A slip on Rāwene's Parnell St got worse with the heavy rain overnight and now appears to have burst a water main. Photo / Jessie McVeagh
Preparedness has placed Northland communities in good stead for Cyclone Vaianu, say grassroots leaders.
A number of small communities scattered across the edges of the Hokianga Harbour were impacted by power cuts and some slips overnight.
But Jessie McVeagh, who was chairwoman of the Kaikohe-Hokianga Community Group and a member of the Rāwene Civil Defence, said the community was prepared for far worse.
Hokianga was hit by flooding during the weather bomb on March 26, especially in the south Hokianga community of Whirinaki where 65 homes were flooded when the local river burst its banks.
After that, as residents prepared for Cyclone Vaianu, many residents were tired, anxious and tearful.
But on Sunday morning, McVeagh said the community had been spared the worst of the weather and she had not heard reports of any flooding.
“We’re hoping everyone is safe. People were a lot more prepared and that’s really, really key in these situations.”
As of 10am, more than 100 homes around Ōpononi were without power, having been in the dark for the last 12 hours. Top Energy estimated that power would be restored by 6pm.
McVeagh said there was still a risk of other areas losing power, as the ground was saturated from weeks of weather events, which could cause trees to topple on to the lines.
But she said many residents were well-versed in being without power and the local marae used as manaaki hubs had generators.
During Cyclone Gabrielle, some parts of Hokianga were without power for 12 to 14 days and for rural residents with water pumps, this also meant they had no running water.
People lost all the contents of their freezers and many now used traditional methods to preserve their food, so they did not have to rely on a freezer, McVeagh said.
The community also had collaborative events, such as shared meals to use up food that needed to be eaten, she said.
McVeagh said there was one slip in Rāwene of concern on Sunday morning, which appeared to have damaged a water pipe.
The slip occurred in the March event but got worse overnight. The amount of water in the area suggested a water main was damaged and some residents had experienced a loss in water pressure.
McVeagh said this morning she used cones to cordon off the slip on Parnell Rd near Mariner St as a safety concern and ensured Far North District Council knew a fix was urgent.
Te Roroa chief executive Darren Beatty said all six of their marae were prepared as evacuation and support centres in preparation for this weekend.
Their rohe spans both the Far North and Kaipara regions.
“From a Te Roroa perspective, we took Vaianu seriously, and made sure that we activated our preparedness plans early,” Beatty said.
Of the six prepared marae, Te Whakamaharatanga Marae in Waimamaku and Waikaraka Marae in Kaihū ended up hosting whānau.
“We had a kaumātua [elder] in Waimamaku that if the bridge went out, they would not be able to get to a hospital if something happened to them.“
When the power went out at around 10pm, they had people arrive who relied upon sleep apnoea machines and diabetes devices.
“We were lucky that the marae was up and running, they had fuel for their generator, and they had that running all night. So there was no disruption from a health and safety perspective.“
Beatty praised their leadership team and said there was close co-ordination with Civil Defence, Kaipara District Council, MetService and neighbouring iwi.
“From our perspective, our priority really was the safety of our whānau, kaumātua, mokopuna [grandchildren], but also the wider community.“
Beatty said people still needed to stay vigilant in case the wind picked up again today.
“We will debrief properly in the next couple of days, and then look to strengthen our plans further as we expect these things to become more frequent.“
The Te Roroa kaimahi (workers) and partner agencies had become accustomed to working through difficult conditions, but they were limited in their resources, he said.
They wanted to work with both local and central government to continue maintaining those services and support the community.
“We think it’s critical that marae and iwi continue to do what we do in terms of leading out in responding to these emergencies.”
Denise Piper is a news reporter for the Northern Advocate, focusing on health and business. She has more than 20 years in journalism and is passionate about covering stories that make a difference.