Northland flooding: Wet weather to continue, strong wind watch issued

Tuesday, 21 July 2020

Heavy rain causes significant flooding around Northland.

More wet weather is expected for Northland as parts of the region continue the clean-up from severe downpours last week.

Towns such as Whangārei and Moerewa experienced a deluge of rain on Friday and Saturday that flooded homes and damaged roads.

The rainfall was described as a “once in a 500-year rainfall event”, and Murray Soljak, spokesman for the Northland Civil Defence Emergency Management group, said fixing the roads would be “extensive and expensive”.

The rain has yet to let up and MetService has issued a strong wind watch for the region.

Members of the Whangārei Flying Club snapped some photos of the Whangārei Falls looking muddier than usual.

* Northland flooding: Showers possible for region, but worst is over

* Heavy rain on the way for Northland as clean-up continues

Dark clouds in Northland's Dargaville on Tuesday morning as wet weather continues in the region.

On Tuesday, MetService said a band of rain was moving on to the “sodden upper North Island”.

“The good news, it is a brief affair,” a spokesperson said.

Heavy rain caused flooding, slips and damage to houses and roads in Northland.

“The bad news, there may be some heavy showers embedded.”

Around 8.30am, MetService issued the wind watch and said southwest winds may approach severe gale in exposed places.

It’s expected to affect Northland, Auckland and Coromandel Peninsula and is valid until 10pm.

Civil Defence Northland said Moerewa was one of the locations most affected by the rain.

“Over the weekend, CDEM and Far North District Council teams have carried out rapid assessments of more than 100 properties, checking on both the welfare of residents, and the impact on the homes and wastewater disposal systems.

“With a few properties still to be visited, the information gathered will ensure that the right forms of assistance are provided.”

Civil Defence Minister Peeni Henare visited the region on Sunday to talk to residents, community members, iwi leaders, and council staff.

“It is a challenging time for the community, and they have responded well and supported each other during this tough time,” Henare told Stuff.

“While flood waters have mostly receded the clean-up will take some time.”

Henare said he wanted to acknowledge community leaders, civil defence, emergency services and local council for their efforts to address the situation quickly.

“I have met with mayors of impacted areas who are confident that their teams have managed this weather event well.

“Damage assessments are still underway so it is too early to know cost of this weather event. We will stay in contact with local councils to see what assistance they may need once the full impact is known.”

Welfare support is available through the Ministry for Social Development and civil defence, he said.

Soljak said some locals would be affected by the flood for some time, but they had really pulled together.

“Overall, the region did really, really well,” he said.

“By and large people have pulled together and it’s clear what needs to be done from here and it’s just a matter of working through it.”

Fire and Emergency New Zealand responded to more than 200 weather-related incidents in Northland between 6pm Friday and 5.30am Saturday. The majority of the call-outs were due to flooding in the Northland and wider Whangārei areas.

A police spokeswoman said a handful of homes in Whangārei and Paihia were evacuated, including one in Kensington where a person and their cat were taken to safety.

Two people in the far north area of Tāheke were also caught in the storm’s crossfire and had to be rescued after they became trapped in their vehicle in the early hours of Saturday morning.