Wild weather back with a vengeance
Heavy rain and gale force winds have battered Waikato and the Coromandel Peninsula, with further disruptions expected as wild weather continues.
Fallen debris, land slips and flooding could be seen across the region, with the rough conditions not expected to ease until today.
Thames-Coromandel District Council warned people in the area to ‘hunker down’ last night as rough weather continued to build.
Power outages occurred around the Coromandel yesterday due to fallen debris, and more were likely as northeasterly gusts of up to 110kmh ripped through the district.
Council teams and roading contractors were planning to investigate the damage today, emergency management district manager Gary Towler said.
People should expect continued disruptions to the roading network, school runs, and commutes, he said.
‘‘High tides are around 5.30am to 6am and will affect many low-lying areas that have flooded.’’
The Cooks Beach Volunteer Fire Brigade was getting a ‘‘slight feeling of deja vu as our district was again being hammered with horrible weather’’, a Facebook update said.
There was surface flooding in numerous locations between Tairua and Whitianga.
State Highway 25 north of Coromandel Town at the base of the Whangapoua Hill was closed at 5pm due to a land slip yesterday, and would not reopen until it was assessed at 10am today.
Kennedy Bay Rd was also closed due to a fallen tree 2km from the end of Driving Creek Rd.
The Thames Refuse Transfer Station and the Seagull Centre was closed yesterday due to high winds.
The Seagull Centre’s corrugated roof had been uplifted due to the high winds and material was flying in the direction of the Refuse Transfer Station ‘‘posing a risk to staff and the public’’, a statement online said.
A large land slip had also closed Mangarino Rd in Te Kū iti.
A detour was in place while the site was cleared.
We apologise for the inconvenience, and thank you for your understanding,’’ the Waitomo District Council said online.
A road was blocked and a person was injured north of Matamata yesterday after a truck fell on its side.
Emergency services were called to Tower Rd in Turangaomoana just before 7.15am, a statement from police said.
The truck toppled over in an area where extremely powerful winds occur now and then, known locally as the ‘‘Kaimai Buster’’.
The aerodynamic effect of the Kaimai Range turns strong easterlies into gales running down and out on the leeward side.
It rushed down causing about a kilometre-wide area that receives very strong wind. It has been known to knock over trees, topple barns, and tip trucks or buses.
While there was some speculation that strong winds may have caused the crash, a police spokesperson was unable to confirm what caused the vehicle to topple over.
One person was moderately injured and was transported to Waikato Hospital by ambulance, St John said in a statement.
In Hamilton, Fairfield Medical Centre had a ‘‘major flood’’ over the weekend, which was affecting how it treated patients.
An email from the clinic’s directors to patients said its GPs would be doing phone consultations, and reducing the number of patients seen face to face.
People would no longer be able to book appointments online.
Nurses would be seeing patients, but some appointments might be rescheduled. ‘‘We anticipate that there will be a high volume of calls, and we will respond to these and answer as soon as we can.’’
‘‘We will let you know once we are up and running with our normal service.’’