Coastal communities were evacuated, schools closed and states of emergency were declared yesterday as heavy rain and strong winds lashed the Bay of Plenty.
And while the worst of Cyclone Gabrielle was expected overnight, the weather is expected to gradually improve throughout the day.
The region was issued a heavy rain warning by MetService until 6am today with between 100mm and 180mm of rain forecast, but as of 4.30pm yesterday, only 13mm of rain had fallen since midnight.
MetService meteorologist Andrew James said most of the rain would fall overnight as Cyclone Gabrielle rolled down the East Coast.
The forecast for today predicted heavy rain before dawn clearing to fine weather in the afternoon, apart from a shower or two. Strong easterly winds were expected to ease in the morning, turning into fresh southwesterlies in the afternoon.
James said the weather would show a “gradual improving trend”.
“The low-pressure system will shift off the coast to the east of New Zealand and move over near to the Chatham Islands.
“While the event will be over for the Bay of Plenty, other parts of the country will still be experiencing wet weather after Tuesday.”
Bay of Plenty Civil Defence public information manager Lisa Glass said it expected the cyclone to hit the region overnight.
“This event could see strong and unusual coastal inundation/storm surges as well as the more usual effects of rainfall and high winds.
“Based on what we are seeing further north, we are anticipating potential flooding and evacuations, power outages, road blockages and slips,” Glass said.
“Our main message is for people to do whatever they need to do to stay safe. For most people that means staying put. For some, it may mean self-evacuating. If you don’t feel safe, don’t wait for official evacuation advice.”
Rotorua Lakes Council’s Civil Defence Emergency Management (CDEM) team continues to monitor the cyclone, it said in a statement online.
There were no weather-related issues overnight on Sunday or yesterday morning but crews had been out checking cesspits and ensuring they were clear of any debris and making any previous slips sites - from weather events in recent weeks - as safe as possible.
Due to expected high winds and potential tree fall, the Tītokorangi and Whakarewarewa Forests were closed from 4.30pm yesterday until midday.
Conditions will be assessed this morning and closures may be extended if necessary.
The Department of Conservation also made the decision to close all DoC tracks and campsites, including mountain bike tracks in Whakarewarewa, Maunga Kakaramea (Rainbow Mountain) and Western Okataina until 8am on Thursday.
Rubbish collection today and tomorrow will operate as normal but glass recycling and yellow bin recycling were cancelled due to processing disruptions caused by the weather.
Ahead of the severe weather, some local councils declared a state of emergency.
Whakatāne District acting mayor Lesley Immink declared one at 3pm yesterday and a mandatory evacuation order was made for about 100 homes.
The properties affected by the mandatory evacuation were in West End Ōhope, up to and including the Beach Point Apartment complex, and about nine homes identified on Harbour Rd, Port Ōhope that were particularly low-lying.
A roadblock was put in place at the start of West End and managed by police from early evening.
The mandatory evacuation was to be in place until 3pm today. Re-entry will be reassessed after high tide at 1.35pm.
The council also made a “strong recommendation” for all other parts of Ōhope and Port Ōhope that were exposed to storm surges to consider self-evacuation.
Those told to leave had until 7pm to do so.
The declaration provided additional emergency management powers to the district controller and enables the Civil Defence response to call on support from outside the district if required.
Emergency management powers allow the council’s response team to do things like close off areas, evacuate people and get the resources needed to respond to this event.
Ōpōtiki was the first to declare a state of local emergency yesterday.
Up to 500 homes were expected to be evacuated ahead of the high tide at 1.30am.
Residents in low-lying areas of Ohiwa Spit, Kutarere, the Tirohanga Motor Camp, and low-lying areas along State Highway 35 - Opape, Torere, Maraenui, Whanarua Bay, Waihau Bay, Raukokore, and Whangaparāoa were affected.
Ōpōtiki mayor David Moore said the declaration was done early given the district’s unique situation – long coastlines, vulnerable roads and history of issues in extreme weather events.
“This morning is our window of relative calm to prepare. We want to use all our powers to be as prepared as possible for Cyclone Gabrielle and be able to save lives and get resources to deal with the impacts.
“This declaration will allow our people doing the mahi on the ground to do things like close off areas, evacuate people and get the resources we need as soon as we need them.”
Meanwhile, 31 schools across the Bay of Plenty and Waikato regions closed yesterday affecting 7207 pupils.
A total of 100 early childhood centres in the Bay of Plenty and Waiariki also closed, with 3200 children affected.
Ministry of Education deputy secretary Jocelyn Mikaere said it was providing support and information through “locally based” teams to schools to help inform their decision-making.
Ōwhata Primary School principal Bob Stiles announced in a post on Facebook that the school would remain open today but cautioned whānau who travel a distance to school.
“We understand if you keep your child home for safety reasons. Please message or phone and we will make note on the roll,” Stiles’ post said yesterday.
“The weather can drastically change overnight, we will do a post at 7am [on Tuesday] morning if there are any urgent changes regarding a school closure.”
Unison spokesman Danny Gough said people needed to prepare for up to a few days without power.
He said team members were waiting at this stage for the worst to come but said crews had been preparing for a few days.
All staff were on standby for the worst of the weather, and there were internal plans which would activate the crisis and incident management.
“We’re as prepared as we can be and we have experience in dealing with significant weather events. Our crews are very much ready to respond as required.”
Gough said the team needed to make sure safety was never compromised and that they were able to actually get crews to affected areas regarding accessibility and hazards.
“Make sure you’re prepared to potentially be without power for several days, especially in our more exposed rural communities.”He said to also treat any downed power lines as live and report any safety issues. He said people should go to the Unison website in the first instance to see the extent of power outages and keep up to date on there.
Gough said outdoor objects such as furniture, trampolines and other loose items should be securely fixed to the ground to help keep people safe and prevent damage to property, power lines and power boxes.
The Bay of Plenty Regional Council cancelled several Eastern Bay of Plenty bus services and asked the public to “be prepared for significant changes at short notice” to all Tauranga and Eastern Bay services.
Route 143a from Whakatāne to Tauranga and Route 101 from Whakatāne to Tauranga were cancelled yesterday and today, Route 147 from Whakatāne to Ōpōtiki cancelled yesterday, and Route 150 from Pōtaka to Ōpōtiki is cancelled today.
The regional council said it was up to individual schools to decide whether to close, and school bus services would be cancelled on a case-by-case basis if schools decide to close.
“We will continue to operate school services unless the health and safety of our passengers and staff is compromised.”
SH35 between Ōpōtiki and Gisborne was closed from 7pm last night to proactively manage the risk posed by the cyclone, Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency said.
“The cyclone is bringing high winds, huge waves and a lot of rain with her, which puts this vulnerable highway at extreme risk,” Bay of Plenty system manager Roger Brady said.
“There are parts of this coastal highway that are prone to storm surges, slips and flooding. The risk of travelling on this road in these conditions goes up significantly after dark. This isn’t a risk we’re prepared to take.”
Reg Hennessy has owned pubs, taverns and liquor stores over a nearly 50-year career.