Storm force may hit overnight

Campers forced to flee and power cut to thousands of North Island homes

Emergency services and Civil Defence bosses will have to wait until this morning to learn the full impact of the huge storm lashing New Zealand. Gales and torrential rain forced many holidaymakers to head home yesterday after the front started making its presence felt in the Far North.

But with king tides on the east coast due overnight, officials were bracing themselves for more flooding — and more damage from high winds today as rain eased. Although there were no reports of injury or damage caused directly by the storm late last night, there were signs that could change as the situation developed.

In Auckland, a large marquee on Patiki Rd in Avondale was blown down, with police concerned it could cause problems on the nearby northwestern motorway.

There were also reports of multiple trees down — with one driver escaping when a big tree fell across her bonnet and smashed her windscreen as she was driving in Otahuhu.

Tamaki Drive was partially closed for the second time yesterday, at Kohimarama, to coincide with a king tide about 10.20pm. At least 2000 homes in the North Island were without power.

In Auckland, Vector reported outages in Glen Eden, Maraetai, Mt Eden, Newmarket, Silverdale, Te Atatu and Waiheke. In the Bay of Plenty, power was also out in parts of Mamaku near Rotorua, Tauranga and Te Puke.

Late yesterday an exposed radar station in Kaeo, east of Kaitaia, was measuring 98km/h gales gusting to 139km/h, with one gust hitting 161km/ h.

In Kerikeri, 81mm of rain was recorded in 16 hours while Kaikohe had 62mm. The winds were expected to peak overnight as the front crossed Auckland and the Coromandel, MetService forecaster Tui McInnes said.

“In the morning when people are getting up, it looks more like it’ll be Gisborne, Hawke’s Bay, the Wairarapa and Wellington affected.”