Cyclone Gabrielle: What you need to know in your region
Thursday, 16 February 2023
A national state of emergency was declared on Tuesday after Cyclone Gabrielle brought destruction to much of the North Island.
Waka Kotahi is updating its map of highway closures as flooding, slips, fallen trees and debris continue to plague the road network.
Here’s what you need to know about the situation in your region.
**READ MORE:
* More supermarkets forced to close due to Cyclone Gabrielle
* Live: State of national emergency declared as Cyclone Gabrielle smashes NZ
* Cyclone Gabrielle: Road closures continue to increase across North Island
**
Hawke’s Bay
A second road is now open between Napier and Hastings.
As well as Waitangi Bridge on SH51, SH2 between Napier and Hastings has reopened for essential workers, emergency services and people with an essential need to travel.
Both lanes are open from the roundabout at Pakowhai Rd and the Whakatu Arterial Link, north of Napier.
At 5.10pm Thursday the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council said Waitangi bridge in Clive, connecting Napier to Hastings, was open, allowing emergency services and critical workers to pass through.
“This link between Napier and Hastings is vital,” Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency said.
“ It’s currently the only link connecting Napier and Hastings, and we need to ensure there are no delays for emergency services. We anticipate a lot of people will be wanting to use the road, but we need to prioritise emergency services.'
On Thursday, 40,800 Hawke's Bay homes were without power, of those, 31,700 were from Napier.
Another 90,000 homes are being powered by generators. It will be up to a week before power can be fully restored to Hawke's Bay.
Power is being dealt with at a national level, agencies are working on an interim solution to get medical services, supermarkets and petrol stations open in the first instance.
At 5.10pm on Thursday the Wairoa District Council released a statement saying the cyclone has been “the most catastrophic weather event Wairoa has experienced in living memory” with hundreds of people evacuated.
“Our focus is on reopening main roads, so we can bring supplies in. Communication is still patchy,” the statement said.
MetService put a severe thunderstorm watch in place from 3pm to 10pm on Thursday.
Officials believe there is enough town water for a few days but are asking residents to conserve as much as possible.
Drinking water is safe, but residents have been asked to avoid flushing the toilet unless absolutely necessary and people should avoid showering if they can.
The Napier wastewater system is still compromised and people should still conserve water. The treatment plant in Hastings is working.
Emergency responders are coordinating delivery of supplies. Re-connecting communications is a priority and a warehouse is being set up, so food can be packaged and delivered.
Contractors in Wairoa were focused on connectability for the local roading network as the electricity supply was erratic.
Work was under way to get food, water, fuel and generators, which had been identified as priorities for the district.
For those who urgently needed them, kai packs would be available to pick up from the Te Whare Maire building from 10-11am and 2-3pm daily.
On Thursday morning, Central Hawke's Bay residents on Drumpeel Rd in Ōtāne were urged to evacuate immediately and head to the evacuation centre at the CHB Municipal Theatre after reports of the Tukituki River rising.
On Wednesday, two deaths were reported in Hawke’s Bay after a woman and her home were crushed by a landslip, while in Napier a body was found on a beach.
Chairperson of Hawke's Bay Regional Council, Hinewai Ormsby said there were160 people evacuated to Waiohiki marae on Wednesday night.
Mayor Craig Little said the town’s main issues were communication, petrol, food and water supplies.
The streets of Wairoa are caked in mud, queues for food are out the door at the local welfare centre and at least 60 people have been evacuated from their homes and are bedding down in the evacuation centre.
Fuel supply in the town was limited and only available to essential services. The Caltex petrol station on Hyderabad Rd is open.
The message from Little and incident controller Juanita Savage to people waiting to hear from displaced and cut off families is – we are caring for your loved ones. Please don’t worry.
Officials don’t believe anybody is missing or injured but volunteers and emergency officials are still going door to door checking on people. The main concern was for people in more rural areas who were isolated.
Group controller Ian Macdonald said priorities to open roads are the expressway and access to communities that had been cut off.
Waka Kotahi said there were a number of closures in place.
There is hope SH50, the Hawke's Bay expressway, will reopen within the next 24 hours.
SH2 to Napier was closed and bridges along the route had been washed away.
The connection to Gisborne and through SH38 was being worked on.
SH51 between Napier and Clive has reopened, restoring access between Hastings and Napier but is for essential travel only.
Health authorities have reported in some cases, emergency services have been waiting up to four hours to travel the road, specifically as the road narrows at Clive Bridge.
“It’s really, really important that emergency services are able to access this route easily and quickly,” system manager for Hawke’s Bay Martin Colditz said.
Te Whatu Ora urges those who are going to run out of medication in the next two days, to go to pharmacies where they can get a small emergency supply without a prescription. This should be from your normal pharmacy, don’t go to ED for your medication or to look for whānau.
Elective surgeries, endoscopy services and outpatient appointments in Napier, Hastings, Wairoa and Central Hawke’s Bay are cancelled for Thursday and Friday.
Affected patients are being contacted. Three acute theatres, including emergency C-sections and urgent cancer surgery, and radiology are operating at Hawke’s Bay Hospital in Hastings.
Gisborne/Tairāwhiti
The national death toll jumped to five on Thursday morning after a body was found in Gisborne, believed to have been caught in the floodwaters. Authorities and emergency responders fear there are more to come.
Lillian Te Hau-Ward of Tokomaru Bay Civil Defence confirmed there had been a death at Tokomaru Bay but said the person died before Cyclone Gabrielle.
A severe thunderstorm watch was in place for Gisborne on Thursday with water supply in a crisis situation and level 4 water restrictions.
The city taps are at risk of running dry if people do not drastically reduce their water usage. Water should be used for hygiene and drinking uses only.
Most of Gisborne's power has been restored following a warning that customers in the region should be prepared to be without power for “days or weeks”.
A Chorus spokesperson said there were two fibre cables supplying the city's telecommunications, but both suffered 'major cuts' in landslides.
The northern line was the most-repairable but had four known breaks including one in a deep gorge.
Crews, using two helicopters, were working to fix the breaks on Thursday, but there was no certainty when all - including the most-challenging one - could be fixed.
Health NZ said power at Gisborne Hospital was operating at “limited capacity” on diesel generators.
Waikato including Coromandel Peninsula
Multiple parts of SH25 around the Coromandel Peninsula remained closed as of 10am on Thursday with expectations to open the road between Opoutere Rd and SH25A Hikuai by the afternoon.
Waikato district mayor Jacqui Church said the area’s state of emergency would last a week and was called to pre-empt the worst of the event.
Bay of Plenty
Bay of Plenty Civil Defence said many people in the region had been without power, and it could be a while before power companies could safely make repairs.
On Thursday, Horizon Network outage map showed the area was still without power until further notice.
About 50 homes were evacuated, and 75 schools closed in the Bay of Plenty, affecting about 25,600 students.
“The key things we want our community to do at this point is check on their properties. Check on neighbours and make sure they're OK, and report slips and tree falls to council,” Western Bay mayor James Denyer said.
Evacuated residents of Ōhope and Whakatāne have now been allowed to return to their homes.
Wellington
Wairarapa is to receive help from New Zealand Defence Force, with 20 soldiers based in Featherston.
In a press release on Wednesday, South Wairarapa District councillor Aidan Ellims said the expected 100mm of rain overnight would impact the isolated communities in Eastern Wairarapa and the deployed troops will help on the Remutaka Hills.
“Rivers on the eastern side heading out to the coast have breached their banks and are flowing through farmland and across roads,' said Ellims, who is also the chair of the infrastructure and community services committee.
“The damage is still being assessed, but locals have suggested there are washouts and slips, both in the Hinekura district which already has limited road access, and through Tuturumuri, Tora and White Rock.”
The Wellington Region Emergency Management Office warned pond and surface flooding may appear faster than usual because the ground is already saturated from previous rainfall.
Northland
Northland Inc has put together a list of agencies and organisations providing support services for businesses: http://bit.ly/3kWZo18
Waka Kotahi reopened more Northland roads on Thursday afternoon for essential travel.
Some of the key reopenings are:
SH12/14 the official detour route, to bypass the section of SH1 currently closed between Brynderwyns to Waipu, is now open for freight via SH12/14 (rather than the Paparoa/Oakleigh Road). The detour for light vehicles remains via Mangawhai/Kaiwaka.
SH 12 Dargaville to Kaikohe is now open.
SH14 Dargaville to Maungatapere is now open. As floodwaters recede, workers will continue to clear.
SH15 from Maungatapere to Kaikohe is now open
The priority for Thursday was to work on main high voltage lines that supply council water and sewage pumps, communication sites and getting as many schools and dairy farms re-livened as possible.
There are 14 schools across without power, and the company hoped to see nine of those back with power tomorrow morning.
Northpower was also working towards getting power back for 63 dairy farms.
The Kaipara District Council asked residents to take care when re-entering houses because floodwaters could be contaminated.
Auckland
Auckland Emergency Management advised as from Thursday morning approximately 16,000 homes and businesses were without power, down from 25,000 the day before.
Counties Energy reported 760 properties in Counties Manukau remained without power.
Auckland Council's director of regulatory services Craig Hobbs said an estimated 300 homes in the Muriwai area could be red or yellow stickered.
For safety reasons, Auckland Emergency Management has temporarily closed five regional parks in the Auckland region until Wednesday, February 22.
These are: Waitākere Ranges Regional Park, Muriwai Regional Park, Atiu Creek Regional Park, Tāwharanui Regional Park, Hunua Ranges – western side, including Hunua Falls
Access to parts of the West Coast including Muriwai, Piha, Te Henga (Bethells Beach) and Karekare is severely compromised due to landslips.
From Thursday, 13 civil defence centres, shelter and information hubs remain open.
South Island
On Thursday, Interislander chief executive Walter Rushbrook said Aratere and Kaiarahi were both sailing with passengers.
“However, Kaiarahi’s early sailing today was cancelled due to crewing issues.
“Kaitaki is not sailing today as it's undergoing its audit required prior to it resuming sailing with passengers.”
A sailing by the freight ferry Valentine has replaced Thursday’s Kaitaki.