Embattled Maraetai: full of debris, damage, and gratitude

Friday, 5 January 2018

The east Auckland suburb of Maraetai bears the brunt of a summer storm.

Friday's storm has ravaged the east coast of Auckland, flooding homes, wrecking a wharf, and closing roads.

Maraetai and Beachlands' volunteer fire brigade battled an onslaught of wind, rain, and sea with sandbags and traffic control measures.

Maraetai local Tracey Turner said the floodwater had receded by 2.45pm, but houses were still without power and carnage was all too visible.

Wild waves at Maraetai Beach had breached the seawall on Friday morning, flooding homes and gardens.

'All the grassy verges have been undermined by waves, the wharf is quite wrecked, and the road is totally awash with debris,' she said.

**READ MORE:

Rain and tides swept dramatically over the coastal road.

* Live: Storm turns fatal, amid evacuations, road closures and widespread flooding

* Thames coast road shredded by storm

Maraetai local Shona Parore photographed unusually wild waves crashing into the bush-clad shore.

* Flooding closes roads, enters houses in Auckland**

'Even seats — park benches that are usually firmly planted – are sitting in the middle of the road.'

Heavy debris had washed up on the road during morning sea surges.

Turner, 46, woke up to water breaking the Maraetai seawall on Thursday night at high tide, and then again on Friday morning to a 'howling, howling wind'.

She described the ocean washing over the coastal road and into her front garden, and said its force had snapped wooden posts supporting her neighbour's fence.

Waves sucked soil out from under a coastal footpath.

Turner, her husband, and their two sons had lived in the house since 2000 and she said they had never seen a storm of Friday's 'ferociousness'.

They had kayaked down the flooded road before, but it was a full-frontal, onshore wind combined with a king tide that did the damage, she said.

'Our quiet little bay turned into a wild west coast surf beach.'

The Turners were using the afternoon's lull to prepare for further bad weather forecast for Friday night.

'We've picked up everything that could possibly float off and do damage, and are thinking about what to cook tonight on the gas stove,' she said.

Meanwhile, locals were showing their support to all those helping with the mop-up – Dominos offered free pizzas to crew members, and Beachlands' Sierra Cafe promised free coffee and a scone to anyone who could prove they'd been out helping.

Kishor and Asha Hira, who own the local Dominos, said pizza was their way of saying thanks to those who'd been working all night and day to help keep their close-knit community safe.

'The road's dropped off, there's rubbish everywhere – it's a job you wouldn't wish on anyone, but they're out there doing it,' Kishor said.

Scores of locals took to social media to post footage of wild seas and flooding in the area.

Anja Vroegop tweeted a video of foreshore houses surrounded by water, and warned Kiwis to stay safe in the storm.

Shocking flooding out at my Mum's in #maraetai! Stay safe everyone in NZ #weather pic.twitter.com/WKU0MNUeSO

— Anja Vroegop (@AnjaVroegop) January 5, 2018

The Beachlands Volunteer Fire Brigade posted on Facebook on Friday morning that Maraetai Coast Rd, along with its shops, would be closed 'for the next couple of days due to flooding and damage'.

More rain fell in Auckland in the past 24 hours than the last two months combined, according to Niwa.