Wind speeds have topped 160km/h off the Coromandel Peninsula and around 7000 customers are without power in Hauraki-Coromandel area as the cyclone bears down.
Footage provided to the Bay of Plenty Times shows people surfing around the side of Mauao on Monday.
A surfer said conditions were “very windy and bumpy” and waves were “well over head high”. There were three people paddling into waves and two other getting towed in by jet skis, he said.
A Tauranga City Council media release said Fergusson Park, Kulim Park, Beach Road Reserve, Omanu Beach carpark and Harrisons Cut Beach accessway were closed.
This included freedom camping areas in those parks. The council said people must avoid walkways due to falling branches in these areas and take care when moving under any trees. Te Ara Tūtanga (Mauao base track) and Moturiki (Leisure Island) remain closed due to high swells.
As at 1.45pm, there were still a large number of people accessing the Mauao base track and Moturiki, for various reasons, including to view the larger than normal waves that are forming.
”Please stay away from this area for the duration of the storm and until the tracks are reopened.”
For anyone who felt unsafe, it was recommended to stay with family and friends if possible in the first instance.
”If any evacuation of people is required, Bay of Plenty Civil Defence will issue instructions and emergency shelters will be activated if required. The Emergency Operations Centre continues to monitor the situation and is ready to respond to any issues as they arise.
Powerco is reporting power outages in Te Puke and Pāpāmoa.
Ministry of Education hautū (deputy secretary) Te Tai Whenua (Central), Jocelyn Mikaere, said the latest information it had received was that 31 schools were closed in the Bay of Plenty Bay and Waiariki regions, with 7207 ākonga affected.
A total of 100 early childhood centres in the Bay of Plenty and Waiariki regions have closed, with 3200 children affected, she said.
“The decision to close remains that of school boards and centre managers/owners for early learning services.
“We provide support and information through our locally-based teams to schools to inform their decision making.”
Meanwhile, Whitianga resident Poppy Richm said people living near the coast are “getting quite worried” as the ocean begins to encroach on the Coromandel town.
She described how the intersection with Centennial Drive and SH25 was now underwater with “logs everywhere”.
Some motorists are still attempting to drive through the floodwaters, she said, as the heavy rain continues and high tide approaches. An evacuation centre is operating at the Whitianga Town Hall, while Richm said some residents had left the community before the cyclone arrived.
An orange weather warning had been issued by MetService for the Bay of Plenty west of Whakatane for 21 hours from 9am today until 6am tomorrow.
A state of emergency has been declared in Coromandel and Ōpōtiki districts.
Tauranga City Council has activated its Emergency Operations Centre as a precaution with a dedicated team monitoring the situation.
Bay of Plenty Regional Council harbourmaster Jon Jon Peters said it had not encountered any issues as of early Monday afternoon. The crew had secured one boat at Tanners point, he said.
High seas at Mount Maunganui this morning. Photo / Emma Houpt
”Everyone heeded the early warnings and secured boats and made sure moorings, etc, were all strong.”
Tauranga builder Stu Clark headed down to the Mount Maunganui main beach this morning to look at the waves. He said while the weather was concerning, it was still “impressive to see what mother nature can do”.
”I can’t get over how brown it [the water] is.”
Clark, who lived in Tauranga when Cyclone Bola hit in 1988, said waves were washing right up to the entrance of Mauao at the time. He expected waves would start to wash further up the beach today as the tide came in.
Between 120 to 180mm of rain is expected to fall with peak rates of 10 to 15mm/h but its possible rates could increase to 20 to 30mm/h this afternoon and evening.
“Self-evacuate if you think or anticipate there will be an issue”
Bay of Plenty Civil Defence Emergency Management group public information manager Lisa Glass says: ”It’s better to leave calmly with your pets and all your essentials in daylight than have a mad scramble in the dark.”
She said no households had been asked to evacuate at this stage, “but there may well be evacuations required … especially in low-lying or flood-prone areas or where major coastal inundation is expected”.
She said authorities could ask or direct people to evacuate if there were safety concerns. She said safety was key, and if you are safe, it is best to stay put, out of the weather and off the roads.
”If your safety is threatened, for example if buildings are damaged or water is coming in, then you should self-evacuate. You don’t need to wait to be told.”
Glass said it was important for people to realise that the weather now right now “is only the very outer edge of this weather system - it has not hit us yet and probably won’t until some time overnight”.
She said there would be large sea swells of up to six to eight metres, severe gale force winds of up to 140km/h and heavy rain expected across the region. Storm surges could cause coastal inundation which is when water came onto land where it wouldn’t normally be, which is especially bad when timed with high tide and large waves.
While all Bay of Plenty coastlines were at risk of storm surges, Whakatāne, West End, Ōhope, Ōhiwa, Waihī Beach and coastal communities along State Highway 35 “are likely to be hit hardest”.
She said the wind and rain would be landing on an already sodden region which could cause slips, trees to fall and surface flooding.
People are urged to have an evacuation plan – including pets and medication, and tie down anything outside. She said no houses had been red or orange stickered in the region as a result of Gabrielle at this stage.
She said centres would be set up near affected communities if people needed to evacuate.”People are understandably on edge waiting to see what will happen and how bad it will be,” she said.
”A number of emergency operations centres have been activated across our rohe and we have also activated our BOP CDEM Group Emergency coordination centre. People are working fulltime behind the scenes to keep an eye on this cyclone’s progress so we can act swiftly if required to keep our communities safe and informed.”
Tauranga City Council said its sandbag supplies have been “exhausted” and there was nothing left at this stage, but it said in a statement that sandbags could be purchased from Mitre10, Bunnings and other building and hardware stores.
The council said those living in low-lying areas prone to flooding, including the coast and harbourside, needed to take steps to protect themselves and their property as there is a risk of storm surge flooding and erosion.
”Be ready to self-evacuate to family and friends if needed in the first instance. If any evacuation of people is required, please follow all instructions from Bay of Plenty Civil Defence. Emergency shelters will be activated if required, and details will be provided.”
The council said in a statement online that Links Ave in Mount Maunganui will be open to all traffic on Monday and Tuesday to help with traffic flow.
Kerbside collections scheduled for today will go ahead as usual and people are asked to bring their bin in as soon as they can and help neighbours. This will be reviewed again for Tuesday’s collections.
Mount Maunganui Lifeguard Service said its volunteer lifeguards raised the red flag yesterday which means no swimming or water activities.
”Sea conditions are changing with Cyclone Gabrielle nearing New Zealand, making beach and water conditions unsafe for swimming and water activities - so their advice is to stay out, stay at home and stay safe.”
It said the lifeguards would still keep watch and respond if required.
If you see someone in trouble in the water, or on Mauao (the Mount) dial 111 and ask for the Police who have a direct line of communication with lifeguards. Cyclone Gabrielle is likely to cause a storm surge that could impact on coastal communities. During storms, coastal areas and large lakes can be impacted by storm surges, inundation, and extreme tides.
All the hospital healthcare services will remain open today as normal as Cyclone Gabrielle approaches, Te Whatu Ora Bay of Plenty said.
That means that appointments remain in place, however, it is advising caution to those looking to travel. Those that have an appointment and are unsure about travelling, contact 0800 333 477 to reschedule.
School closures
Tauranga Girls’ College has closed today due to the “unprecedented hazardous weather” and the suspension of all rural buses today, the school said in a social media post.
There will be no online learning available. Under Section 659 of the Education and Training Act 2020 and due to this weather emergency, Tauranga Girls’ College will be closed on Monday.
School will resume on Tuesday.
Kaimai School is closed today after it was informed that the rural buses were suspended due to the severe weather, and most children arrived at school by bus. The school would reevaluate the situation for Tuesday, it said in a statement.
State Highway 25 Thames to Whitianga and Whitianga to Hikuai is now closed until further notice due to multiple slips, fallen trees and debris making the highway unsafe in multiple locations. SH25 Thames to Coromandel is open under extreme caution.
The Bay of Plenty Regional Council has cancelled several Eastern Bay of Plenty bus services and asked the public to “be prepared for significant changes at short notices” to all Tauranga and Eastern Bay bus services.
Route 143a from Whakatāne to Tauranga is cancelled today and tomorrow (Feb14), Route 101 Whakatāne to Tauranga is cancelled today and tomorrow, Route 147 from Whakatāne to Ōpōtiki is cancelled today, and Route 150 from Pōtaka to Ōpōtiki is cancelled tomorrow.
The regional council said it was up to individual schools to decide whether to close, and school bus services would be cancelled on a case-by-case basis if schools decide to close.
”We will continue to operate school services unless the health and safety of our passengers and staff is compromised.”
There were no major road closures in the Bay of Plenty overnight.
State Highway 25A in the Coromandel between Kopu and Hikuai remains closed until further notice after the road collapsed following a large washout last month.
The detour is SH25, subject to current road conditions, or SH2 via Karangahake Gorge.
Yesterday, SH29 was closed near Omanawa following a two-vehicle crash around 4.30pm but reopened a few hours later.
On Saturday, Waka Kotahi national emergency response team spokesperson Mark Owen urged people to avoid all non-essential travel in the upper North Island.
“Heavy rain and severe winds are likely to hit Northland, Auckland, Coromandel, Bay of Plenty, Gisborne and Hawkes Bay.
“Many roads in these areas were damaged in the previous storm, the ground is already sodden, and they are particularly vulnerable to slips, flooding and closure.”
InterCity, New Zealand’s national bus network, has cancelled 20 inter-regional services today due to disruption caused by Cyclone Gabrielle. The cancellations extend from the Far North, through Auckland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty and Gisborne Region.
InterCity advises customers that the company will contact them with updates should further services be disrupted or cancelled.Customers are advised to check the InterCity website for details – intercity.co.nz
Air New Zealand cancelled all turboprop flights to, from or through Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga and Taupo airports at midday yesterday until midday tomorrow.
Meanwhile, KiwiRail closed its rail network in the top half of the North Island yesterday evening.
No freight services would operate from Tauranga and the Bay of Plenty with rail lines from Auckland to near Marton closed, chief operations officer Siva Sivapakkiam said.
“By closing these parts of the network, we’re ensuring commuters and our people aren’t exposed to potentially dangerous conditions,” Sivapakkiam said.
Residents are waking and assessing the damage in Cooks Beach, Coromandel overnight.
”The beach-front houses had waves hit last night and there is debris right through their sections,’ Hanna Barmley said.
“The tree missed the house by like 10cms, it is a bach so no one currently in it.”
There are currently 7000 customers without power in Hauraki-Coromandel, with multiple power outages in the Thames-Coromandel and Hauraki regions, Powerco Haed of Network Operations Caz Haydon says.
Fault crews are ready to respond once it’s safe to do so, following gale force winds from Cyclone Gabrielle that led to widespread power outages overnight on Powerco’s electricity network, he said.
“We do our very best to prepare for extreme weather events and respond quickly by having extra crews on the ground ready to make repairs and restore power to our customers.”
Residents are waking and assessing the damage in Cooks Beach, Coromandel overnight. "The beach-front houses had waves hit last night and there is debris right through their sections", Hanna Barmley said. Photo / Supplied
“We understand it’s hard to be without power. The safety of our crews is paramount, however, and climbing ladders to fix equipment at the top of power poles is just too dangerous in the conditions that have been hitting Hauraki-Coromandel. Depending on road conditions there may also be delays in crews reaching fault sites to start work
“It will take time for power to be restored. Thank you for your patience and understanding as we work as quickly and safely as possible to get you reconnected,” Caz Haydon says.
She urges people to stay well away from downed power lines.
“It’s incredibly important that if you come across downed power lines that you treat them as live at all times.”
Thames Coromandel Civil Defence controller Garry Towler said the region received a battering overnight but have so far pulled through.
He said they did not have evacuate anyone overnight and they are receiving reports of small slips and surface flooding. Towler said the area can expect another 400mm of rain today.
”Today is D-day for us,” he said.
He told AM that they are working on a “robust, old-fashioned” radio system for emergency services that will operate out of a caravan and link into repeater stations in preparation for widespread power outages.
State Highway 25 Thames to Whitianga and Whitianga to Hikuai is now closed until further notice due to multiple slips, fallen trees and debris making the highway unsafe in multiple locations. SH25 Thames to Coromandel is open under extreme caution.
Thames Coromandel District Council said all Refuse Transfer Station sites, District Libraries, and the Thames Centennial Pool will be closed. Kerbside pick-up has also been cancelled.
In the Coromandel, 300 to 400mm of rain could fall in the ranges and 100 to 200mm was expected elsewhere between 9pm last night and 6am tomorrow.
A red wind warning was issued until 9am tomorrow and could cause widespread damage.
East to southeast gales with gusts reaching 120 to 130km/h or possibly higher depending on the cyclone’s track were expected before turning west to southwest tomorrow.
“Transport and power networks are likely to be significantly impacted, with road closures and power outages,” MetService said.
“Conditions will be hazardous for motorists and there is a danger to life from flying debris and falling trees or branches.”
State of emergency declared in Ōpōtiki district
A state of emergency has been declared for the Ōpōtiki district this morning. Ōpōtiki mayor David Moore explained that the declaration was done early given the district’s unique situation – long coastlines, vulnerable roads and history of issues in extreme weather events.
”This morning is our window of relative calm to prepare. We want to use all our powers to be as prepared as possible for Cyclone Gabrielle and be able to save lives and get resources to deal with the impacts.
“This declaration will allow our people doing the mahi on the ground to do things like close off areas, evacuate people and get the resources we need as soon as we need them.
”We haven’t taken this action lightly, but we are also making sure we act earlier rather than too late. With high tide around 1:30am Tuesday, and the worst of the cyclone sitting right off our coast at the same time, we need to make sure no one is scrambling in the dark, trying to leave at the worst possible time.”
“We have around 200km of tricky coastline to consider. Because of our scattered communities and more remote areas, we want to be prepared and take the daylight hours to contact those likely to be impacted. We are working with the regional council to prepare detailed maps of these areas so we can contact properties and communities directly with that information,” Moore said.T
He also noted that evacuation centres were being set up and would be ready to go if and when they were needed. If people are asked to evacuate, in the first instance they should find their way to friends and family further inland. But if not, the evacuation centres will be available.
The Civil Defence teams will be sharing details on that later this morning if they are needed.
Moore also reiterated that, if asked, people should leave as soon as told to do so by authorities or any time they feel unsafe.
”You don’t need to wait for an official warning – if you feel unsafe, prepare yourself and your whānau and head to somewhere safe for a couple of nights. Make that plan now and actually call friends and family so they know you might be knocking on their door.
“Don’t leave it a hypothetical plan – make it concrete. Know where you are going and what you are taking.”Look out for each other. Check in with friends and neighbours and make contact if you have any concerns. We know this is a really stressful time so please support each other, stay up to date with the latest news and information as well.”
Power crews ready
On Friday, Powerco head of network operations Caz Haydon said it was likely heavy rain and strong winds “will cause damage and outages” after wet weather over the past month.
Gale force winds can cause trees and other debris to down power lines and heavy rain had the potential to destabilise power poles in already sodden areas.
Extra field crews were on standby.
“We do our very best to prepare for extreme weather events and respond quickly by having extra crews on the ground ready to make repairs and restore power to our customers,” Hayden said.
“Depending on road conditions, there may also be delays in crews reaching fault sites to start work.
“It’s incredibly important that if you come across downed power lines that you treat them as live at all times, stay well clear and contact our 24/7 emergency line on 0800 0800 27 27 27 or 111.”
Civil Defence’s storm tips
Keep up to date with MetService weather forecasts.
Have grab bags ready for everyone in your family. These should include short-term essential supplies such as medications, snacks, water, torches, pet food, and baby formula (if needed).
Remove any debris or loose items from around your property and tie down heavy outdoor objects. If you have a trampoline, turn it upside down to minimise the surface area exposed to wind.
Clear debris and leaves from external drains and gutters to prevent overflow or water damage in heavy rain.
Check on your neighbours and anyone who might need your help.
Power cuts could affect EFTPOS and ATM machines and cause internet outages, so make sure you have some cash at home or food and water to last 3 days, and a battery-powered radio to stay informed.
