Houses and streets flooded overnight
• Hundreds waking up to no power as torrential rain continues
• Cup Day races at Ellerslie have been postponed until Thursday
• Fire crews called out 153 times last night and early this morning
• Person rescued from car filling with water
• Several highways and roads shut down
• Residential evacuations and 200 people moved from Waihi festival
He was on the Alfriston-Ardmore Road, and the water inside the car was as high as the steering wheel.
Coromandel is in line for more this morning, after the once-in-100 year event earlier this week.
There have been more than 150 weather-related calls to the Fire Service from Auckland and the Coromandel overnight.
More than 100 of the pleas for help came from the Auckland region and most problems have been in the east and the south.
Problems first started cropping up in the east of Auckland with flooding in Howick and Beachlands and then moving to Otara, Otahuhu, Manurewa and Papatoetoe.
In most cases firefighters have only been able to divert water away from people’s homes and garages by unblocking drains, and they’ve sucked water from carpets in some homes.
Police urged residents to stay home and avoid driving unless it was an emergency.
Power is out to around 300 homes in Western Springs, and will gradually be restored this morning. There are three other small outages across Auckland, including one at Kawakawa Bay affecting 16 properties.
The remaining callouts were from around Coromandel and Waihi, including some reporting flooding on the roads.
“[We’re] trying to get some sort of handle on what’s going to happen over the weekend and putting preparations in place for if the event turns into something a bit more than what’s been predicted.”
The road is completely flooded near the Brookby Rd intersection and council contracters are on the way to set up cordons.
Several highways and main roads are closed this morning, including State Highway 26 between Kopu and Paeroa and State Highway 26A from Kopu to Hikuai.
Two sections of State Highway 25, between Whangamata and Tairua and 309 Rd and Wade Rd – have also been cordoned off.
One lane is open on East Coast Rd between Kaiaua and Miranda, but Hikuai Settlement Rd in Pauanui is closed
Two main roads in Northland are closed.
State Highway 15 is blocked by flooding at Twin Bridges. NZTA said motorists should avoid the road and use State Highway 12 or State Highway 1 instead.
State Highway 1 has been cordoned off between Church and Clough roads in Kaitaia because of a large slip and detours are in place at Awanui and Pakaraka via State Highway 10.
NTZA’s Northland state highway manager Brett Gliddon said crews are out checking highways and clearing slips, debris and drains.
Drivers should avoid travelling if possible or allow for extra time, Gliddon said.
All state highways across Auckland are currently open, but NZTA said motorists should still take extra care.
About 60 of the evacuees are staying at the Waihi Salvation Army Hall, where Hauraki Civil Defence staff are looking after them.
Locals are providing others with shelter in their homes and sheds and the rest have self evacuated to their own homes or are staying with family and friends.
All attendees have been accounted for and no one has been injured.
Police said members of the public should staŷ away from the area until daylight when authorities will assess the flooding.
Cellphone coverage is poor and the Hauraki District Council said concerned families and friends should call after hours service on 07 862 860 if they’re worried about a loved one in the area.
Hundreds are without power in Auckland, a house has been left perched above a huge slip on Waiheke Island and surface flooding has hit parts of the city.
Overnight, a mini tornado struck near Whangaparaoa while water poured into residents homes as the deluge continues.
Between 5pm and 6pm, Auckland tied its wettest March hour on record with 27.6mm of rain.
Civil Defence planning and intelligence manager Keith Hamish said up to 50mm of rain had already fallen last night on Waiheke Island and near the Waitakere Ranges.
Thames-Coromandel Mayor Sandra Goudie said the priority in responding is people’s safety.
“For council, it’ll be about making sure our infrastructure system like our wastewater system and our water systems are all up and running.”
Drivers are being warned to take extreme care on the roads and to avoid driving through floodwaters.
Thames Valley’s Emergency Management Officer Helen Flynn says dirty floodwater often conceals dangerous bits of debris.
“Be very wary if you’re driving through flooded waters because you don’t know what’s in there and you don’t know what’s underneath you – there’s a lot of logs and debris at the moment that have been washed out from the previous floods earlier this week.”
In Auckland police stopped a wakeboarder who was being towed by a car at Remuera.
Ms Flynn has warned against such activity as flood water can sometimes be a health risk.
“We highly recommend to people to stay out of floodwaters, they could be contaminated, and particularly stay away from flooded streams, and if you come into contact make sure you wash your hands thoroughly afterwards.”
Civil Defence was also warning farmers to move stock to higher ground if they have any concerns.
Civil Defence controller Garry Towler said two Whangamata properties are currently uninhabitable and another 10 are being assessed by experts.
The top half of the North Island is seeing a number of internet faults across the Chorus network.
In a statement, Chorus apologised to customers who may have lost phone or internet services, with the company saying it was working with its service companies in the regions to safely restore services.
Thames-Coromandel District Council alerted people to a number of road closures.
The Whangamata bypass, SH25 Harry Watt Rd to Port Rd, is closed in both directions while Whangamata’s Avalon Rd is also closed due to slips. Contractors are trying to clear the situation.
The Kauaeranga Valley Rd is closed from the Kauaeranga Visitor centre upwards. All camping, hut and walking tracks are inaccessible.
“We’re also doing some urgent repairs to a pipe which supplies water to Whangamata,” Civil Defence controller Garry Towler said.
“This is our priority at the moment as the pipe has moved due to subsidence from the flooding over the past few days,” he said.
“We’ve got earthmoving machines in stabilising the pipe and this will take the afternoon to fix. We have a back-up supply, so people don’t need to worry about their water supply.”
