Holidaymakers flee, residents prepare for Cyclone Hale

Cyclone Hale is forecast to bring extensive heavy rain and gale force winds through to Thursday morning.

The first signs of the weather system arrived in the form of rain in the Coromandel holiday hotspot of Tairua late Monday.

Civil Defence had warned the tropical low could be “a significant event with widespread effects” for areas across the east coast of the North Island.

The storm that was forecast by MetService to last several days was expected to cause coastal damage, slips, surface flooding, road closures and power cuts.

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Heavy rain was expected in Coromandel Peninsula for 25 hours from 8pm on Monday, Gisborne for 27 hours from 8pm on Monday, and in Hawke’s Bay for 29 hours from 3am on Tuesday, MetService said.

The heaviest rain was forecast in Gisborne, where 130mm to 180mm was expected. Large waves were expected to hit eastern coastlines from Northland to Wairarapa on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency also warned that slips and flooding may force it to close state highways across the North Island, while strong wind might affect the Auckland Harbour Bridge on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Tairāwhiti Civil Defence warned people to be prepared and check on their neighbours.

“We are asking people delay travel and stay off the roads if you can,” the area’s civil defence and emergency manager Ben Green said.

“With the amount of rain we’ve had, the land is saturated and there could be slips around the region.”

Mr Green says the heavy rain forecast could also bring flash floods.

All unsealed roads were closed to heavy freight trucks for 24 hours from 8pm on Monday, to minimise the impact to the unsealed road network.

Forestry companies also blocked access to private roads with their staff checking sites over the weekend for slips and slash.

Holiday-makers have left Tolaga Bay, north of Gisborne, in anticipation of the cyclone.

Dion Milner, who manages the Tolaga Bay Holiday Park, said most guests packed up and left after he shared the forecast with them during the weekend.

“We’ve got a few hardy ones staying on, but most have gone,” he said.

Gisborne residents Matt and Sophie Lyell were moving belongings in their garage to higher places and locating sandbags.

Lyell said recent rain meant the land was already saturated, with no capacity to soak up any more.

“We get a good 15 centimetres [of water] across the whole section, so we naturally get pretty anxious whenever these storms hit,” he said.

Thames-Coromandel Civil Defence controller Gary Towler said Cyclone Hale would “hit hard” and would likely cause coastal damage as well as slips, surface flooding and power outages.

“We are not sugar-coating this one – it will hit hard and likely cause coastal damage as well as the usual slips, surface flooding and power outages,” Towler said.

MetService is forecasting 100mm to 150mm of rain for the Coromandel Peninsula until 9pm Tuesday.

At the Tairua Surf Lifesaving Club regional manager Josh Coombridge said it was also certain the beach would close.

“I would think every beach in the east of the Coromandel area would be closed tomorrow. [Tuesday] They [MetService] are forecasting storm surges, heavy rainfall which will make the rivers high… So that will make the beaches unsafe to swim at.”

MetService meteorologist Peter Little said Cyclone Hale originated in the Coral Sea off the northeast coast of Australia. That area was a common spot for cyclones to form during seasons affected by La Niña conditions, Little said.

Beginning as a tropical cyclone, Hale has since been downgraded by MetService, but remains a significant weather system and continues to be referred to as Cyclone Hale.

The cyclone, the first of the 2023 season in the South Pacific, was named by the Fiji Meterological Service on Sunday morning.

Sodden weather has been plaguing the country since the New Year. Many experienced a water-logged weekend and in the Coromandel, wet weather had driven holidaymakers away and triggered slips that closed highways.

Hawke’s Bay Civil Defence emergency group controller Ian Macdonald​ said there were varying models showing where exactly the cyclone was tracking.

“The key thing, really, is that people should be hunkering down and staying at home if they can. Stay away from the coast and waterways”.

The swell was expected to reach up to 5.5 metres on Tuesday evening, he said.