State of emergency remains in wake of Cyclone Hale's torrential downpours

Wednesday, 11 January 2023

'We finished the high tide cycle with part of the deck hanging in the air,' Mercury Bay Boating Club commodore Jonathan Kline said during Cyclone Hale. Video first published January 11 2023.

Torrential rain and flooding plunged parts of the North Island's east coast into a state of emergency as Cyclone Hale swamped the region on Wednesday before moving down country.

While the rain and wind has eased around Hawke’s Bay, the Wairarapa and top of the South Island is now starting to feel the effects of the storm.

Heavy rain warnings have been lifted across the Coromandel, Gisborne, Hawke’s Bay and the central North Island on Wednesday afternoon.

A severe thunderstorm watch remains in place for the central North Island and a heavy rain warning is in place for the Wairarapa and the Tararua range through until 5am Thursday morning.

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Flooding on SH1 at Koromiko as a result of Cyclone Hale.

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Waterlogged fields surround the mouth of Waipaoa River, just south of Gisborne, on Wednesday afternoon.

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Over the last 24 hours, slips and flooding cut road access to a number of communities around Gisborne and the Coromandel, and left more than 1300 households without power.

By the end of the storm, close to 400ml of rain will have fallen in parts of the Coromandel.

The Mercury Bay Boating Club in Whitianga sacrifices its deck after Cyclone Hale storm surge undermined it overnight.

Tokomaru Bay residents were forced to evacuate due to flooding overnight, according to Tairāwhiti Civil Defence.

The damage brought by the storm was evident, leaving 'damage and slips everywhere' in local communities, according to Gisborne deputy mayor Josh Wharehinga.

He said closed roads had been inhibiting authorities' ability to provide relief to some communities and further damage to the road network was yet another 'huge blow' for the region.

A large slip blocks Kennedy Bay Rd in the Coromandel.

Some near the ocean had to battle to save their properties as the ocean surged, inundating properties near Buffalo Beach, Whitianga.

Along the same beach, members of the historic Mercury Bay Boating Club had to cut off the clubhouse deck to save the building from damage after waves swallowed up part of the foreshore.

'We finished the high tide cycle with part of the decking hanging in the air and all efforts this morning have focussed on removing the deck and protecting the building.”

The plan now, according to commodore Kline, is to jack-up the building to transport it to higher ground.

The Gisborne District Council and Civil Defence are in conversation with central government around the assessment of damage in the region, he says.

The bad weather has now moved down the country and as of Wednesday afternoon the South Island had started to feel the effects.

State Highway 1 between Blenheim and Picton had seen surface flooding, while rivers in Picton and Koromiko have filled.

Heavy rain warnings have been issued for the Eastern hills and ranges of Wairarapa.

But the storm is set to move out to sea over the next 36 hours, with MetService saying by Thursday evening “all traces of the cyclone will be gone”.

Yet Hale could be swapped out for another storm next week, with one of the major forecasting models predicting a storm to form in the tropics and hit the North Island during the week.

MetService Meteorologist Alwyn Bakker on Tuesday confirmed the national forecaster was aware of the system but said it was too early to make meaningful predictions of where it would head.