Live: Coromandel cut off; SH25 blocked by fallen trees, floods, slips

Author: Lynley Ward and Caitlan Johnston,
Publish Date: Thu, 5 Jan 2023, 10:03AM

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SH 25 in Coromandel closed by slips and flooding
More than 200 mm of rain to fall in Coromandel, Bay of Plenty
Upper half of North Island under strong wind and heavy rain alerts
Auckland ferry sailings delayed and cancelled as wind batters region
Whangamata Beach closed, Whitianga music festival postponed
Widespread flooding, roads down to single lanes

Much of the Coromandel Peninsula is now cut off and communities isolated by flooding and slips after a large tree came down across the coastal highway north of Thames this afternoon.

In the latest incident to block a main road connecting communities on the western side of the peninsula NZTA Waka Kotahi says SH 25 is closed from Te Mata Creek Rd to Waikawau Valley Rd after a tree toppled in stormy conditions.

There is no detour available.

This morning the eastern side of the peninsula was cut off as floodwaters swamped paddocks and spilled over main roads. Large slips blocked key routes with traffic unable to travel in or out of the region’s main loop highway.

State Highway 25 remains closed at Hikuai due to flooding and to the north at Whangapoua by a slip.

A number of key routes across the peninsula, including the 309 Rd, have also been affected. Just after 2pm the Thames Coromandel District Council said that road had reopened after being blocked by an earlier slip.

With overnight rain leading to widespread flooding and slips ips and the district’s mayor warned conditions were only going to worsen throughout the day and into the weekend.

Heavy rain and strong wind alerts remain in force across the upper North Island and at the top and west of the South Island.

The worst of the weather is reserved for the Coromandel Peninsula with up to 200mm of rain still to come for another 27 hours. Forecasters say the heavy rain warning is likely to be extended as further bursts of torrential downpours are expected all day Friday.

Thames-Coromandel District mayor Len Salt told Newstalk ZB that people should hunker down and not travel while conditions were deteriorating.

A slip is blocking 309 Rd as weather worsens across the Coromandel Peninsula. Photo / Shanx Paarman

Whangamata Beach was this morning closed with lifeguards warning conditions were too dangerous for swimming at both the main and south beach.

They recommended people keep out of the water while they maintained observational patrols only.

The storm has also seen a popular music festival Rockin Horse postponed that was due to take place on Whitianga Beach today.

The organisers said the weather of the past 12 hours had been worse than anticipated and flooding across the campsite and important access roads put the health and safety of everyone at risk.

The toll of roads becoming impassable continued to mount this morning with a large tree toppling and blocking Colville Rd.

Fresh images out of Coromandel shows paddocks turned into lakes and deepening waters pooling over roads.

Sections of highway are now down to a single lane with motorists forced to drive on the wrong side of the road to avoid getting swamped by floodwater.

Elsewhere on the peninsula the Thames-Coromandel District Council said a tree had fallen across Colville Rd approximately 8km from the intersection with Driving Creek Rd, past Oamaru Bay.

State Highway 25 east of Coromandel Town and west of Te Rerenga is also now closed due to a slip.

Colville Road south of Paparoha near Coromandel town has a number of slips. Photo / Brent Purcell

‘Like driving through a river’

A motorist travelling from Cooks Beach back to Auckland today said some roads are so flooded it was like driving through a river.

Auckland man Hamish Fenwick said on some parts along the road the water was up to the hub caps on his car.

”I had to slow down to 10-20 kms through the water, the water was like a river across the road,” he said.

Police were at the Thames turnoff just after Tairua managing traffic and he had only just made it through before they closed the road.

He said it was constantly raining through the gorge and there were a few slips, but they hadn’t fallen onto the road.

Civil Defence visited campers at the Cooks Beach Holiday Resort this morning advising everyone to move to higher ground.

”We were like well there is no point in us pulling down a tent and putting it back up wet so we just packed up and left.”

Road closures

Earlier in the day the council said many roads around the district were already closed or in the process of being closed including the 309 Rd due to a slip and a road near Whitianga.

The council had also received reports of water across Wharf Rd in Coromandel Town and State Highway 25/Wade Rd near Whitianga.

“Things are going to get worse before they improve so the advice is for everyone to stay where they are, avoid travel, stay away from the beaches, streams and rivers,” said Thames-Coromandel District Civil Defence Controller Garry Towler.

This morning campers at the Mercury Bay Holiday Park who had weathered the storm overnight were now packing up as people continued to cancel their holidays.

Manager Samantha Gillies said the weather was calm in the area at 9am following a bad night of heavy rain and strong winds.

While the campground had come through unscathed the majority of campers had already left and the remaining few were preparing to head home.

Gillies was now fielding phone calls from people wanting to postpone or cancel their bookings with more than 70 per cent of bookings now cancelled.

“We were expecting numbers around the 200 mark consistently right through until at least the middle of January and that’s dropped back down to 50, 60 people,” she said.

In the past 24 hours, as at 3am, the Castle Rock weather station had recorded 155mm of rainfall while the Pinnacles station had recorded 182.5mm.

The council said the Kauaeranga River had hit 7.7m and was rising. It was a first alarm “but well below the level where the SH25 spillway at Rhodes Park floods at 10.5m”.

Across the district, 206 properties in Whangamata and 22 properties in Tapu have recorded power outages.

Four Square Buffalo Beach store assistant Amber Brown said Whitianga was now quiet with many holidaymakers cutting short their stay.

Fierce winds batter Auckland

This morning several sailings of Auckland commuter ferries across the Waitematā Harbour have been replaced by taxis or delayed due to the worsening weather conditions.

Overnight strong winds left parts of the region without power and low levels of flooding and storm damage.

Auckland Civil Defence said the high winds had battered the electricity network and posed a risk for workers fixing issues.

A Vector spokesperson said strong winds had caused a number of power outages across Auckland, particularly in exposed areas in the north and western parts of the region.

Trees or branches falling on power lines were responsible for many of the outages.

Civil Defence advised people to be prepared for further disruption, particularly those living areas prone to power cuts, including keeping phones charged.

Fresh weather warnings

MetService this morning issued a heavy rain watch for Auckland including Great Barrier Island for the next 24 hours.

A strong wind watch is also in force from Auckland to Taihape for the coming nine hours with a warning that northeasterly winds may approach gale force at times.

Weather warnings for Northland have been lifted.

Coromandel Peninsula and Bay of Plenty west of Whakatane and north of Rotorua are both under a heavy rain warnings with at least 27 hours of rain to fall from 9am.

MetService says west of Matata may see up to 240 mm of rain fall in the coming two days, with a threat of flooding and slips.

In the South Island heavy rain is expected to fall over the next 27 hours in Tasman, the Richmond, Bryant and Westland ranges, Marlborough Sounds and the Rai Valley.

Torrential rain for Coromandel

Holidaymakers across the Coromandel Peninsula were warned to head home yesterday afternoon or risk being stranded ahead of an intense five-day storm set to slam the top of the country.

The council posted an urgent message on social media ahead of the approaching storm, saying the potential impact is set to be worse than initially forecast.

Yesterday, MetService issued a severe weather warning for the peninsula with 24 hours of heavy rain, including torrential downpours this morning.

The region is also under a strong wind watch, with northeasterlies expected to be gale force in exposed places.

“Residents and holidaymakers are urged to make plans and act today before heavy rain and increasing gale-force, northeasterly winds arrive from late this afternoon,” the Thames-Coromandel council posted on Facebook.

Campers were warned to find somewhere secure or head home as the Coromandel Peninsula faces a prolonged storm. Photo / Alan Gibson.

Civil Defence Controller Garry Towler strongly advised everyone to err on the side of caution, and plan ahead to Sunday.

“We urge you to consider going to a safe, secure location, or even heading home until the storm passes.

“The accumulation of rain by Saturday could see surface flooding, slips, road closures and power issues, so it is worth hatching a plan today to ensure no one is stuck or isolated,” Towler said yesterday.

A number of weather watches were upgraded to warnings for parts of the North Island yesterday as heavy rain and strong winds ripped through Auckland, the Coromandel, the western Bay of Plenty and the Tasman area.

Storm crash claims two lives in Northland

The wild weather lashing Northland turned fatal late on Tuesday evening with two members of one family losing their lives when a ute struck a tree downed by high winds near Ahipara.

The tragedy occurred as the vehicle was travelling towards the coastal town on Kaitaia-Awaroa Rd around 11.50pm.

The top of the tree was caught in high-tension powerlines on the far side of the road and left suspended about 2.5m above the ground. The other end of the tree was just high enough to take the roof off the ute and kill two of the three occupants, authorities said.

The deceased were a man in the rear seat and a woman in the front passenger seat, while the female driver was knocked unconscious.

The vehicle then continued another 100m towards Ahipara before leaving the road and hitting another tree.

All three occupants were believed to be members of the same family, including a wife and husband.

Ahipara chief fire officer Dave Ross said the deceased were victims of a random tragedy rather than driver error.

No alcohol was involved, everyone was wearing seatbelts, the near-new vehicle was in good condition, and in Tuesday night’s weather they had no chance of seeing the tree until it was too late.

“They did all the right things, but still we have two people dead,” he said.

The tree and the high-voltage powerlines greatly complicated rescue efforts.

Volunteers from Ahipara Fire Brigade were able to head straight to the crashed ute but emergency services coming from Kaitaia found their way blocked, so had to turn around and take a 35km detour via Sandhills Rd.

The incident cut power to 1136 households in Ahipara and surrounding areas.

The Ahipara deaths were the first on Northland’s roads for 2023 and brought the national holiday toll to 20. The official holiday period ended at 6am on Wednesday.

Surfers enter the water via the Murray's Bay wharf on Auckland's North Shore during bad weather. Photo / Brett Phibbs

Power cut forces FM radios off air

In Auckland, a power outage at the Sky Tower amid a brewing storm yesterday evening cut power to a number of FM radio transmitters.

Newstalk ZB, owned by Herald publisher NZME, RNZ National and RNZ Concert FM were among the stations affected.

A Sky City spokeswoman said an electrical fault was to blame.

“We believe an electrical fault has resulted in a power outage in parts of the Sky Tower where a number of FM radio transmitters are housed,” she said.

“The cause of the outage is still being investigated. The Sky Tower’s restaurants are closed tonight due to adverse weather conditions.”

Around 5.30pm the spokeswoman said power appeared to have been restored.

Orange heavy rain warnings are currently in effect for the Coromandel Peninsula, western Bay of Plenty and northern Tasman, and are expected to remain until this afternoon or on Friday.

Residents of these areas are being told to expect 120 to 180 mm of rain about the ranges, with lesser amounts closer to the coast.

Severe weather watches are also currently in effect for the upper, central and western North Island, the Nelson Ranges, and Westland with rainfall amounts that may approach warning criteria expected.

Officials have warned people to brace for hazardous driving and boating conditions in Northland, and five days of severe weather on the Coromandel Peninsula.

Periods of heavy rain are set to hit the country today as motorists are being urged to take care where winds could cause damage to trees, powerlines and unsecured structures.

In the North Island, Waikato to Taranaki, Gisborne, and Hawke’s Bay will see heavy falls while Whanganui to Wellington and Wairarapa can expect showers in the afternoon.

Nelson, Buller, Marlborough, Westland and Fiordland can expect heavy falls in the South, with showers looming over Canterbury, Otago and Southland.

The Summer Haze festival in Auckland and UB40 concert in Tauranga were cancelled yesterday, but Nelson’s Bay Dreams festival is due to go ahead today.