprooted near Omokoroa Beach Store & Lotto shop. Photo / Sandra Conchie
MetService meteorologist Lewis Ferris said Tauranga Airport recorded winds of 104km/h, 83km/h at Rotorua Airport, 81km/h at Whakatāne Airport and 56km at Taupō Airport.
Powerco was continuing to restore power and expected to have an update by the morning, a spokeswoman said.
Network operations manager Scott Horniblow thanked customers for "their patience" as crews worked to clear debris and restore power.
"Although weather conditions have settled today [Monday] there are still strong winds in some areas that make for challenging conditions for our field crews.
"To help us identify and fix any faults, we have helicopters flying to help patrol for damage, including multiple poles down and trees through lines."
