Bay residents evacuating homes

Omokoroa resident John Cufflin, who lives in Kowhai Grove, said another large section of his back section slipped away and down the bank.

The number of households in the Western Bay of Plenty choosing to self-evacuate is growing as residents brace themselves for more wild weather.

On top of at least four households who had done so after major slips over the past week, two more houses in Te Puke and one each in Waihi and Omokoroa has chosen to relocate, a civil defence spokesman said.

Bay of Plenty Civil Defence has strongly advised all residents in low-lying coastal areas to consider self-evacuating in advance of tonight's high tide if they felt unsafe.

Bay of Plenty Civil Defence Group Controller, Clinton Naude said residents living on low-lying coastal margins needed to be aware that significant swells and sea surges were expected.

"These residents need to be watching for natural warning signs and if worried or in doubt - don't wait for official warnings, move to families and friends or another safe location on higher ground."

"Our advice is that it is best to do this now during daylight and before conditions deteriorate further."

Western Bay of Plenty District Council spokesman Frank Begley said the exact numbers of residents who had chosen to self-evacuate would be difficult to quantify.

So far four households - two in Te Puke, and one each in Waihi and Omokoroa - had registered as having done so on the civil defence's systems, he said.

"Certainly, in low-lying areas, a number of people were quite likely to have done so. We won't necessarily know unless people have registered on our system or let council staff know directly."

Omokoroa resident John Cufflin, who lives in Kowhai Grove, said about 4pm today another large section of his and his wife's back section slipped away and down the bank.

That was on top of a large slip last Friday when they lost an estimated 2.5m by 6.5m section of their fenceline.

"I was watching the weather report on the TV when I heard an almighty loud crack, and when I looked out I saw about 5 metres more of our back lawn had disappeared," Mr Cufflin said.

His next-door neighbours Jody Sawyers and her partner, who already evacuated on Wednesday after about 5000 cu metres of soil slipped away, had also lost about 3-4 metres of their top lawn, he said.

"It's really concerning if there are more slips overnight which I expect there will be, we will also need to evacuate," he said.

In Beach Grove, the occupants of one property had already evacuated last week after a 30m wall of mud came to rest on the side of their house causing structural damage.

Their neighbours told the Bay of Plenty Times last night that they were staying put for now but if more of the hillside came down, they were ready to self-evacuate as a precaution.

Whakatāne, Tauranga, Western Bay of Plenty and Opotiki Councils have advised those who self-evacuate to register with them by calling.

• Whakatāne District Council 07 306 0500
• Western Bay of Plenty District Council (07) 571 8008 or 0800 WBOPDC
Tauranga City Council 07 577 7000
• Opotiki District Council 07 315 3030