Welfare centre activated, tornado off coast, motorists stranded as thunderstorms hammer Northland
Friday, 17 July 2020
Civil Defence welfare centres have been activated for people forced to leave homes in the Far North, as thunderstorms battered Northland and a tornado reportedly lurked offshore.
Firefighters were flat-out on Friday night responding to flooding in and around Whangārei.
Police advised motorists to avoid driving around Whangārei, after Kaka St in Morningside was flooded and partially closed.
Motorist Nicole Lawton was stuck outside Kawakawa, 55km north of Whangārei, where she said police had closed the road ahead due to heavy floods.
**READ MORE:
* Weather: Driver rescued after ute was dragged into river following heavy rain
* Weather: Heavy rain, wind gusts hit upper North Island
* Heavy rain to lash upper North Island on Wednesday, with flooding on the cards
**
“We’re in a queue of about 20 cars,” Lawton said. “Up ahead of me the field is flooded.
“The flooding is so bad that the frogs are running across the road to try and get some shelter.”
She said the downpour was intense earlier on Friday evening too.
“That was honestly the worst flooding I’ve ever driven through.”
Police at 9.35pm said SH1 in Moerewa at the base of Turntable Hill was closed, as was Puketona Junction where SH10 and SH11 met.
Two welfare centres were activated for people who had to leave their homes due to flooding and had nowhere else to stay.
One was at Kamo Scout Dean at 3 Mile Bush Road, Kamo and the other at Onerahi Community Hall at 130 Onerahi Road, Whangārei.
”The Far North is not accessible due to flooding,” police added.
Police urged people against all non-essential travel.
Intense downpours in Whangārei, Onerahi and Tikipunga displaced some people from their homes.
Friday evening’s bad weather followed days of weather warnings and floods and the rescue of a man from the roof of his vehicle after he was swept into a river in Warkworth, north Auckland.
Police said a vehicle was stuck in floodwater on Heretaunga St in Tikipunga, Whangārei at about 6.30pm on Friday.
MetService said more thunderstorms could pummel eastern Northland between the Bay of Islands and Waipu until about 11pm.
Isolated downpours of 25-50 mm per hour were forecast.
Until about 10pm on Friday, thunderstorms embedded within broader areas of rain were expected to hit Northland between Kaitaia and the Brynderwyn Hills.
Rainfall of this intensity could cause surface or flash flooding, especially in low-lying areas, MetService added.
Meanwhile, video sent to TVNZ appeared to show a tornado off Tupou Bay in the Far North.
MetService urged people to take care around streams, rivers or narrow valleys.
”Driving conditions will also be hazardous with surface flooding and poor visibility in heavy rain,” the forecasters added.
Earlier SH1 between Ohaeawai and Kawakawa was closed due to heavy flooding.
The New Zealand Transport Agency also urged caution after MetService issued a heavy rain warning for Northland north of Whangārei and Dargaville.
A section of SH1 at the Otiria Stream bridge in Moerewa was also closed due to flooding.
The NZTA said State Highway 11 via Paihia could be used as an alternative route – but that road was also susceptible to flooding.
The NZTA urged motorists to take care, drive to the conditions and watch out for road hazards like surface flooding in low-lying areas, slips or fallen trees. Heavy rain could also reduce visibility, it said.
On Friday morning, a severe thunderstorm warning was issued for the Kerikeri area as a storm moved through the region.
The area had experienced “significant” rainfall in the morning, MetService spokesman Gerard Barrow said.
About 70 millimetres of rain fell at Kerikeri airport over six hours, with 40mm in just one hour.
Barrow earlier said the north of Kerikeri had experienced 24mm of rain by 5am.
Over a 12-hour period, 60 mm had fallen in Cape Reinga.
Rainfall appeared to be very localised, Barrow said.
For example, the Kaitaia area had only had about 18mm.