Strong winds and rain battered the wider Whanganui region overnight on Tuesday despite strong wind warnings relating to Cyclone Gabrielle being lifted on Tuesday afternoon.
As of 11.30am Wednesday, 783 Powerco customers in the Whanganui region were without power due to the effects of the cyclone. However, with the storm subsiding, Powerco is optimistic it can restore power to many customers today.
Powerco head of network operation Caz Haydon said crews had been hampered by access issues due to slips and flooding and hazardous conditions, but with the storm moving away from the North Island, the barriers should be less of a problem.
“As the day progresses, we’ll be able to provide more certainty over restoration timeframes for our customers.”
People without power should keep an eye on Powerco’s outage map for updates and thanked customers for their understanding and patience.
Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency reported on Wednesday morning State Highway 4 Parapara is closed between Raetihi (Alexandra Rd) and Upokongaro due to multiple fallen trees and slips. The detour is via SH1 and SH49.
SH1 was closed at Marton, between Calico Line and Wings Line, because of flooding but reopened by early Wednesday afternoon.
The Lines Company says power will be turned off to the entire Taumarunui district and Kuratau region from 10am today as it repairs damage to the Ongarue substation.
“We expect to complete repairs and restore power around midday. The urgent repair work is required to ensure the reliability of the power supply and prevent further faults from occurring.”
Horizons Regional Council emergency staff are monitoring waterways in the Whanganui and Rangitīkei regions on Wednesday morning.
Council regional group controller Craig Grant said staff were keeping an eye on the Matarawa and Kai Iwi systems in Whanganui, and the Whangaehu and Turakina rivers as there was likely to be greater localised rainfall in those areas.
He advised people to stay away from floodwaters.
“While they’re a novelty to some, they should be treated as contaminated and can sweep people away unexpectedly,” he said.
However, he said all rivers in the region had peaked and were dropping so while rivers had remained high, they coped with the extra rainfall overnight.
“We’ll provide another update later today as we get more information. In the meantime, please stay safe out there everyone.”
“The water treatment plant is still under significant pressure due to the increased volume of water. The Hunterville and Mangaweka community has been doing a good job conserving water so far, but we need to continue conserving water to ensure we can retain water supplies to both these towns.”
The council said Rangitīkei River levels were receding on Wendesday morning. A moderate rise in water levels is forecast at Mangaweka today, but they are expected to drop away again and not reach flood levels.
“Some more rain is coming and we are closely monitoring our other river systems including Turakina and Whangaehu, while these are high, they are not currently predicted to reach flood levels.”
Wednesday morning clean-up following wind damage outside Whanganui City College, St Hill St. Photo / Bevan Conley
As well as the Parapara, some local roads across the Whanganui region are closed, Whanganui District Council says.
Mangamahu Rd is closed due to slips and flooding and is currently inaccessible for roading clean-up crews due to the closure of SH4.
Rangitatau East Rd at Paparangi is closed and roading crews are working on reopening the road.
Kauangaroa Rd at Reids Hill is also closed due to a large tree blocking the road and clean-up crews are working to reopen the road.
Whanganui Mayor Andrew Tripe is urging people to stay safe despite the region appearing to have escaped the worst effects of Cyclone Gabrielle.
“We have come out of this relatively unscathed, but we still need to keep an eye on our neighbours, friends and whānau,” Tripe said.
A number of trees in rural areas and around 10 trees in town, including two at Virginia Lake, were brought down due to Tuesday night’s high winds.
Contractors are prioritising tree clean-up and the Virginia Lake trees are to be cleared away on Thursday.
“I know Whanganui has a DIY attitude to getting things done and helping others, but please don’t attempt to chainsaw fallen branches in high winds or rain,” Tripe said.
A tree being cleared from Reids Hill near Whanganui. Photo / Supplied
Civil Defence reported there had been no issues with the Whanganui River water level, he said.
“Civil Defence is also keeping an eye on our neighbours within the Horizons region, particularly in Rangitīkei, Tararua and Manawatū, to see how we may be able to support them in a recovery,” he said.
Unsettled weather, including patches of rain, is expected in the district over the next several days.
The council asked people who have property affected by the weather or see damage to public spaces to call the council on (06) 349 0001 and to call 111 if they need an emergency response.
South Taranaki District Council said many of its services will return to normal operation today (Wednesday).
Roading crews were continuing to clear roads on Tuesday while it was safe to do so. Water and wastewater networks were running as normal.
Facilities will return to normal operating hours on Wednesday.
Residents whose kerbside collection for rubbish, recycling and greenwaste is normally Tuesday will have their collection on Saturday, February 18. Wednesday’s kerbside collection is operating as normal. All transfer stations return to normal operating hours today.
South Taranaki District Council’s infrastructure services group manager Herbert Denton said the council was removing fees for storm-related greenwaste at all transfer stations across the district for a week from Wednesday, February 15, until Wednesday, February 22.
The fee exemption was for storm-related greenwaste only and Denton said there were certain things which must not go in the greenwaste as they could not be broken down.
“We accept untreated branches up to 10cm in diameter and general garden waste and leaves. We can’t take flax, cabbage tree leaves, treated timber, sawdust, rubble and soil in our greenwaste disposal.”
Anyone in the district with welfare concerns should contact the Taranaki Emergency Management Office on 0800 900 049.
Ruapehu District Council says the EV charger at National Park was completely smashed when a large pine tree fell on it.
The charger at the Four Square in National Park, corner of SH4 and Waimarino Tokaanu Rd, will be out of commission for some time.
There are EV chargers at the Park & Ride in Findlay St, National Park, for users who carry their own cables.
The Ruapehu district was spared the worst of the conditions from Cyclone Gabrielle and now the council is looking for ways to help its regional neighbours who were more badly affected.
Emergency management officer Andy Chambers said the cyclone had left widespread damage and impacts to infrastructure and lifelines like roads and communications networks.
The region was now in recovery mode, Chambers said, with contractors busy cleaning up the damage.
“There are still reports of some road outages but contractors are moving quickly to clear these.”
There was more rain overnight in the worst impacted areas but it was not expected to increase flood risk and no severe weather watches or warnings were in place for the Ruapehu district, he said.
The incident control point (ICP) set up to monitor and respond to the cyclone in the region has been stood down.
People who see any issues or road outages in Ruapehu should call the council on (07) 895 8188.
Manawatū District Council staff have been unable to access the Vinegar Hill campgrounds due to high water levels in the Rangitīkei River.
A council spokesperson said on Wednesday morning the river was too high for staff to safely cross the Vinegar Hill Rd bridge to assess damage to the grounds.
Staff hoped to access the campgrounds within the next 24 hours, as river levels were going down.
