Trees fall around resident’s Sala St home as Gabrielle strikes Rotorua overnight

Having little sleep and listening to the sound of trees cracking and crashing down around them is how Reni Clarke spent the night Cyclone Gabrielle swept through Rotorua.

Two trees tumbled down around her whānau home overnight - with one “hanging by a thread” across wires immediately outside the property of the long-time Sala St residents.

They estimated there were about 10 trees that fell around the street overnight forcing the road’s closure and cutting power.

Clarke said she was this morning staring in disbelief at the mess around her property but was grateful the trees didn’t fall on her house.

A tree falls on Sala St and is caught by wires before hitting Reni Clarke's home. Photo / Andrew Warner

She said the wires stopped the tree from falling on their property.

“It was one hell of a morning,” Clarke told the Rotorua Daily Post this morning.

“There’s two trees down right outside our house. We were lucky it didn’t take our house out.”

Clarke had had a busy day and headed to bed about 7pm yesterday, but was woken by her sister at 9.15pm when the first tree came down.

She said police closed the road about 10pm and warned them more trees could come down and to consider evacuating.

However, she said they loved their home and preferred to stick it out.

She said they were “up and down like yoyos” all night keeping a watch on things.

About 1am or 2am they heard a massive “crash”.

“And that was tree number two coming down.”

Sala St was closed overnight because of falling trees. Photo / Andrew Warner

She said power company Unison had been “marvellous” and they were only without power for just over an hour in the night and it was a good decision by the police to close the road earlier.

“We were lucky there was no traffic going through.”

Although she described the night as “frightening” she said her family appreciated everyone’s concern.

“The support we have been getting from family and friends around us checking to see if we are okay has been amazing.”

Meanwhile, a Fire and Emergency New Zealand spokeswoman said they were alerted at 3.02am to a tree down on a house in Rotorua.

One crew responded to the call to assist the homeowner. The spokeswoman was unable to give specific details of where it happened.

Gabrielle’s destruction caused more than 25000 residents to lose power throughout the Rotorua region overnight. Most areas impacted included Sunnybrook, Pukehangi, Ngongotahā, and rural communities.

Unison estimated all power could be restored by 5pm today, if not earlier.