New Zealanders evacuated as storm hits
Print Edition
HUNDREDS of people in New Zealand were evacuated from some coastal areas yesterday as the second major storm in just over a week made landfall near the North Island town of Whakatane.
But residents of the nation’s largest city, Auckland, breathed a sigh of relief as the remnants of Cyclone Cook moved past them to the east. Authorities had earlier worried the storm could hit the city and cause major problems.
“It seems Auckland has largely survived ... unscathed,” tweeted Auckland Mayor Phil Goff.
Civil defense authorities said people from about 250 homes in the beach town of Ohope were told they had to evacuate, while other households chose to leave. Authorities earlier advised people in low elevations on the Coromandel Peninsula to evacuate to higher ground, as large waves were expected to batter the coast.
Air New Zealand suspended flights from Tauranga Airport and other flights around the country were also delayed or canceled. The military said it had placed 500 troops on standby. The storm also caused power disruptions to hundreds of homes in Whakatane and Tauranga.
Sarah Stuart-Black, director of the Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management, said the storm was “extremely serious” and severe weather warnings were in place for much of the country.
“We are watching very carefully, we’re not through this yet,” she said yesterday evening.
The storm was expected to move south overnight and reach the capital Wellington early today, causing more problems along the way.
The MetService weather agency predicted rainfall could exceed 100 millimeters in some places and cause more flooding in areas still recovering from heavy rainfall last week.
A week ago the town of Edgecumbe was flooded when a river burst through a concrete levee on the Rangitaiki River as the remnants of Cyclone Debbie hit. The water forced 2,000 people to evacuate and flooded hundreds of homes.
Many people have been unable to return to their homes since then and authorities have been scrambling to shore up the breached levee. That system and others will be tested again by rainfall from the latest storm.
MetService predicted winds from the storm could gust to 150 kilometers per hour and waves could rise to over 5 meters.
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