It was bad but Taupō dodges worst of the devastation

A boat called Princess is blown off its mooring at Acacia Bay Taupō by the strong winds accompanying Cyclone Gabrielle. Photo / Dan Hutchinson

Hundreds of trees are down, roads blocked and thousands of houses are without power but it could have been worse, says the Taupō Civil Defence chairwoman.

Anna Park, Taupō District Councillor and Waikato’s Civil Defence and Emergency Management Joint Committee chairwoman, said the Taupō district had avoided the severe damage seen in parts of the North Island.

“We’ve been luckier than a lot of other districts, and we wholeheartedly want to support our neighbouring districts as much as we can.

“We’ve had power outages to about 2500 homes. Kinloch are currently without water, power or comms.”

All schools in the area are closed, but largely because of logistical and power issues, rather than building damage.

Park said a helicopter had been sent to assess the extent of the damage, particularly where road closures had made areas inaccessible.

Once that had happened, a priority plan would be made for affected areas.

Fortunately, few injuries were reported, but one person was taken to hospital after a tree feel on a car on Wairakei Drive.”

Ultimately, Park said the storm was the kind of scenario that Civil Defence planned for. The community had also stepped up to help, which they were grateful for.

“We’re a really resilient district, but Mother Nature is unpredictable.

“The public have been fantastic with all the photos, videos and reports that they’ve been sending to the council. We really appreciate the public support.”

She warned the area wasn’t quite out of the woods yet. Although the worst impacts of Cyclone Gabrielle had passed, storm damage and ongoing winds could lead to more problems for trees or properties.

“If people have issues on their private property, we suggest they get in touch with a local arborist or neighbour for help.”

If they spot issues on council land, the public was encouraged to report the problem and location via phone, online service request or the Antenno app.

Tūrangi-Tongariro councillor Sandra Greenslade said although there had not been high levels of rain in the area, the wind had been incredibly strong overnight.

“Around Tūrangi, we’ve got a lot of trees across the road. We’re not totally cut off, but I wouldn’t want to be trying to get in or out.

“Generally we’ve been really lucky, nobody’s been hurt. We’ve actually been very, very fortunate.”