State of emergency in Tairāwhiti, Cyclone Gabrielle forces evacuations, road closures

• A state of emergency has been declared in Tairāwhiti, where inland parts north of Tolaga Bay are expecting 300 to 450 mm of rain. About 150mm of rain is expected for Gisborne and south of Tolaga Bay.
• The rainfall comes with gale-force winds up to 130kmh and waves of around 6-8m with a strong coastal surge.
• River levels are rising rapidly, with some residents in low-lying areas already being urged to move. They are expected to peak between 2am and 4am.
• Parts of State Highway 35 are already closed, with the route to close between Ōpōtiki to Gisborne from 7pm.
• Evacuation centres in Gisborne have been set up including at Ilminster Intermediate on De Lautour Rd and House of Breakthrough on the corner of Lytton Rd and Ormond Rd.

With Cyclone Gabrielle approaching, a state of emergency was declared across Tairāwhiti and some areas advised to evacuate as parts of the region prepare for up to 450 mm of rain.

Mihi and Anton Tashkoff and their mokopuna TeAomaihai Wanoa were among the first to arrive at the civil defence welfare centre at Hauiti marae late on Monday afternoon, after police arrived at their property north of Tolaga Bay and advised them to leave.

They will spend the night at the marae, likely to be joined by others as the storm intensifies. Rain has been persistent throughout Monday, but wind gusts became stronger later at around 5pm.

The Hikuwai River near the town had reached 13.1 metres at 4pm. Thankfully the tide has ebbed, allowing massive amounts of water and woody debris to flow to the sea, which has become dark with wood, dirt and logs.

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Locals said high tide, around midnight, would be a concern.

The Hikuwai River is likely to reach new record levels – surpassing the 13.51m it reached during Cyclone Hale (It reached 13.31m in Cyclone Bola).

Down at the marae Rawinia Tuapawa, her mum Lorraine Tuapawa and Chadene Mihaere have a large boil-up and a roast on the go, as well as piles of fruit and other food, ready for anyone in need.

Food has been taken to kaumatua and others at their homes.

“This whole town works as one in times like this,” Lorraine said.

On Monday afternoon, Tairāwhiti Civil Defence asked residents near the Hikuwai (Tolaga Bay) and Te Arai rivers (Manutuke), and Onepoto residents at Wharekahika (Hicks Bay), to leave their homes.

Civil Defence Group Controller Ben Green said the rain was increasing, and rivers would get to critical levels faster than indicated, peaking between 2am and 4am.

“Because this is in the middle of the night we are advising those who live in at-risk areas to have a plan to self-evacuate before it gets dark if the levels continue to rise.

“Please hunker down, people in low-lying areas are self-evacuating to stay with whanau and friends and welfare centres are ready to be activated from 6pm tonight.”

Evacuation centres in Gisborne included Ilminster Intermediate on De Lautour Road, and House of Breakthrough on the corner of Lytton Road and Ormond Road.

Nori Parata, Civil Defence deputy officer and Tolaga Bay Area School principal, said they were “ready for the worst.”

“It’s likely to start to get bad around 4pm. It’s quite soul-destroying watching the live webcam of the Hikuwai River and seeing all that wood heading our way.”

Strong winds, forestry slash a concern

Gisborne Federated Farmers president Toby Williams, who lives near Tolaga Bay, said the impending arrival of woody debris in the waterways “seems to be a given now”.

“One of the big worries about Gabrielle is the wind. We haven’t had strong winds with the other storms we’ve had. With the wind expected today I expect a lot of trees to fall, and obviously power outages,” he said.

“Our roads will be decimated again. The contractors have only just cleaned up the roads from Hale. Some of them haven’t even been started yet.”

Roads already damaged would get worse, meaning farmers and forestry blocks would likely be cut off.

“It’s back to square one again for the East Coast. It’s really starting to take a toll now on farmers and residents,” Williams said.

Green said the region had been preparing for the past three days and was ready. There have been sandbags and ramps placed around areas in the city prone to surface flooding.

“We ask people to check on any whānau or neighbours who may be vulnerable. The majority of schools around the region have closed and all community links have been activated around the region.”

The state of emergency will be in place for seven days.