Hauraki and the Coromandel Peninsula were hammered by Cyclone Gabrielle overnight.
Hauraki declared a state of emergency at 4 pm yesterday in anticipation of the storm and the sea surges which had flooded parts of Whitianga and Cooks Beach in the afternoon.
Hauraki district councillor and Nga iwi FM breakfast host Rino Wilkinson says a lot of roads around the peninsula were closed because of slips and floods.
Many residents had self-evacuated to community centres and marae.
“Manaia, Harataunga Marae, also Whitianga, Tairua, Whangamata, Thames South Schiool, a lot of these places are now open 24-7 to be available for evacuations. The halls all round the whole peninsula so everyone has stepped up to the mark. The good news is people have been out there doing their shopping. I don’t think there’s much bread left in the local food outlets let alone eggs and everything like that,” Mr Wilkinson says.
Met Service says Cyclone Gabrielle is expected to continue moving southeast, tracking close to the east coast of the North Island, before moving away to the southeast from late Tuesday.
Further signifcant heavy rain and damaging winds are expected into Tuesday. Red warnings for heavy rain remain in force for Northland, Auckland, the Coromandel Peninsula, Gisborne and Hawke’s Bay.
In addition, Red Warnings for severe gales remain in place for Northland, Auckland, the Coromandel Peninsula, and Taranaki.
Warnings and Watches for both heavy rain and severe gales also remain in place for many other parts of central and northern New Zealand.
