Widespread warnings after day of wild weather

The upper North Island has taken a pounding today with heavy rain and wild winds enough to tip trucks and knock out power.

The Harbour Bridge has been operating low-speed restrictions, roads have flooded and some schools were forced to keep their gates closed.

MetService said there could be winds up to 110km/h in Auckland and Northland tonight.

Paihia and Waitangi spent most of the day in the dark, in a power cut affecting more than 1700 properties.

Bay of Islands residents rugged up, and got camping stoves and torches, to wait out the miserable day.

Paihia shoreline on 25 July 2022.
Photo: RNZ / Sam Olley

Almost every business on the main street was closed. Except for the pharmacy that kept up lifeline services in the dark, and one sushi shop using a backup generator and cash.

Countdown Waitangi had to shut when power was lost, and could not open again till 3pm.

Bay of Islands Lodge owner Andy Larsen was among the business owners disrupted.

He told RNZ he had a load of washing on when “suddenly, everything stopped and lights went out” this morning.

The outage started around 9am and power was restored to his street just before 2pm this afternoon.

Larsen said it took longer than he expected, but he was understanding when he looked outside.

“The last couple of days has been quite wet. But the wind really picked up and it really had a bite to it today, more storm like – heavy winds, things blowing around.”

Bay of Islands Lodge owner Andy Larsen.
Photo: RNZ / Sam Olley

The cut caused a nervous wait for Donna Smith down the street at Sandpit Poolroom and Bar, who was immediately checking that backup power had kept fridges and freezers running.

The general supply was restored in time for her to open at 5pm.

“Thank God, I was just trying to work away in the dark, sort of filling my shelves. And all of a sudden they all just came back on. So it was so fantastic.”

Lines company Top Energy said the Waitangi and Paihia power cut was caused by a damaged power pole in an isolated area.

In a Facebook post, it said its crews were working in “challenging conditions” and warned people to treat all power lines and electrical wiring as being live at all times.

Flooding south of Kawakawa in Northland.
Photo: RNZ / Sam Olley

Northland residents urged to keep off roads

Northland Civil Defence was now warning locals of potential flooding on roads after heavy rain battered the region today.

It said roads near the east coast were particularly risky with high tide at 5.30-6pm.

Civil Defence said closures weren’t guaranteed, but drivers should be prepared.

In a statement, police urged Northland motorists to avoid non-essential travel with surface flooding and rising tides threatening to disrupt other major roads.

Police said emergency services were attending a slip on State Highway 11, near Lemon’s Hill that had blocked both lanes of the highway.

Police said a significant number of roads would continue to be impacted throughout the evening.

MetService placed a heavy rain warning on both Northland and Bay of Plenty west of Kawerau overnight.

A further 60-90mm of rain was forecast to accumulate on top of what had already fallen in Northland while 120-160mm was expected to fall in the Bay of Plenty.

Northland was also forecast to be battered by high winds overnight with northeast gales gusting up to 120km/h in exposed places.

Meanwhile, a strong wind warning was put in place for Auckland including Great Barrier Island with severe northeast gales expected to reach up to 110km/h.

In the Coromandel, a stretch of State Highway 25 was closed from 5pm on Monday evening due to dangerous conditions.

The highway north of Coromandel town was down to one lane earlier due to a slip.

Waka Kotahi said it would reassess the road tomorrow morning.

There was also flooding between Tairua and Whitianga, with some parts of the roading network down to one lane and more closures likely.

And Hikuai Settlement Road was blocked between Tairua Road and Augusta Drive, after a tree came down across the road.

It was reported to Police at 7.10pm.

Motorists were advised to expect delays and encouraged to postpone travel unless absolutely necessary.

Northland farmers urged to move stock to drier ground

Farmers in rain-drenched Northland moved stock to drier areas today, after 45 millimetres of rain fell overnight.

Colin Hannah, who farms just outside of Whangārei, said the ground on his farm was saturated.

He said farmers should move stock to hard ground now, if they had not already.

Kerikeri Airport has pushed over 500mm of rain for this month

Their July average is around 190mm, making this their 2nd wettest July on record (since 1978).

Christchurch is another place of interest with more rain on the way they could exceed their July record pic.twitter.com/9uQHTZRIA9

— MetService (@MetService) July 25, 2022

Rainfall set to challenge Marlborough’s sewer system

Heavy rain is set to fall in Marlborough overnight, with residents urged to be prepared for potential flooding.

MetService has issued a heavy rain watch for Marlborough overnight on Monday, with the Kaikōura Coast expected to be worst hit.

The region remains saturated after it was battered by heavy rain two weeks ago.

Marlborough District Council’s Hydrologist Val Wadsworth said while the rainfall was not predicted to be as heavy or as intense as it was two weeks ago, the region was already saturated meaning water would build up in some areas.

As a precaution, State Highway 63, from the intersection of State Highway 6 to Anglesea Street in Renwick will be closed from 7pm this evening until 6am tomorrow morning.

All traffic will be diverted through Renwick.

Marlborough Roads manager Steve Murrin said crews were prepared for flooding.

It would keep a close eye on areas around Ward and the Lower Awatere that were impacted by the heavy rain a couple of weeks ago, as well as the fords on the Wairau Plains.

Motorists driving on the damaged Kenepuru Road and Queen Charlotte Drive were urged to take extra care.

Council’s operations and maintenance engineer Stephen Rooney said the sewer system in Blenheim and Seddon was also likely to fill up quickly given it was already running high after the recent rainfall event.

“We are working on strategies to try to overcome this issue however, if people notice their toilet is slow to flush, please only do so if necessary,” he said.

Meanwhile, people planning on walking or cycling in the Wither Hills Farm Park or along the Taylor River, should take care given both areas were still very wet from the previous rainfall event.

Heavy rain travelling down the South Island

A heavy rain warning is in place for Canterbury south of Rakaia River between 1am Tuesday morning and 3am on Wednesday.

MetService warned peak rainfall rates could reach up to 10-15mm per hour with the heaviest downpours forecast to hit about the foothills.

The heavy rain could lead to rising river levels while surface flooding could make driving hazardous in some areas.

The rain is forecast to hit North Otago and Dunedin tomorrow with a heavy rain warning in place for both areas from 6am tomorrow morning until Wednesday morning.

North Otago was expected to bear the brunt of the weather with 100-130mm of rain expected to accumulate on Tuesday.

At the top of the South Island, the Tasman region was placed under a heavy rain warning from this afternoon until 9am tomorrow morning.

MetService warned heavy rainfall could see streams and rivers rise rapidly with rain intensities peaking at 10 to 20 mm per hour.

Environment Canterbury issued a flood warning on Tuesday for many parts of the region including Waitaki, Mackenzie, Waimate, Timaru, Ashburton, Selwyn, Waimakariri, Hurunui and Kaikōura.

“Environment Canterbury staff will be out at first light tomorrow morning checking key sites (particularly those affected in last week’s flooding) and will monitor and update the situation on all rivers throughout Tuesday and into Wednesday.

“We encourage those with property adjacent to rivers that may be affected to closely monitor their own situation, and take action to prepare for high flows tomorrow and Wednesday.”

Road snowfall warnings were also in place overnight for many of the alpine passes in the South Island.

Crown Range Road, Lindis Pass, Arthur’s Pass and Lewis Pass were all expected to see snow accumulate on the roads above 800-900m.

Waka Kotahi is requiring driver to use chains on State Highway 73 between Springfield and Castle Hill, and between Arthers Pass and Otira, tonight.

Towing is no longer allowed in these areas.