Rotorua power outages after weekend winds leave thousands without supply

A large tree blew over on the Rotorua Golf Course on Saturday.

The weekend’s strong winds downed trees and caused power cuts to thousands around Rotorua.

Unison spokesperson Ester du Fresne said about 2500 Unison customers “experienced sustained outages following powerful winds”.

A large tree blew over on the Rotorua Golf Course.

“Unison had extra crews on call to attend to faults and damage at all hours throughout the weekend, working hard to safely restore power for as many customers as possible, as quickly as possible.

“We remind all customers to please treat fallen any power lines as live, and if they come across fallen power lines, call 0800 2 UNISON immediately.”

MetService meteorologist John Law said the strongest gust recorded in Rotorua over the weekend was 80km/h.

Tauranga had a 78km/h gust and Whakatāne 83km/h.

A trampoline upended by wind in Pyes Pa on Sunday morning. Photo / Megan Taylor

“The strongest winds were from Saturday afternoon and into Sunday morning ... caused by a large pressure gradient across New Zealand," Law said.

“To the south and east of the country there was an area of low pressure and to the northwest was an area of high pressure.

“This big difference in pressure generated a strong south westerly wind that blew across NZ, these winds then also got a boost as they squeezed over the hills and ranges to the south of the bay and through the valleys.”

Trees came down across the region including a large tree at the Rotorua Golf Club.

Rotorua Lakes Council said staff and contractors responded to 14 wind-related reports during the weekend for fallen trees, branches and debris in the city and rural areas.

Some roads were temporarily closed while crews cleared the way. Contractors were still tidying up at a few sites today.

A tree was blocking the footbridge over the Waiteti Stream, and due to the complexity of the job, it was expected to be cleared later this week.

Meanwhile, Powerco crews are making good progress in restoring power supply to customers.

There are 902 customers in the western Bay of Plenty without power.

Some of the remaining outages may involve major repairs due to extensive damage, such as downed poles and lines.

Crews reported they were continuing to find damaged poles and lines.

The largest outages involve the Minden area, Ōmokoroa and Kaitemako.

In the Minden area of the western Bay of Plenty, the power outage was still affecting 176 customers, after lines came down.

In Ōmokoroa in the western Bay of Plenty, 81 customers were affected.

In Kaitemako, in the western Bay of Plenty, 59 customers were affected.

A Powerco spokesperson said the company thanked customers for their patience and understanding as crews worked as quickly and safely as possible to restore power.

Most damage was from trees bringing down power poles and lines, Powerco said.