Cyclone Hale: State of emergency declared for Tairāwhiti

An estimated 30 whānau from the Uawa, or Tolaga Bay area have spent the night away from home, staying with relatives on higher ground as Cyclone Hale set floodwaters lapping at their doors.

The Hikuwai River reached 13.4 metres about 3am on Wednesday.

Tairāwhiti Civil Defence Emergency Management declared a state of local emergency at 10pm on Tuesday.

But Uawa Civil Defence group member Shanan Gray said the rain had eased in the Tolaga Bay area this morning, after a night of being battered by severe weather.

Gray told Morning Report that many in the community were impacted by last night's severe weather.

It appeared the community's outer areas such as Mangatuna, Mangatokerau and Tauwhareparae had been hit badly, he said.

The community was shaken as it was the fourth major weather event the region had had to face recently, he said.

After the heavy rain last night there was a lot of surface flooding and some roads were damaged and it was also likely that farmers may have lost some stock, he said.

Everyone was just hoping for some fine weather now so that the process of cleaning up could start, he said.

The Hikuwai River had receded to 12.8 metres, coming down from its highest level of 13.4m peak, he said.

It is unclear when the evacuated families will be able to return to their homes.

Gray said the swollen waterways had caused surface flooding across roads and right up to people's sections.

About 30 households in the Tolaga Bay area left their homes for the night, heading to higher ground, he said.

"Some whānau have chosen to evacuate, so that just shows that some people know that the water can definitely go into their houses which we are well aware that some houses have been affected by this."

One motorist has had to be rescued overnight, he said.

"This person didn't get the memo that the roads were closed and we only had to pull one person out of the Rototahi Road and they are safe and they chose just to stay put, just out by Rototahi because their car was a little bit damaged from the water."

Gray said he was proud of his community for having survived the weather.

"Farmland residents were taking precautionary measures. They were ringing us quite frequently just about giving us an update on what was happening around their section and lucky they were up high.

"At the moment it's just a really proud moment for our community. They were well planned [with their response]."

The highest rainfall accumulations during the 12 hours to 7am today were in the Gisborne region

The rain band shifts farther south today to the Wairarapa and Marlborough, as well as out west to Taranaki

ℹ https://t.co/Yjbq0jgaoz pic.twitter.com/4Xah9ys3eA

— MetService (@MetService) January 10, 2023

Gisborne/Wairoa Federated Farmers president Toby Williams said farmers would be waking up this morning to assess damage.

"For some of these guys now it's the fourth time in the last 14 months that their fences or flats will be gone and under water," Williams told Morning Report.

"It's been pretty tough."

Williams said more rain was expected this afternoon - although he hoped it would not eventuate.

"It's just an ongoing story for us at the moment, unfortunately."

Tairāwhiti deputy mayor Josh Wharehinga told Summer Times more than 1200 households were without power this morning.

The focus today would be on reconnecting whānau and assessing damage.

While the weather had eased back, there was another system further north that "we have really got an eye on".

Wharehinga said he hoped it didn't exacerbate the issue as it would set back recovery for the community even further.

While the rain had stopped, catchments were full and rivers were still high, he said.

The wastewater network was also full - and he urged the community to refrain from too much water usage - such as using washing machines.

Wharehinga said people should stay safe, stay off the roads where possible and "look after your neighbours".

State Highway 35 is closed from Ōkitū to Waipiro Bay.

The Waiotu Stream last night breached its bank and flooded the highway at Tokomaru Bay.

Tairāwhiti Civil Defence controller Nedine Thatcher Swann said everyone should stay off the roads and take this weather event seriously.

"We want to ensure our community is aware we have more rain to come and rivers are still rising," she said in a statement issued at 11pm on Tuesday.

"We have surface flooding across the region and ask everyone to please respect any road barriers that are up."

Around 20 local roads are closed in the Tairāwhiti region and contractors would start work to restore access first thing in the morning.

The sewer network is overwhelmed and emergency valves are open in several locations into the city's rivers to avoid overflows on private property, Thatcher Swann said.

About 387 Matawai residents were without power overnight as it was too dangerous for crews to check on site, she said.

Coromandel assessing damage

Civil Defence staff and contractors in the Coromandel are assessing if the latest wave of severe weather has caused damage.

Thames Valley Civil Defence controller Garry Towler told Morning Report the storm is "slow arriving" but "packing a punch".

There is widespread surface flooding and a number of slips from Hikuwai to Whitianga.

Power lines are also down, Towler said.

"The impact is quite dramatic in terms of what is still to come."

Towler said the main concern was people's safety - and while it was interesting to see high seas - it was not safe.

He said Civil Defence is reiterating Waka Kotahi's messaging to avoid travel at all costs.

No evacuations had been required as of yet, but they were prepared to do so if needed, he said.

Mercury Bay Boating Club under threat

Mercury Bay Boating Club commodore Jonathan Kline said last night's high-tide was "particularly devastating" as it saw about three metres of bank in front of the building wash away.

The beach deck of the club, located in Whitianga, was "undermined" and had to be removed this morning.

Concrete banks and sandbags are being put up to try and save the building, Kline said.

"There was utter dejection last night at the high-tide time when we could see what was happening and that our worst fears were in fact coming true."

Kline said there was a group of volunteers, "even some young children with spades in their hands" trying to help save the building which had been in place since 1997.

He said it was certainly "heart warming" - and much needed right now.

Weeks-long recovery expected in Northland

Meanwhile, in Northland, officials are warning the recovery from Cyclone Hale could take weeks.

Although the weather moved south towards Gisborne and Hawke's Bay yesterday evening, the Northland Regional Council said river levels would take time to recede.

The ground remains saturated, creating a risk of slips and falling trees.

The council advised travellers, especially in the Whangārei area, to take extreme caution and defer any journeys that were not essential, especially while it was still dark.

Motorists should drive with caution, as flooded roads may have damage or debris under the water, it said.

The Thames Coromandel District Council is asking residents of the Coromandel township to conserve water until 5pm on Thursday.

It said the stream from which the water was drawn was carrying a heavy sediment load, because of the very heavy rain of the past few days and ongoing weather.

This means the water treatment plant must process at a much slower rate because of the additional sediment in the water - or may even have to be shut off at times.

The council said as a result, the treated water storage was lower than normal, so people were asked to be conservative with their use.

MetService heavy rain warnings for Coromandel Peninsula and Gisborne are no longer in force, but a heavy rain warning remains in place for Hawke's Bay until 10am on Wednesday.

There is also a heavy rain warning in place for Marlborough and the Canterbury coast from Cape Campbell to Kaikōura until 9pm today.