Homes were evacuated on Wednesday at the coastal settlement of Ōakura, due to the threat of slips and flooding. Photo / Denise Piper
After days of torrential downpours, flooding, evacuations and widespread disruption across the region, forecasters expected the worst of the rain to have eased before most Northlanders were even awake this morning.
MetService meteorologist Lewis Ferris said yesterday evening that most of the rain affecting Northland was expected to be “done by dawn” on Thursday, with only a few lingering showers in western areas through the morning.
Those showers were expected to become less likely during the second half of the day as westerly winds move in – a weather pattern Ferris said was likely to stick around until the beginning of next week.
Cooler air was also forecast to move in overnight and remain until Saturday, with further showers likely through the weekend, again mainly affecting western parts of the region.
The improving outlook comes after Northland was pummelled by heavy rain that prompted a red heavy rain warning – the highest level – and triggered evacuations, road closures and power outages.
The Whangārei District remains under a state of emergency that was declared on Wednesday for an initial period of seven days, as heavy rain continued to saturate already sodden ground.
On Wednesday evening, Green MP Hūhana Lyndon praised the community for its resilience.
She had spent Tuesday doing welfare visits and delivering kai at the north-east coast near Ngaiotonga.
Having seen the devastation first-hand, Lyndon said there was “really good will” in the community with people wanting to lend a helping hand.
She said there was a great “wairua of kotahitanga” [spirit of unity], “of everyone mucking in together.”
Residents had a can-do attitude that was not unsurprising, Lyndon said, given the familiarity of the situation following Covid-19 and Cyclone Gabrielle.
“We’re familiar with this, we’ve done this before,” she said.
“That’s the strength of rural communities, is really the way that people mobilise.”
Lyndon was particularly concerned at the threat of waste getting into the waterways, particularly as the wastewater treatment plant at Ōakura was down.
“As we get into the clean-up people will relax ... we will forget we’ve had septic [waste] in our waterways.“
Ōakura was one of the worst-affected areas since rain set in during the early hours last Sunday.
Police and Civil Defence evacuated 22 homes because of the risk of continued landslides from hillsides in the area.
Affected residents were told they wouldn’t be able to return until geotechnical teams had assessed the area as safe.
Slips and flooding caused widespread disruption to roads and farming operations across Northland, especially in the Whakapara-Ōakura area.
In the Far North, 14 local roads were impacted, including full closures on Rāwhiti Rd, where a bridge was washed out in Sunday’s initial overnight downpour. Waikare Rd was also closed after a washout.
Far North Acting Mayor Chicky Rudkin said the Far North District Council’s civil defence emergency operations centre – which started on Wednesday – would be open for a second day today.
Rudkin said the Far North District Council’s district-level centre had been set up in the face of the week’s serious weather warnings.
It adds to Whangārei District Council’s civil defence emergency operations centre, which was set up during the weekend.
Both have been supported to a degree by the regional-level Northland Civil Defence, operating out of Northland Regional Council.
Rudkin said the situation facing the community was “pretty harsh” with road and other challenges.
Power outages were reported across several areas, with Top Energy and Northpower reporting hundreds of homes without power at various points, including at Rāwhiti, Herekino-Broadwood, Whirinaki and Whangaruru.
Northland Regional Council rainfall monitoring recorded particularly intense downpours, with Touwai near Matauri Bay measuring 27.5mm of rain in just one hour on Wednesday morning.
Many affected Northlanders chose to evacuate voluntarily, making the most of four Ngātiwai marae and other places that functioned as Civil Defence-type evacuation centres.
Rudkin said everybody could be extremely heartened by the response of contractors and others working hard to clear slips and more.
It had been lovely to see kotahitanga in action around the rohe (region), she said.
Rudkin said people should not be taking weather warnings lightly.
They needed to be ready for the worst possible scenarios, rather than simply hoping for the best.
“Make sure your little family, or your big family, is okay.”
Whangārei Mayor Ken Couper said the community had reacted well, but it spoke to how people were becoming used to such weather events.
He urged people to adopt a “cautious approach” moving into today.
“If you’re in an affected area, stay tight, do what you have to do only,” he said.
People in need of help should contact the council and emergency services when required.
Couper urged caution around floodwaters, as the district’s wastewater sewage system had been overwhelmed.
“A lot of water will be contaminated.”
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell said yesterday agencies were on standby nationwide as red warnings were also in place for Gisborne, Bay of Plenty and the Coromandel Peninsula.
Mitchell, who visited Northland on Tuesday, said he was particularly concerned what could await this region if the weather persisted.
He praised marae leaders for their support of affected communities.
Mitchell also praised a Mōkau grandfather for his bravery in rescuing his partner, grandson and granddaughter from the swollen Mōkau River.