Storm arrives in Auckland bringing with it heavy rain and wind

Thursday, 4 January 2018

Auckland has been lashed by a summer storm expected to hit most parts of the North Island.

The city experienced constant rain and light winds on Thursday afternoon, with heavy downpours in the evening.

Thousands of Auckland and Northland residents experienced power cuts as car crashes and high winds brought down power lines. 

One camp owner who evacuated her holiday park on Thursday said she was bracing herself for even worse overnight. 

READ MORE: Here comes the storm

About 1500 homes were without power in the suburb of Mt Eden at 2.30pm after lines came down, according to Vector.

A spokesperson for Vector said it was not clear if power lines had come down due to the storm activity, but deteriorating weather conditions had made it harder for the problem to be fixed. 

The lines were not posing a danger to the public, and power had been restored to all but 650 homes by 3.15pm, Vector said. By 3.30pm, that number had been reduced to 373.

About 1100 homes were without power on Waiheke Island due to a fault, but that appeared to be unrelated to weather conditions, Vector said.

In Silverdale, north Auckland, about 1400 homes were without power as of 3.45pm, a Vector spokesman said.

A spokesman for Fire and Emergency New Zealand said the lines had come down across Wade River Rd, Silverdale, and the road was closed to traffic. 

He said another fire crew had assessed a house that had roof tiles lifting off due to wind, on Kiwi Esplanade, Mangere Bridge.

In Beachlands, a truck veered off Whitford-Maraetai Rd about 4.15pm, bringing down a power pole and cutting electricity to about 400 houses.

The truck driver was uninjured, but the power pole would take between six to eight hours to replace, a Vector spokesman said.

That could mean homes in the area could be without power until the early hours of Friday, he said.

'We've got the storm so that will complicate things.'

A police spokeswoman said a stretch of Whitford-Maraetai Rd would be closed for some time and diversions were in place.

In Ōtāhuhu, south Auckland, a large branch ripped off a pine tree and fell on a car. 

The driver was 'shaken but uninjured', Fire and Emergency NZ said.

The area was closed to traffic for a period of time while the branch and debris were cleared.

In the Far North, more than 1500 homes were without power after four different weather-related incidents.

A vehicle crashed into a power pole in Kaikohe on Thursday evening, cutting power to 1200 homes in the area. 

It was the most serious of the weather-related incidents that had affected power supply to homes in the Far North, a Top Energy spokesman said.

The spokesman said power was expected to remain out until about 11pm in Kaikohe.

The worst of the storm was expected to clear the region at 8pm, he said.

Auckland Transport tweeted that some Gulf Harbour ferries would be replaced by buses on Thursday evening due to the weather.

Fire and Emergency NZ spokesman Colin Underdown said at 10pm firefighters were still 'very busy' clearing fallen trees from roads and dealing with flooded houses.

'We've had a few rooves lifting as well.'

A number of power lines had also been arcing throughout Auckland due to strong winds, he said.

A Piha campground was evacuated earlier in the day due to wild weather warnings, while Tamaki Dr in Auckland was closed for a short period due to king tides on Thursday morning.

The road was reopened just before midday but with police warning commuters to drive to the conditions as the weather 'deteriorated'.  

Campers were 'in the process of leaving' the Piha Domain Camping ground at 9.30am on Thursday, a staff member said.

Manager Fiona Anderson posted on the camp ground's Facebook page around midnight that 'conditions could become dangerous for human life'.

Speaking on Thursday night, Anderson said everybody at the camp had been successfully evacuated.  

'It would have been just irresponsible not to tell people to go home.'

Between 10pm and midnight the area was likely to experience a deadly combination of torrential rain, 130kmh winds and a king tide, she said.

'The rough stuff's not here yet.'

Stan Cooper of Whangaruru Beachfront Camp in Oakura, Northland said half of the campers at his campsite had voluntarily left as conditions worsened during the night.

'The wind is just absolutely shocking mate.'

Auckland Council's director of emergency management John Dragicevich had advice for Aucklanders battening down for high winds:

▪ Secure anything that could cause damage in high winds — tie down trampolines and outdoor furniture. 

▪ Stay indoors and bring your pets inside too.

▪ Close all windows and doors. In the event of high winds, close curtains just in case a window breaks.

▪ Be prepared for power outages with torches and spare batteries close to hand. Make sure your mobiles phones are fully charged.

'It looks like Auckland is going to get a bit of a battering over the next couple of days, so it's a good idea to take precautions to reduce the chance you'll be affected by high winds, slips, power outages and flooding,' he said.

'In the event of an emergency, listen to the radio and follow the instructions of emergency services.'

Storm surges closed Tamaki Dr in central-east Auckland, Auckland Transport tweeted at 10am. It was closed for about two hours. 

Just before 9.30pm, the New Zealand Transport Agency said the road was closed again due to flooding.

'Please avoid this area and take an alternate route.'

Further down the coast, The Port Waikato Kiwi Holiday Park was battening down in preparation for strong winds. 

Manager Matthew Brown said four tents had been taken down on Thursday morning as their owners decided to cut their holiday short.

'But we've got people here in caravans from Wellington who've chosen to ride out the storm, as they think it's safer here than being on the roads,' he said.

He said he was more concerned about wind than rain and waves, as the site only flooded after 'days of continuous downpour'.

Meanwhile, wet weather had delayed start of the first quarterfinal at the ASB Classic between Taiwan's Su-Wei Hsieh and third-seeded Czech Barbora Strycova.

​MetService meteorologist April Clark said Aucklanders should hunker down and expect heavy rain to plague the supercity from midday to midnight on Thursday. 

A severe weather warning for the region was in place, with gusts of up to 120kmh expected as the storm moved across the island. 

Rainfall ranging between 70-90mm was expected to accumulate over 12 hours — especially around the Hibiscus Coast, and the Waitakere and Hunua Ranges. 

Beaches on the east coast felt the brunt of the storm on Thursday, with the west coast expected to be affected on Friday. 

'It is really going to deteriorate pretty quickly. We are expecting to get heavy rains until midnight tonight,' Clark said. 

'Today is the day you are going to get the largest rain accumulation. Tomorrow will be strong westerlies and high waves at the western beaches.'

Commuters wanting to get around the city should think about doing it quickly, Clark said. Flooding was expected, making driving conditions hazardous. 

'If I was them, I would get what they need to get done now.' 

Vector chief networks officer Andre Botha said Vector would respond to power outages caused by the severe weather.

'During any weather related incident our first priority is always the safety of the public and our response crews,' she said.

'If there are outages to respond to we'll work to get the power back on as quickly as possible. We remind people to stay away from damaged electrical equipment and report issues via our app or by phoning us 0508 VECTOR.'

Amy Gowland at the Duke of Marlborough Tavern in Russell said the heavy rains had started well before 7am.

'It is pretty wild and windy here. The rain is very full on,' she said.

Despite the rubbish weather, the pub was gearing up for a big day. 

'I can imagine it is going to be a busy day today, despite the weather. We have got The Feelers and The Eastern playing a concert tonight.'