Northland businesses begin clean up after floods wash out shops

Saturday, 18 July 2020

Heavy rain causes significant flooding around Northland.

Business in Northland are counting the cost of the overnight flooding which has caused tens of thousands of dollars worth of damage.

One of the worst-affected businesses was Whangārei Mitre 10 Mega, with the flood estimated to have ruined at least $100,000 worth of stock.

Owner Peter Rogers-Jenkins said the stock was in off-site storage facilities but the Porowini Ave store was not spared either, with extensive flooding inside.

Intense surface flooding has closed roads and forced evacuations in parts of Northland.

* Heavy rain, thunderstorms to linger as wet weather seeps in to the weekend

* Weather: Government on standby to help North Island towns badly hit by flooding

More than $100,000 worth of stock damage was caused by flooding at Mitre 10 Mega in Whangarei.

“The garden centre was completely trashed,” Rogers-Jenkins said.

However, the store was open on Saturday as usual thanks to the efforts of staff who arrived before dawn to clean up.

Photos show wood chips strewn across the store and the car park completely submerged.

Rogers-Jenkins shouted his staff pizzas for lunch to thank them.

He remained philosophical about the damage, which he hoped would be covered by insurance.

Mitre 10 Mega staff were in before dawn on Saturday morning to help with the clean-up effort.

“Covid was worse, put it that way.”

Elsewhere in Whangārei, Rathbone St was also badly hit with the floodwaters rising about half a metre, covering the entire road and spilling over into shop fronts.

Eyewitnesses said almost all the buildings up and down the street had been affected by the flooding.

Whangārei Hallenstein Brothers manager Jeron Heihei said a water vacuum needed to be brought in before the store could reopen again in the afternoon.

Rising floodwaters on Rathbone St in Whangarei on Friday night. By Saturday morning most buildings on the street had to deal with at least some flooding damage.

“We had the whole stock room filled with water – it’s pretty crazy.

“Last night I was pretty stressed out worrying about whether the store was going to be OK, so we’re pretty stoked we were able to open.”

Heihei said while much of the flooding had subsided by Saturday morning, at its peak the night before there had been up to half a metre of water flooding through the shops.

He said just about all the retailers on the street had been cleaning up flood damage on Saturday morning.

An aerial view of the flooding in Whangarei on Saturday morning.

“I’ve lived here my entire life, I’ve never seen the rain that bad.”

Across the road, Pulse Shoes was closed while a team of cleaners worked to fix up the damage from the night before.

Owner Pranay Parmar said along with the flooding, a burst down pipe had caused damage both to the ceiling and to their stock.

Parmar estimated there had probably been about $30,000 worth of stock damage at the store.

“We’ve got a couple of boys and a couple of families around, just dealing with the [clean up].

“Luckily we’ve got insurance – but we’ll be closed today and probably tomorrow, and back on Monday.”

At the eastern edge of Rathbone St, closest to the river, somehow Whangārei Honda managed to avoid any damage at all.

Sales manager Paul Jack said they had been open all day without any interruptions.

“I don’t know how we got away with it, but we’re completely fine.

“I was sent a photo last night and was expecting to come in to devastation. I can’t understand it, but we’re very lucky.”

Jack said they were probably the only building on the street that had been unaffected, with the Westpac branch next door to them having flooding issues.

Whangārei Harbour and the mouth of the Hatea River are high and brown with silt run-off.

Near the Whangārei Cruising Club a Coastguard boat was working to secure a starboard navigation beacon which had come loose in the wild weather.