No access between Auckland and Northland due to slips following deluge

Northland and Auckland have been cut off from each other, following “intense” downpours caused by surface flooding and road closures.

The two regions, in particular the lower Northland and upper Auckland areas, were hit by a deluge on Friday evening.

Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency tweeted on Saturday morning that there was no access between the regions due to a slip on SH1, near Topuni, and multiple road closures in Mangawhai.

No detour routes were available and an estimated time for the roads to reopen was not provided.

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“Due to safety, we are unable to assess the road during darkness. At first light contractors will be assessing the road,” Waka Kotahi said in a statement.

Further updates are expected from 7.30am.

Fire and Emergency NZ shift manager Josh Pennefather said firefighters responded to 112 weather related calls in lower Northland area overnight.

The majority of the calls outs were before midnight.

There were 12 incidents where people needed rescuing from flood water, most of whom where in their vehicles.

In Auckland, a group of people driving in Dairy Flat, north of Auckland, had to be rescued from their cars by boats because of rising floodwaters.

Hawke’s Bay and Gisborne

Meanwhile, orange heavy rain warnings are in place for Hawke’s Bay and were in place overnight for Gisborne and the Coromandel Peninsula – all areas recently affected by Cyclone Gabrielle.

For Hawke’s Bay, during the 17 hours to 1pm Saturday, a further 70mm to 120mm of rain was forecast for the ranges north of Hastings, including Esk Valley and the Wairoa District. Other areas would receive 30mm to 60mm of rain.

Gisborne was forecast to get 40mm to 60mm of rain between 8pm Friday and 6am Saturday, with some areas in line for up to 100m of rain or more. Thunderstorms were possible.

Coromandel was warned to expect 50mm to 80mm of rain up to 3am on Saturday, with up to 140mm in some areas. A severe thunderstorm watch was also in force.

The heaviest falls were expected on Saturday morning and early afternoon, with thunderstorms and downpours possible.

There were power outages across the Auckland region on Friday night, with most of Waiheke also in the dark, and lightning disrupted flights at Auckland Airport.

Mangawhai, about 120km north of Auckland, was also badly hit, with 300mm of rain recorded in the seven hours until 5pm on Friday.

“She’s carnage up here,” said resident Shane Whitmore.

Late on Friday night, Waka Kotahi said there was no road access between Auckland and Northland.

That was due to a slip near the intersection of State Highway 1 and Otioro Rd, Topuni, as well as multiple local road closures through Mangawhai.

Evacuations in Esk Valley

In Hawke’s Bay, precautionary evacuations in Esk Valley were ordered on Friday, although most of the houses in the evacuation zone were already empty following the cyclone.

Neville Reilly, duty controller of Hawke’s Bay’s Emergency Management said residents of another 26 houses evacuated voluntarily on Friday afternoon.

Civil defence centres were open in Napier, Flaxmere and Pōrangahau to accommodate anyone who could not stay with whānau or friends, and a centre was ready to open in Waipawa if needed overnight.

Roadblocks were set up around the evacuated area, to ensure properties were secure while residents were evacuated.

‘We’re not out of the woods yet’

On Friday night there were about 40 to 50 people at the Mangawhai Golf Course emergency shelter, although people were getting placed in private homes in Mangawhai and none were expected to stay the night at the shelter.

Councillor Mike Howard said the “torrential” rain was the worst he had seen in 23 years living in Mangawhai.

Elsewhere in Northland, Kaipara District Council said 30 children were stranded at Kaiwaka Primary, and around 40 at Otamatea High on Friday night.

Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown offered his support to the mayor of Kaipara, Craig Jepson, following the severe flooding at Mangawhai.

Brown said on Friday evening he had been briefed by the duty controller at the Auckland Emergency Management Centre.

He said he would remain focused on the situation throughout the night.

“We’re not out of the woods yet,” he said.

“Remember that even if the rain dies down, there could be more to come and surface flooding will take some time to subside.”

Saturday in Central Auckland is forecast to be much calmer than Friday, with early showers, possibly heavy, becoming isolated as fine breaks develop.

There would be periods of rain on Saturday, but they would not be as intense as on Friday.

Saturday also marks the final of Te Matatini at Eden Park, after the world’s biggest kapa haka event was hit by rain on Friday.