Work underway to replace power pylons destroyed by wind

3.00pm


A convoy of cranes, diggers, bulldozers and 30 workers have been transported into a remote part of central Marlborough to replace three crumpled 40m-high pylons hit by hurricane-strength winds.

Their collapse at Molesworth Station yesterday has cut the power link between the North Island and South Island.

Transpower said today it could be another five days before the high voltage direct current (HVDC) link is restored.

A small contracting team that went to the site last night was joined this morning by more staff from Hanmer Springs.

"We couldn't use helicopters and the site is about 60km along a dirt road from Hanmer Springs, so it has been a big job taking all the equipment in," a Transpower spokesman told NZPA.

The three towers were "crumpled and lying on the ground" and three other towers were damaged but still standing.

"The crew will put in some temporary fibre-optic cable, clean up the fallen towers and build foundations for the new temporary towers."

Transpower would have a better idea tomorrow of when the islands' power link could be restored.

"Our best guess at the moment is four or five days," the spokesman said.

Transpower estimated the winds that toppled the pylons were in excess of 160km/h.

"We'll never know for certain, as there are no wind recordings at the spot. Our towers can easily withstand 160km/h, so they may have been felled by a one-off gust of something around 200km/h."

There had been no power supply problems so far, Transpower said.

"We'll be keeping a close eye on things on Monday morning when New Zealand's power use may go up when people return to work, but there is sufficient thermal generation in the North Island to meet needs while the feed from the South Island's unavailable," the spokesman said.

Christchurch librarian Joanne Mary Davidson, 42, was killed yesterday when the winds lifted her up in her tent in Queen Charlotte Sound and caused her fatal head injures as she was thrown against a house.

Heavy rain washed out roads, temporarily closing Arthur's Pass and Lewis Pass and causing flash floods on the West Coast.

Winds yesterday peaked at 130km/h in Wellington and 100km/h on the Kaikoura coast, damaging buildings and causing slips and surface flooding.

At Fergusons Bush, 40km south of Hokitika, a massive mudslide narrowly missed wiping out two houses.

The mudslide, mixed with flood waters, brought tree trunks and deep silt flowing across State Highway 6 on the West Coast.

Other parts of SH6, which stretches the length of the West Coast, were blocked overnight by surface flooding, fallen trees and other slips.

Fine, calm weather was forecast for much of the country today.

- NZPA