Residents in the upper North Island are being warned to brace for severe weather as tropical Cyclone Gabrielle bears down on New Zealand.
Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown today extended the region’s state of emergency for a further seven days.
Four people died in the storm at Auckland Anniversary Weekend, which caused widespread flooding, damage to homes and dozens of landslides.
On Thursday, Gabrielle was sitting in the Coral Sea but is forecast to track south toward New Zealand over the next few days.
MetService has issued heavy rain and strong wind watches for the upper North Island from Sunday morning until midnight Tuesday, when the cyclone is projected to hit.
The national forecaster said these watches were likely to be upgraded to orange - and possibly red warnings in the coming days - where rainfall amounts and wind speeds could cause widespread damage.
Gabrielle could be worse than the recent storm which battered Auckland, with severe winds likely to down trees and cut power, authorities warned.
Brown has urged city residents to “be prepared for the worst”, while Auckland Civil Defence advised residents to use the next few days to get ready for what could be another significant event.
MetService said the Auckland region could expect wind from Gabrielle from Sunday night, but the worst weather will come on Monday and Tuesday.
They are expecting strong winds, heavy rain and wild seas. Brown said power outages were more likely this time and said people should have torches and batteries on hand.
Aucklanders are advised to have enough supplies to sustain themselves for three days.
If reliant on medication, people are advised to have enough supplies to get through the next week.
Officials are preparing to open additional Civil Defence centres across the region in case people needed to evacuate.
They are making contingency plans to access or move the centres if access is blocked.
Brown said Auckland faced a challenge on the heels of an unprecedented event. Public resources across the region were stretched and he asked Aucklanders to “please get prepared”.
Asked for any reassurances for Aucklanders hard-hit by the last round of flooding, Brown said: “We’re doing our absolute best to prepare for this, but you can’t wish it away, you have to face it.
“It’s not looking good. I wish I could reassure people about the weather, but I don’t control that."
Auckland Emergency Management’s Rachel Kelleher said Cyclone Gabrielle could have a potentially significant impact around the top of the North Island.
However, at this point, there was still some uncertainty.
“We need to be doing what we can in these intervening days to prepare,” she said.
“We won’t have an absolute degree of confidence about how severe it will be until Sunday.
"If it does come across Auckland it will bring very heavy winds which could bring down power, surface flooding and costal erosion from sea surge.”
Sixteen out of 18 weather models this morning show Gabrielle making a direct hit on New Zealand, with damaging winds and torrential rainfall likely across much of the North Island.
Niwa, MetService and Weather Watch have today said the storm was likely to make landfall in the north of the country on Monday or Tuesday bringing winds of up to 150kmh and up to 300mm of rain.
Other regions getting ready
This morning, the Thames Coromandel district extended its state of emergency for another seven days.
Mayor Len Salt said he signed the declaration to extend the state of emergency this morning after being briefed on the impact the impending cyclone could have on the district.
Today’s forecasting has prompted Northland Civil Defence to prepare for the storm.
“MetService New Zealand are starting to get a better picture of Cyclone Gabrielle and It’s looking more and more likely that it will bring severe weather to our shores,” Northland Civil Defence said on Facebook.
Meanwhile, Kelleher said work was under way across the Auckland region to clear up debris from the recent storm before the next one strikes.
“The council’s Waste Solutions team is working with the NZDF (Defence Force) to clear items and belongings removed from kerbsides across the region as quickly as possible to ensure they don’t cause further issues in the event of further flooding.
“The council’s Healthy Waters teams are out and about working to clear stormwater drains and culverts prior to the predicted arrival of the storm. This includes clearing hot spots and blockages around catchpits and inlet grilles and removing debris from accessible streams and waterways.
“We’re asking Aucklanders to pitch in to help get their communities storm-ready by ensuring kerbs and any inlet grills on and around properties are clear before Sunday evening.”
She appealed for residents to take any flood-damaged items to a council drop-off facility before Sunday and not to put any additional items out on the kerb for collection.
Philip Duncan, of WeatherWatch, says the impending cyclone is potentially one of the “most serious storms of the century”.
“Whilst no official warnings are yet locked in this far in advance, the data this morning means the likelihood of severe weather across much of the North Island looks highly likely.
"If this current modelling comes true, this will likely be the most serious storm to impact New Zealand this century - especially with Auckland being in the mix for a potential direct hit.”
