Cyclone Gabrielle: Many Auckland beaches now safe to swim at, but avoid the West Coast

Friday, 17 February 2023

Bethells Beach residents on Auckland's west coast begin the clean up after Cyclone Gabrielle.

With better weather on the way for Auckland, a number of beaches are no longer polluted with wastewater but authorities are urging caution in the water.

Surf Life Saving Northern Region said its ability to patrol beaches on the weekend had been “severely impacted” by Cyclone Gabrielle and asked beachgoers to avoid areas and communities most impacted.

This included West Coast beaches Muriwai, Piha, Karekare and Bethells Beach. Vehicle access to Muriwai beach would also be closed.

“Given the significant community impact, ongoing recovery response, and limited public access to Bethells Beach, Muriwai, Karekarea and Piha, we ask the public to avoid travelling to these beaches.

* 'Don't come to Piha,' locals say, as sightseers block access to those in need

A number of Auckland’s beaches will be safe to swim at this weekend after the severe weather caused by the cyclone.

* Cyclone Gabrielle: What you need to know in your region

“Instead visit areas that have appropriate resources and active surf lifesaving patrols scheduled,” Surf Life Saving Northern Region CEO Matt Williams said.

Waitākere Councillor Shane Henderson agreed Aucklanders should stay away from the West Coast areas.

“I can’t stress enough, these locations are high risk and only residents and emergency services will be given access.

“Land especially around our Western beach communities continues to be unstable. Soil saturation remains quite high, so there is still a risk of further slips.”

For safety reasons, Auckland Emergency Management had also temporarily closed five regional parks – Waitākere Ranges Regional Park, Muriwai Regional Park, Ātiu Creek Regional Park, Tāwharanui Regional Park, and the western side of Hunua Ranges, including Hunua Falls.

Williams also advised anyone going to the beach should visit the SafeSwim website ahead of time to check for any possible water quality issues caused by the cyclone.

On Friday evening, 11 out of Auckland’s 80 listed beaches on the SafeSwim website had been ‘black flagged’, meaning wastewater, or sewerage had leaked into the ocean.

Black flags are not physically present on beaches, but rather are determined on the Swimsafe website.

Six Auckland beaches were flagged red, meaning swimming in these locations comes with a risk of illness, this did not include waterways with long-term no-swim alerts.

In Northland, every beach on the SafeSwim website had been red-flagged meaning swimming was not advised.

Police have asked Aucklanders not to travel to Northland for the weekend as roading infrastructure had been affected by the weather, and could be unsafe if there were too many vehicles on the road.

”Although the sun is out, the effects of Cyclone Gabrielle remain,” Superintendent Tony Hill said, “it’s really important we prioritise traffic to vehicles needed to support recovery efforts.”

According to MetService, Auckland would reach a high of 24C degrees on Saturday and Sunday.

On Saturday there would be fine breaks but some isolated showers, whereas Sunday was set to be mainly fine with light winds.