Residents evacuated, breakwater closed and power cut as storm hammers region

Thursday, 1 February 2018

Storm hits Taranaki with high winds and seas.

Port Taranaki's lee breakwater will remain closed so emergency repair work can be carried out after it was damaged in Thursday's storm.

The area was closed on Thursday as it was battered by 4.5 metre swells coinciding with a king tide about midday.

Port Taranaki infrastructure and projects programme manager Mark Webb said the gate to the breakwater and car park would remain closed overnight and on Friday following the storm surges to allow for emergency repair work to be carried out.

The waves were crashing over the lee breakwater.

It is the second time the area has been hammered by storm surges in a month, with the breakwater, car park and boat ramp all being damaged in early january.

Webb said repairs made to the lee breakwater, car park and boat ramp after the last storm had stood up relatively well during Thursday's smashing.

Massive waves combined with a king tide flooded Ngamotu Beach

The lee breakwater at Port Taranaki was hammered on Thursday.

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'Following the last storm, extra drainage was put in the area and that appears to have worked well during today's large swells. While there is some damage to the areas of the car park that were yet to be sealed, we will be working hard to get the car park and boat ramp useable for the weekend,' Webb said.

Residents on Howard St were asked to evacuate as a precaution.

Webb warned the public away from the area overnight, with 3.7m swells expected at high tide just before midnight.

'The surges are large and potentially dangerous for people on the breakwater and car park area. Therefore we ask that people stay away from the area.'

Debris washed up along the river as a result of the storm.

Despite the car park being closed tomorrow, the Bach on Breakwater Café and Restaurant would be open for business.

Thursday's 3.8m king tide also caused the end of the boat pontoon at the lee breakwater to become dangerously hooked on the top of piles it was attached to as the tide receded, New Plymouth Marina Company spokesman Roy Neatherway said.

The pontoon was sticking up in the air before underwater diving contractors were able to free the last section of the pontoon from the pile, and save two boats moored to the structure, before a 0.1m low tide occurred at 5.50pm, he said.

The storm also saw the evacuation of dozens of residents living near the mouth of the Waitara River.

Fire and Emergency New Zealand evacuated approximately 30 households on Waitara's Howard St (East Quay), after receiving a call reporting the swelling tide at 10.08am on Thursday.

Larges swell coupled with a king tide threatened to flood the area near the mouth of the Waitara River.

Those evacuated were asked to temporarily move to the Waitara Public Library if they did not have family or friends to stay with.

However, at 1.45pm no residents were using the library.

A heavy swell battered the Taranaki coast on Thursday.

Aaron Duckett, who lives up a hill on the opposite side of the river, said the evacuation included several of his friends living by the beach.

'It's just a worry with the tide at the moment,' he said.

The high tide lifted a section of the lee breakwater pontoon where two boats were moored. Contractors were able to cut the connection between the pontoon and piles to lower the structure.

'The river is getting pretty high and it's still low tide.'

The MetService issued a high wind warning for southern Taranaki with gusts forecast to reach 130 kilometres an hour or more until the early evening.

At around 1pm there were 10 Fire and Emergency New Zealand staff at the river mouth which was starting to calm, but they were still worried.

'There will be other issues with the tide coming back in tonight,' Taranaki Area Commander for Fire and Emergency New Zealand Pat Fitzell said.

New Plymouth's Coastal Walkway was also closed during the high tide, along with Brooklands Dr up to Brooklands Zoo where trees had fallen, a Civil Defence spokeswoman said.

The storm, which is battering much of the country, also lifted roofs and brought down powerlines, cutting power in parts of Taranaki.

By 7am the Hāwera Fire Brigade was called to a downed power line.

Senior station officer David Kuklinski said the single power line that ran to a house on Kingsford Smith Dr, Normanby was weather-related.

The New Plymouth Fire Brigade sent its first truck out to an incident not long after 7am where strong winds were lifting the roof off a house in Fitzroy.

Senior station officer Keith Murphy said although this was the first incident of the day, he doubted it would be the last.

'We're expecting to have more calls like this,' Murphy said.

The Powerco website reported 278 properties in Opunake were without power. The supply was expected to be back on by 11am.

The website also reported there were power cuts to 502 properties in Okato, 73 in Waitotara, 78 in New Plymouth, 188 in Eltham and 226 in Pātea. The cuts were all expected to be resolved by late evening.