The Far North, such as Waimate North, has been hammered by downpours. Photo / Peter de Graaf
The Far North, such as Waimate North, has been hammered by downpours. Photo / Peter de Graaf
A MetService meteorologist has described the rainfall dousing parts of Northland today as “astounding”.
The Brynderwyns have suffered another fleeting reopening due to the heavy downpours, which also saw multiple portions of State Highway 10 closed in the Far North.
Meteorologist Andrew James said Kaikohe, the wettest place in Northland in the 12 hours to 2pm today, recorded 104.8mm of rain - more than 40mm of which fell in a single hour to 11am. Generally, anything over 6mm in an hour was regarded as heavy, so 40mm per hour was “astounding”.
’Torrential’ was the term officially used to describe rain of that intensity.
During the same period, many parts of Northland experienced rain of more than 20mm/hr. In the 12 hours to 2pm Whangārei recorded 78.6mm, Kerikeri 71.2mm, Cape Rēinga 54.0mm and Dargaville just shy of 50mm. Downpours were expected to last until 7pm.
Today’s rain just added to what had already been an exceptionally wet year, James said.
In just the first nine days of this month, Kaikohe had recorded 360mm, well above the 138mm average for the entire month. So far in 2023 the Mid North town had clocked up 1569.8mm - more than triple the long-term average of about 500mm at this time of year.
”So you’ve had about three times more rain than you’d expect. And when the soil is already sodden any rain is going to cause problems,” James said.
MetService forecast severe thunderstorms may bring localised torrential rain in excess of 40 mm/h, damaging wind gusts of greater than 110 km/h, and a slight chance of a damaging tornado.
Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency earlier today made the call to close SH1 through the Brynderwyns and said crews were closely monitoring the roads and will reassess “once safe to do so”.
Surface flooding and slips also closed SH1 in Dome Valley.
The light vehicle detour around Cove Rd is closed due to surface flooding. The current detour is through Paparoa-Oakleigh Road but caution is required and a reduced speed limit is in place.
Waka Kotahi has advised people to check the Waka Kotahi Journey Planner before they head out as the situation is changing rapidly.
The closure is a blow for motorists who only on Monday last week were able to rejoice that the state highway had been reinstated.
Contractors have been working hard over the past few months to clear slips from SH1 over the Brynderwyns, which has again been closed.
Civil Defence Northland said the rain continues to move south through the region.
“There continues to be widespread flooding across the region’s roading network, creating hazardous driving conditions and we are asking people to please only travel if it is essential at the moment.”
Civil Defence Northland advised local emergency services were responding to some flood-related incidents but still had the capacity to respond to further incidents if need be.
“With these high-intensity falls remember, if you see rising water, do not wait for official warnings. Head for higher ground and always stay away from floodwater. If life or property is in immediate danger phone 111.”
“Flooding on roads remains the current key concern. If you are out on the roads, please be extra vigilant and watch out for hazards,” Civil Defence said.
“If you aren’t on the roads, please delay your travel and avoid any non-essential trips.
“And remember if you see rising water, do not wait for official warnings. Head for higher ground and always stay away from floodwater. If life or property is in immediate danger phone 111.”
Fire and Emergency New Zealand received 277 weather-related calls for help between 8am to 3pm, 19 of which were from Northland.
About 100 of these were classed as urgent and the rest were classed as non-urgent.
Flooding in the Waimate North area. Photo / Peter de Graaf
Brad Mosby, on-call commander for Tāmaki Makaurau, is urging people to be cautious and prepared.
“Please avoid unnecessary travel and don’t travel through floodwater. It’s difficult to judge the depth and currents during the daytime and impossible at night,” Mosby says.
Shortly after 9am, the Mangonui Volunteer Fire Brigade were called to a flooded home in Cable Bay. Firefighters worked with shovels to clear drains and culverts, eventually putting barricades in place to stop more water entering the property.
Surf Life Saving Northern Region (SLSNR) said volunteer Search & Rescue (SAR) squads from clubs across the region will remain on standby as the severe weather event unfolds.
The impact of which can be especially seen in the Far North where more than 20 roads are closed due to flooding.
SH10 between Ngāti Kahu Rd and Taipā View Rd is down to one lane due to surface flooding.
Oruru Rd is impassable as a large slip has covered both lanes.
Ash Yakas and Samm Wilson have lived at their property at Taipā off Oruru Rd for around five years and said it was the worst flooding they’d seen since moving to the area.
”Our driveway as we got home went under in like 30 minutes,” Wilson said.
”That was in the time I drove to Cooper’s Beach and back to get gas bottles.”
Wilson described how they usually couldn’t see the Taipā River from their property but this morning she could see it rising through the valley. By 10.30am, however, she said it had started to subside again.
“Allow extra time for travel and avoid any unnecessary trips.”
InterCity, New Zealand’s national bus network, is experiencing delays, diversions, and cancellations to services due to the significant flooding in Northland and Auckland.
A spokesperson said they were contacting customers to keep them updated on expected travel times.
The Advocate understands a number of schools around the region closed their doors due to the severe weather.
The Whangārei District Council has reported no weather-related disruptions as of 9.30am.
However, a home is believed to have flooded on Whangārei Heads Rd.
In Kaipara, a motorist had to flee their vehicle on Morgan Rd in Titoki after it became stuck in floodwaters.
Large boulders have also reportedly fallen onto SH12 in Ruawai near a blind corner close to Tokatoka Rd.
Tauraroa Area School principal Grant Burns said his staff made a call at about 11am to close the school due to the closure of roads.
“We couldn’t send the younger ones home unless we knew adults were at home, so we contacted the parents and found other ways to get the students home safely.”
By lunch, he said 90 per cent of the students had left school and he acknowledged Ritchies that sent buses to the school before the scheduled pick-up time so students were not stranded.
He said the Waiotira area appeared to be the worst-affected by the rain.
Despite heavy rain and extreme wind gusts that brought down trees in the Kerikeri area around 11am, only one power outage was reported in the Far North district this morning. That was in the Waimate North area where lines company Top Energy reported 33 households were without power as of 11am but by 4pm were down to four customers.
There were no outages in the Whangārei-Kaipara districts served by Northpower.
There is, however, some good news for a soaked and rain-weary region with the deluge expected to ease off later this afternoon and through the evening.
MetService meteorologist Andrew James said the weather system was slowly sinking to the southeast with rain already starting to clear north of Kaitāia as of 2pm today.
By evening it should start to clear throughout Northland and the risk of any more heavy falls would diminish significantly.
The current heavy rain was “the last hurrah” of a moist, humid northerly flow that had been plaguing Northland.
The wind would then switch to a southwesterly, which was more typical for Northland and expected to bring lower temperatures, more wind and showers.
By Friday or Saturday, the rain would have cleared out with Northlanders able to look forward to a dry weekend and a badly needed chance to dry out.
Te Whatu Ora Medical Officer of Health Dr Ankush Mittal issued an advisory warning asking Northlanders to stay out of waterways, flood waters and harbours and avoid contact with contaminated water.
Always assume flood water will be contaminated by sewage, Mittal said.
Far North roads closed:
Flooding in Waimate North. Photo / Peter de Graaf
Bell Road, Kaitāia - surface flooding
Clough Road, Kaitāia - surface flooding
Diggers Valley Road, Kaitāia - surface flooding
Fairburn Road, Fairburn - overslip
Fern Flat Road, Peria - overslip
Hive Road, Oue - flooding
Hooks and Hall Road - flooding
Horeke Road, Horeke - flooding
Inland Road, Whatuwhiwhi, (can use Inland By Pass Road) - surface flooding
