Violent sandstorm blasts Papamoa

A savage sandstorm fuelled by fierce winds blasted Papamoa and created havoc in other parts of the Western Bay.
Parts of the seaside suburb resembled the Sahara Desert yesterday as dust and sand whipped up by wind gusts of up to 79kmh created a giant orange cloud that blanketed hundreds of homes.
The sand was whipped up from a subdivision development alongside Calypso Drive in Papamoa East.
After a few seconds standing in the middle of the sandstorm, tiny particles of dust permeated clothes and made it hard to breathe.
Despite sprinklers and water trucks swamping the bare soil with water, dust billowed into the air, blasting homes and forcing residents to seek cover.
Workers at the subdivision refused to speak to the Bay of Plenty Times.
Calypso Drive resident Maree Ede, whose property borders the subdivision, was housebound as the ferocious winds buffeted her home with sand.
"I'm quite unimpressed but there is not much you can really do is there," Mrs Ede said with vacuum-cleaner in hand.
She was trying to rid the house of dust but gave up as the fine particles seeped in under the sashes and doorways.
She said fine dusty sand covered everything in the house.
"In the three years I've lived here I've seen nothing like this," she said.
Her son Andrew, was equally unimpressed.
"I can't go outside and play," said the eight-year-old in his first week of school holidays.
He had ventured out only to see how his guinea pig was coping.
Papamoa Beach Rd resident Korena Ellis said cloud of dust "I just feel sorry for those living closer to the subdivision. They'd be copping it worse than I am."
Mrs Ellis began sweeping her deck of the dust but soon gave up.
"There is absolutely no point. This is never-ending."
The high winds kept electricity workers busy as power was cut to many parts of Tauranga and the lower Kaimai Range.
In the central city, a tree blew over and knocked powerlines on to the road.
Environment Bay of Plenty spokeswoman Ana Cotter said a council team was sent to Papamoa East to investigate the sand storm.
"It may have been the freakish conditions.''
Council teams were helping dampen the soil in the worst-hit areas.
"I think it was even too windy for that to make a difference," Ms Cotter said.
Port of Tauranga operations manager Nigel Drake said the wind stopped large container cranes from working because it exceeded the 70kmh safety limit.
Mr Drake said port authorities closed the cranes just after 2pm and a ship at the container berth was delayed.
Mr Drake said gusts of 90kmh swept the port, its monitoring equipment showed.
Metservice spokesman Bob McDavitt said wind speeds peaked at 79kmh in the Western Bay at 2.30pm.
Wind gusts in Castlepoint, Wairarapa, exceeded 150kmh yesterday.
Mr McDavitt said the windy weather was common at this time of the year and was being driven by cold temperatures at the South Pole.
"It's called the equinoxal gales," he said. At the moment the Antarctic is at its coldest and the wind that rolls around the world in the Roaring Forties is at its peek."
Mr McDavitt said Western Bay residents could expect the windy conditions to continue until November.
However, the recent strong spell should subside in a couple of days.