Regions across the motu are bracing for further heavy rain after a 48-hour weather event caused widespread flooding in Northland and along the East Coast.
MetService has issued a heavy rain watch for Northland from 6pm Monday until noon on Tuesday, with more heavy rain forecast for Wednesday.
In Te Tai Tokerau, local hapori have mobilised to support whānau affected by severe overnight flooding in Whangaruru, Ōakura, and surrounding areas.
Ngātiwai representative Ropata Diamond says civil defence centres have been set up at local marae, including Mōkau and Tūparehuia, where displaced whānau are receiving food and shelter.
“[Kei te] whakataka i ētahi rourou kai mō te hunga e noho ana ki tō mātau marae, [e] noho haumaru ana ki tō mātau marae,” he says.
Teams have been going door to door checking on whānau. More than 40 people sought shelter at Mōkau Marae yesterday, while over 90 stayed at Tūparehuia after a dropout at the Ngāiotonga Bridge cut access to surrounding communities.
“Kua haukoti te rori i Ngāiotonga, nō reira, ko o tātou [whānau] e noho ana ki tērā taha o te piriti, kua mau ki Tūparehuia,” he says.
Diamond says Ngātiwai is working closely with Civil Defence and council teams to ensure supplies reach isolated areas, including via helicopter.
“Kua waipuke katoa ō rātou whare, ō rātou kāinga, wāhi noho, ko ā rātou taputapu e rere haere ana ki ngā kōawaawa o te kāinga.”
“Nō reira, e ngākau aroha atu ana ki ō tātou whānau i tēnei wā.”
MetService reports up to 200 millimetres of rain fell across parts of eastern Northland, including Ōakura and Whangaruru, with some local gauges recording 150–200 millimetres over the most intense period.
With more bad weather forecast, Diamond says whānau are being urged to move to higher ground and seek safety at marae.
“Kua rite ō mātou marae mō te manaaki tangata.”
Kua pā kinotia anō Te Tai Rāwhiti
Te Tai Rāwhiti has also been hit again by severe weather, with heavy rain triggering multiple slips in the Waioeka Gorge. Tairāwhiti Civil Defence Group manager Ben Green says dozens of people were cut off, including motorists stranded on the highway.
“We’ve seen probably about three weather events over the last three or four weeks. [The] most recent one particularly focused on the Raukūmara Range and [the] Waioeka Gorge,” he explains.
“Initial indications of [the gorge] being out of action for up to one month.”
Green advises motorists to use alternative routes: SH35 from the north, SH5 from the south.
“Up to 70-plus people were cut off at various points [of the gorge]. They [won’t] see their vehicles for quite some time until obviously the contracting crews restored access back in there.”
Motu Helicopters and the Defence Force helped with rescue efforts.
“Fortunately, there was an Air Force helicopter based in Tauranga doing some training that was able to support that effort.”
He hapori manawaroa
I noho mataara te rohe o Te Tairāwhiti i te putanga mai o te karanga whakatūpato mō te ua tātā i matapaetia ka heke ki takiwā o Uawa i ngā haora tekau mā iwa.
I te aonga mai o te tau hou Pākehā, i pākia kinotia Te Tai Rāwhiti e te āwhā. Ko te taiopenga nui o Rythym and Vines tērā i noho hei kai mā Tāwhirimātea.
Ko tōna whā tekau tāngata i noho ki te pokapū o Uawa, nā te katinga o ngā huarahi maha.
Ahakoa kāore e tino pērā te ngau o te āwhā i tēnā i a Cyclone Gabrielle i te tau 2023, hei tā Green, kua kino kē ake te hekenga mai o te ua.
“For us regionally, our community hapū and marae groups, we [have a] connected ecosystem in terms of how we work with one another there.”
Hei tāna anō, ahakoa he nui te āwangawanga mō te āhua o te huarere, kāore ngā hapori mō te noho kau noa.
“Probably the upside - and it’s an unfortunate upside - is the way people react to particularly warning alerts and the reaction to that.”
“What we’re seeing now is improvement with forecasting. Our communities don’t sit around and wait - they deal with it when it happens. It is very much a proactive aspect of what our whole regional system activates with.”
