Homes at Ōakura Bay are being evacuated by police and Civil Defence amid slip risks. Photo / Denise Piper
A slip has occurred on Northland’s notorious Brynderwyn Hills, reducing State Highway 1 to a single lane.
The slip is understood to be blocking the south bound lane and traffic management is in place.
It comes as relentless downpours continue to saturate Northland, which is under a red heavy rain warning - the highest level - until 11pm today.
A severe thunderstorm warning has also been issued for the Far North and Whangārei.
“These severe thunderstorms are moving towards the southeast, and are expected to lie near Kerikeri, Purerua and Te Tii at 06.37pm and near Kawakawa, Bay of Islands, Whangaruru, Opua and Waihaha at 7.07pm.“
“These thunderstorms are expected to be accompanied by torrential rain.”
Civil Defence has told residents to expect power cuts and communications outages, and encouraged people to avoid travelling where possible.
MP for Whangārei Shane Reti confirmed a slip on the Brynderwyns that is blocking the southbound lane.
He drove past just after 6.30pm and said there was traffic management in place.
Seven homes could be in the dark overnight as well, between Herekino and Broadwood, with power restoration expected at about 1pm tomorrow, according to Top Energy.
More than 280 customers are without power at Whananaki as of 6.20pm, with no estimated time of restoration.
Earlier in the afternoon, 248 homes were without power at Maungatapere and Poroti after reports that a car had hit a power pole.
Now, 61 customers were still in the dark, with an estimated restoration time of 8.30pm.
Green MP Hūhana Lyndon praised the community for its resilience in the wake of weather challenges over the weekend and early this week.
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.
Kaumatua had lost cars, and water tanks and long-drops, which were common for whānau in the area, had tipped over.
She said there was a great “wairua of kotahitanga (unity)”, “of everyone mucking in together.”
Residents had a can-do attitude that was not unsurprising given the familiarity of the situation following Covid-19 and Cyclone Gabrielle, she pointed out.
“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 had spent today catching up with Health New Zealand to understand the risks to whānau in both urban and rural areas with broken water pipes and spills.
She said the wastewater treatment plant at Ōakura was down, leaving her concerned at the threat of waste in the waterways.
Lyndon acknowledged that although people wanted to start the clean up already, there were risks out there.
“As we get into the clean up people will relax...we will forget we’ve had septic in our waterways.“
It comes after the Whangārei District was placed under a state of emergency for seven days yesterday.
Whangārei mayor Ken Couper believed it was the right move.
“I think you’re never happy to be declaring a state of emergency, but we do think it was the right thing to do. If it was the wrong thing to do, it’s still better to be safe than sorry.”
Whangārei MP, Dr Shane Reti has been in regular contact with Couper, as well as Minister for Emergency Management and Recovery Mark Mitchell.
Reti is currently travelling back up to Northland from National’s caucus retreat in Christchurch, saying he left early to get back to his electorate.
He had also directly spoken with Minister for Social Development Louise Upston, around the support available for those displaced and homeless due to the weather.
Reti said Minister of Defence Judith Collins had assured him there were defence assets available if they were needed as well.
He chose to drive north in order to get a proper understanding of how the Brynderwyns were holding up amid the weather.
Reti reminded Whangārei residents to follow the Whangārei District Council website for updates.“Central and local Government continue to be in close contact,” he said.
There is heavy rain and flooding in Ōakura, where home owner Frank Ruka said police and Civil Defence were evacuating homes at risk of slips from the hill.
He told them he wanted to wait it out and had started a pump to suck out water from his front yard.
Whangārei District Civil Defence Controller Victoria Harwood said 22 homes were being evacuated due to the increased risk of potential landslides.
The evacuations were a precautionary safety measure.
“Based on the latest information, there is a risk of land instability in this area. With severe weather forecast this afternoon, it is not safe to assess the land behind properties at this time. Asking people to evacuate now is the safest option while this weather event passes,” Harwood said.
“We understand this is disruptive and stressful for people, but weather conditions may change quickly. We want residents to be somewhere safe before that happens.”
Specialist geotechnical teams would assess the area once severe weather had passed and residents would then be advised when it was safe to return.
Couper has advised people to avoid the route between Whakapara and Ōakura due to multiple slips.
“Please avoid this route until emergency services confirm it has been cleared and is safe to use.”
Meanwhile, Whangārei District Council has made a number of sandbags available to the community.
The sandbags – some full, some empty – are available at Ōakura Hall and outside the Ventia yard, 27 Te Waiiti Place, Raumanga.
Kaipara District Council also advised residents and business owners that sandbags were available to those needing them at Harrisons in Dargaville, Downers at Maungaturoto as well as Farmsource in Dargaville and Bunnings at Maungaturoto.
Four Ngātiwai marae on the north-east coast of Whangārei are being used as civil defence evacuation centres.
They include Mōkau Marae, Tūparehuia Marae, Ngāiotonga Marae and Ōtetao o Reti – Punaruku Marae.
Kaimahi have also been delivering supplies into Whangaruru and Te Rāwhiti.
Slips have also closed Russell Rd at Whakapara.
Fourteen Far North District Council local roads have been impacted by the severe weather, according to an update from the council at midday on Wednesday.
This includes two roads that are completely closed, while others are restricted due to flooding, debris and fallen trees.
The two road closures include Rāwhiti Rd – where the bridge has been washed out since Sunday – and Waikare Road which is closed by a washout.
This road is often used as an alternative route between Kawakawa and Russell and work is underway to reopen the link. A full list of the impacted roads is available on the council’s website.
Civil Defence earlier today said conditions could disrupt travel, make some roads impassable, and isolate communities.
Residents were warned not to enter floodwaters.
“Act quickly to self-evacuate if you see rising water.”
People were also told to expect power cuts and communications outages.
Farmers have also been reminded to move stock to higher ground.
Meanwhile, community groups in Northland are asking holiday home owners to avoid asking locals to check their properties, saying it is not safe for people to do so.
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell said National Emergency Management Authority (Nema), Civil Defence, police and Fire and Emergency were prepared to deal with whatever.
He was most worried about Northland and Ōakura and the surrounding areas; “they’re basically fully saturated in terms of the ground ... and we’ve got more coming,” he told RNZ’s Morning Report.
He praised marae leaders for providing support to the community, saying they’ve been “outstanding”.
Far North District Council (FNDC) this morning announced it had opened its Emergency Operations Centre (EOC).
The Kaikohe-based EOC will act as the nerve centre for the council’s response to any weather-related emergencies that may impact the district over the coming 24 to 36 hours.
The most recent MetService weather update issued at 9am predicts another 90-120mm of rain on top of what has already accumulated, possibly more in localised areas.
It warned that the north and east would most likely be impacted.
Far North District Council (FNDC) has not issued a local state of emergency at this stage.
However, it is warning Far North residents and visitors, especially those in remote locations, to avoid travel.
People who must travel were encouraged to check for road closures and delays on roads on the FNDC website and NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi’s website.
EOC staff will be contacting communities in affected areas regularly to confirm local conditions and any welfare needs.
Far North residents have been urged to call emergency services on 111 if they, their whānau, or their property are at immediate risk.
Far North councillor Colin “Toss” Kitchen, who is chairman of the Northland Civil Defence Emergency Management Group, advised locals to work from home if they can and avoid unnecessary travel.
He also said people should be prepared – both to stay at home or leave if necessary – and check in on neighbours.
Kitchen said locals are familiar with the places that are vulnerable to flooding, and advised holidaymakers to talk with locals or campground owners to get any idea of risk areas.