Severe rainfall has hit western parts of Auckland – flooding two drive-through vaccination centers, causing at least 60 homes to be evacuated, and leaving 11 people in need of rescue by Surf Life Saving, a report said.
Vector confirmed that at 10:10, 400 customers in Bethells Beach and Piha, were still without electricity. However, the company expects to restore power to both areas by Tuesday evening.
MetService has issued a new orange alert for Northland. Up to 140mm of rain is expected in certain eastern regions.
Vector spokesperson said that “our crews have worked night and day to restore power to most outages in the region.”
“They are still on-site in two areas and work as fast as possible to restore power.”
According to the spokesperson, flooding, landslips and downed trees had delayed access to these areas.
“We had to deal with two trees that fell on the Piha line, the second falling just as we were trying to restore power from the damage done by the first.
On Tuesday, the extent of the damage was evident early in the morning. Prime Minister Jacinda Archern stated that Fire and Emergency New Zealand had responded to 370 incidents caused by the bad weather at 10 AM.
She stated that the emergency situation had overridden current alert level 4 requirements in the region.
“Keeping people safe is the most important thing. We understand that some families will have to move into bubbles.”
Eleven people needed rescue from Surf Life Saving Search and Rescue (SAR), including a Kumeu woman aged 70.
Since 5.30 AM, staff from the Muriwai Volunteer Lifesaving Patrol and Mairangi Bay SAR teams had responded.
Surf Life Saving reported that floodwaters had hidden trees and fences. This required careful navigation to reach the property of the 70-year old woman off Oraha Road, where an inflatable boat to get to her property at 2 pm was used.
Tapu Road was the scene of rescue for two men between 45-60 years old.
One of the two was rescued from the top shelf of a shed. Lifeguards had to take out grills from a window in another shed to save the other. He was about waist-deep in water and had been trapped since 10 p.m. the night before.
A Muriwai SAR Squad saved a couple and their baby from a property at Rheingold Place. The same was true for a woman, her teenage sons, as well as the two dogs and cat of her family from a property at Pinotage Place.
Surf Life Savings said that welfare checks were conducted on residents of Joyce Adams Place, Matua Road and Taupaki Roads, Crafer Way, Riverhead Roads, and Kiwitahi Roads.
John-Michael Swannix, Search and Rescue Supervisor, said that the day’s efforts demonstrated the huge commitment lifeguards have to their communities.
“Even in a global pandemic we have people who put their hand up for others, and you can see the amazing difference they’ve made.”
Flooding has caused the closure of a section of SH16 near Bradly Road. Police advised motorists to follow traffic management instructions in the area shortly after 5 pm. Expect delays.
On Monday evening, Auckland experienced more than 600 lightning strikes, and 23mm of rain was recorded in Helensville between 7 pm and 8 pm.
The downpours saw a big boost to levels in Auckland’s water supply dams, which had been well below average.