Civil Defence Minister Mark Mitchell with Shona Morgan, senior regional advisor for the National Emergency Management Agency, are visiting Whangārei to see the impact of the weather. Photo / Denise Piper
A precautionary state of emergency has been declared for the Whangārei District amid weather that has left some communities reeling.
Civil Defence Minister Mark Mitchell is in Northland assessing damage as another bout of heavy rain makes its way toward the region.
The state of emergency will be in place for an initial period of seven days.
Civil Defence and Whangārei Mayor Ken Couper had earlier today encouraged people to make preparations.
MetService placed an orange heavy rain warning on the region from 1am on Wednesday until 1am Thursday, with a high chance of upgrade to a red warning.
Meteorologist Braydon White said Northland was in for “potentially a fairly significant event” moving into Wednesday and early Thursday.
A tropical low would bring rates of up to 160mm.
“On top of all the rain you’ve had in the last few days, [it] really adds to that sodden soil,” White said.
White encouraged people to listen to local emergency management, follow local council advice, and make preparations like clearing culverts.
Couper said emergency declarations were extremely rare and had been taken as a precaution considering the level of damage already sustained plus the risk of further damage.
It allowed access to emergency powers that would protect life and property, he said.
Commonly used powers included evacuating premises and places, entering premises, closing roads and public places and removing aircraft, veicles and vessels.
Green MP Hūhana Lyndon said it was not the holiday home owners but locals – many of whom live in cabins with already substandard infrastructure – who are most impacted by the flooding and damaged infrastructure.
“Lots of people live with portaloos and they don’t have any septic [tanks] ... The recovery could be very long.”
Lyndon believed declaring a state of emergency would provide a heightened response.
Mitchell said declaring a state of emergency not only triggers extra powers, such as the ability to evacuate people, it also makes residents more aware of their own safety, he said.
Civil Defence Northland this morning urged Northlanders to take some time today to prepare for more severe weather.
“It was great to see how Northlanders rallied together for last week’s heavy rain. So, we know we can do it if we need to, and spending that little bit of time now preparing can make a big difference if this weather does severely impact Northland.”
Civil Defence was monitoring the situation in close contact with MetService and the Northland Regional Council hydrology team and “are positioning resources around the region so we can respond effectively if needed”.
Couper urged people not to drive out to the battered northeast coast, where road crews were still working to clean up slips.
Russell Rd is down to one lane in many areas, with slips and flooding at Helena Bay, Mōkau and Ōakura.
Rāwhiti Rd, just south of Whangaruru North Rd, remains impassable after the Ngaiotonga Bridge was washed out.
Further south on the same road, two slips have resulted in single lane operations.
Out toward Whananaki, Hailes Rd is reduced to 4WD access only due to scour across the road and washed-out shoulders, according to Whangārei District Council mapping.
Couper said road crews trying to clear up the slips had to stop work every time a car came past.
He urged people to stay away from the area, unless access is urgent.
Couper said people should be hunkering down and keeping an eye out for the weather.
Those on the hard-hit northeast coast particularly should stock up on supplies and have emergency plans ready, he suggested.
“Get some supplies in, know your neighbours and supporters, have your contacts sorted out and put thought into what you would do if the worst case eventuates.”
Mōkau Marae near Ōakura had been set up as a community Civil Defence centre, with whānau set to arrive for hot showers on Tuesday evening.
It was set up as a space fit for emergencies following Cyclone Gabrielle, with Starlink, solar power with batteries, space for up to 100 people to sleep and a kitchen.
Civil Defence co-ordinator Clive Stone said marae were well set up for emergencies.
“It’s what we do, look after lots of people.”
One man had even hiked 45 minutes to the space after being woken at about 4.30am on Saturday to floodwaters rising around his cabin.
He couldn’t open his cabin door because of the force of the river, so climbed out of the window into chest-high water.
From there, he hiked to safety.
Northland Civil Defence deputy chair Kelly Stratford said the Government and councils needed to ensure marae were adequately supported to enable them to continue in such roles.
A power outage that was previously impacting more than 800 homes at Mangawhai and Hakaru has been reduced to 235 homes without power.
A fault team was on site as of about 1.30pm, making repairs after a tree was found on powerlines.
Previous outages at Whakapirau, Maungatūroto and Tangitororia have since been resolved.
Northpower said a helicopter was used to assess the damage and plan repairs after access to Helena Bay and areas northeast of that were blocked by slips on the weekend.
“Underground and overhead equipment was damaged by slips and the team were able to replace poles and repair equipment when access to the area opened up.”
“On Sunday, we had several crews repairing the damage to the network.”
“Power was restored progressively over the day and all customers were restored on Sunday night.”
Several crews will be on standby overnight due to the forecast of heavy rain over the coming days.
The Ōakura Community Hall, which was badly damaged by a slip on Sunday, suffered no further damage in the rain overnight on Monday and into Tuesday, chairman Glenn “Ferg” Ferguson said.
Sunday’s slip filled the back of the hall with up to 60cu m of debris, clay and trees.
Ferguson believed all of this material would either need to be sucked out or wheelbarrowed out the front door, although he was waiting for the hall’s insurance company to decide what could be done.
The hall sits on Department of Conservation land and was recently upgraded with many hours of community labour, he said.
It was “pretty heartbreaking” to see the hall so damaged by the slip, but Ferguson was confident the hall could be repaired and said many people had already volunteered to help.
For now, it was a matter of “wait and see” with both the incoming weather and the insurance, he said.
State, AMI and NZI executive general manager claims Stephannie Ferris said that as of 9am today, it had received about 80 claims from this weekend’s rain events in Northland across home, contents, motor, boat and commerical policies.
“With more wet weather likely to affect the country during the week ahead, our teams continue to monitor and are ready to mobilise to support affected customers.”
Ferris urged people to prepare for severe weather conditions.
“Heavy rainfall, landslips, damaging winds and the risk of flash flooding are possible. While the impact of these storms can be devastating, we want our customers to know we are here to help.”
“Our claims people, assessors, and suppliers are on standby. In the meantime, it is important people stay updated with MetService weather forecasts and follow Civil Defence for any safety alerts.”
Kaipara District Council confirmed today there were no reported slips or closures thus far.
“We have had our Downers contractors out inspecting and clearing culverts and drains,” the council said. “They are monitoring the situation closely.”
Teams for roading, monitoring, vegetation, signs and traffic management were all on standby.
Whangārei District Council was also asking people to hold off on putting any recycling out for kerbside collection due today or on Wednesday and Thursday because of the weather.
• Clear drains and gutters
• Secure any loose outdoor items
• Move valuables and vehicles away from flood-prone areas
• Relocate stock from low-lying land and bring pets indoors
• Have essentials ready in case of power outages or road closures
• Have a grab bag and evacuation plan ready
• If at any time you feel you or your whānau or property are at immediate risk, call emergency services on 111.