The wild weather that wreaked havoc across the North Island yesterday, prompting calls for holidaymakers to flee the holiday destination, is set to continue for days.
Thames-Coromandel District mayor Len Salt told Newstalk ZB that people should hunker down and not travel as the weather was forecast to deteriorate.
Roads around the district were already closed or were in the process of being closed this morning, including the 309 Rd due to a slip and a road near Whitianga, the Thames-Coromandel District Council posted.
The council had also received reports of water across Wharf Rd in Coromandel Town and State Highway 25/Wade Rd near Whitianga.
“Things are going to get worse before they improve so the advice is for everyone to stay where they are, avoid travel, stay away from the beaches, streams and rivers,” said Thames-Coromandel District Civil Defence Controller Garry Towler.
In the past 24 hours, as at 3am, the Castle Rock weather station had recorded 155mm of rainfall while the Pinnacles station had recorded 182.5mm.
The council said the Kauaeranga River had hit 7.7m and was rising. It was a first alarm “but well below the level where the SH25 spillway at Rhodes Park floods at 10.5m”.
Across the district, 206 properties in Whangamata and 22 properties in Tapu have recorded power outages.
Holidaymakers across the Coromandel Peninsula were warned to head home yesterday afternoon or risk being stranded ahead of an intense five-day storm set to slam the top of the country.
The council posted an urgent message on social media ahead of the approaching storm, saying the potential impact is set to be worse than initially forecast.
Yesterday, MetService issued a severe weather warning for the peninsula with 24 hours of heavy rain, including torrential downpours this morning.
The region is also under a strong wind watch, with northeasterlies expected to be gale force in exposed places.
“Residents and holidaymakers are urged to make plans and act today before heavy rain and increasing gale-force, northeasterly winds arrive from late this afternoon,” the Thames-Coromandel council posted on Facebook.
Civil Defence Controller Garry Towler strongly advised everyone to err on the side of caution, and plan ahead to Sunday.
“We urge you to consider going to a safe, secure location, or even heading home until the storm passes.
“The accumulation of rain by Saturday could see surface flooding, slips, road closures and power issues, so it is worth hatching a plan today to ensure no one is stuck or isolated,” Towler said yesterday.
A number of weather watches were upgraded to warnings for parts of the North Island yesterday as heavy rain and strong winds ripped through Auckland, the Coromandel, the western Bay of Plenty and the Tasman area.
The wild weather lashing Northland turned deadly late on Tuesday evening with two members of one family losing their lives when a ute struck a tree downed by high winds near Ahipara.
The incident occurred as the vehicle was travelling towards the coastal town on Kaitaia-Awaroa Rd around 11.50pm.
The top of the tree was caught in high-tension powerlines on the far side of the road and left suspended about 2.5m above the ground. The other end of the tree was just high enough to take the roof off the ute and kill two of the three occupants, authorities said.
The deceased were a man in the rear seat and a woman in the front passenger seat. The female driver was knocked unconscious.
The vehicle then continued another 100m towards Ahipara before leaving the road and hitting another tree.
The three occupants were believed to be members of the same family, including a wife and husband.
