Cyclone Gabrielle: Sun is finally out in Northland as clean-up begins in

The sun is finally out, the severe weather warning is gone and Northland is into clean-up and recovery mode.

Despite a broadly fine weather forecast for the rest of the week, authorities are advising people to try to minimise travel, given the road closures and repairs that should begin today.

The last lot of evacuations happened in Dargaville last night as the Kaihu River burst its banks, prompting emergency services and the Kaipara District Council to move people living along Beach Rd, Station Rd and the surrounding streets into an evacuation centre.

Dargaville fire chief Jeffrey Palmer said most of those evacuated from Finlayson Park Ave and other areas on Tuesday have either gone back home or were staying with family and friends.

Evacuation centres were being set up at the Holy Trinity Anglican Church on Hokianga Rd, on Tirarau St (old Greenways Trust Building) and the Dargaville High School gymnasium.

Around 40 people have evacuated their homes in Dargaville. Photo / Kaipara District Council

As flood waters start to recede, others are expected to leave the evacuation centres today.

Beach Rd and Victoria St from Caltex to Hokianga Rd were cordoned off last night, and businesses used sandbags where needed.

“There’s still a lot of water around. I’ve seen flooding during Cyclone Bola but this is on par or worse than Bola,” Palmer said as he assessed the situation in Dargaville this morning.

Key arterial routes, including state highways around Northland that were closed yesterday, remained closed this morning and no latest updates are available.

In Whangārei, more than 40 roads are still closed and the council is advising motorists to reduce travel to only what’s necessary and allow plenty of travel time due to significant closures and impacts on the infrastructure.

Read More

• Cyclone Gabrielle: Fallen trees and slips threaten ...
• Cyclone Gabrielle: Roads closed, boats smashed as heavy ...

Those affected by the storm can apply for a Civil Defence payment from the Ministry of Social Development. You don’t have to be an existing Work and Income client and in most cases it doesn’t matter what your income is or what assets you have. To apply, visit msd.govt.nz or call 0800 400 100.

“It will come as a relief to everyone in Northland and for our electricity network providers and roading agencies and contractors it will be the first decent opportunity to start moving forward with repairs,” Civil Defence Northland said.

“Progress will be made on restoration and all agencies are keenly aware of their priorities; however, there are not a lot of easy wins out there. The electricity networks will at least not be in the frustrating position of seeing their hard work undone again by the high winds.”

Power has been restored to more than 10,000 households and businesses since Monday but just under 25,000 are still without electricity across the region.

MetService weather forecaster Angus Hines said much brighter and dryer conditions were on the cards for Northland for the rest of this week.

Daytime temperatures will climb back up to the mid-20s, he said.