Weather: Northland community Ōakura spared repeat of January storm damage

While flooding has caused widespread damage across the North Island, one Northland community is counting itself lucky Thursday’s weather was not worse.

The small coastal community of Ōakura was badly hit by a severe thunderstorm on January 18, which caused slips and flooding.

The storms continued that week, with police and Civil Defence making precautionary evacuations on January 21.

The area became isolated by a slip on Helena Bay hill on January 22, and since then has been relying on pilot vehicles to help navigation of a treacherous, unsealed route using Kaiikanui Rd.

Some houses in Ōakura were flooded on their ground floor. Photo / Denise Piper

On Thursday, Ōakura was again cut off from both ends, after flooding on Kaiikanui Rd and on Russell Rd at Punaruku. Local marae opened as evacuation centres for those too fearful of flooding or slips to stay home.

But on Friday morning, hardy locals who stayed in the area woke to warm sunshine.

All agreed the storm did not cause flooding as bad as the thunderstorm on January 18, which was localised and came with little warning.

Pilot vehicles also resumed running on Kaiikanui Rd on Friday morning, opening access to the area.

Ted Harrison said his personal water pump was used alongside two from Oakura Volunteer Fire Brigade, to help remove floodwater from low-lying properties on Ōakura waterfront.

While one or two homes had their ground floor flooded, most properties stayed dry.

Dave Chappell said the ground floor of his home was covered in about 15cm of silt in the January 18 storm but the water stayed out on Thursday.

What helped was advanced warning, which meant he could put up sandbags and boards to hold back the water, while the community got pumps running, he said.

But he wanted Whangārei District Council to sort out the drainage in the area, which appeared to be blocked, causing floodwaters to pool, he said.

Harrison agreed, saying more drains were needed in the area.

Ōakura Hall, which was badly damaged by a slip on January 18, did not suffer any further damage.

Colleen Ferguson (from left) and Glenn Ferguson were pleased Ōakura Community Hall did not suffer any further damage in the storm. Photo / Denise Piper

Ōakura Bay Reserves Board chairman Glenn Ferguson said the hall was cleared out as best as possible after the slip, which brought debris, mud and water in.

It was now a matter of waiting for insurance so repairs could be finished by builders, including fixing the back wall and replacing kitchen cabinets, he said.

He was pleased the hall was not further damaged by this week’s storms, with the slips not appearing to move any further.

The community was still dealing with issues such as sewage overflows, as well as restricted access, he said.

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.