Auckland storm leaves a trail of destruction

April 13, 2018

Auckland storm leaves a trail of destruction

Fence in Wattledowns overturned by hurricane force winds of 105km/h. Photo: Grace Noles.

Hurricane force winds of 105km/h hit Auckland on Tuesday night leaving one in four Aucklanders without power.

Wednesday morning still saw 105,000 homes without power, with Vector saying some houses may not have power back for up to three more days.

The worst of the storm has passed and Auckland Council says it’s now time to begin the clean up after 1600 calls reporting damage were made on Tuesday night.

Civil Defence says emergency services have been inundated with calls, regarding fallen trees, broken power lines, and collapsed buildings across the region.

John Dragicevich, Auckland Emergency Management Director says “We will be prioritising cleaning up trees that have damaged power lines and clearing the roads from any storm debris that will impede traffic flow.”

Wattledowns resident Melissa Cross says she woke up to her property’s fence completely ripped up from the ground and lying in her neighbours garden.

Ms Cross says she was lucky it was only the fence and that no one got hurt.

“A few helpful neighbours have already said they’ll help us fix it,” she says.

Cockle Bay resident Aiden Takarei Bycroft says his back garden had slipped off the Pah Road cliff overnight, leaving parts of his fence and outdoor furniture on the beach 20 metres below.

“The entire backyard just went over the cliff, the garden is all mud at the moment as we’re going to have to wait for the weather to improve before we can tackle the clean-up. It’s not looking good on the beach down below.”

Motorists are also facing delays as the weather takes a turn for the worst, with traffic lights along the northern motorway and in the CBD out of order.

Sheena MacDonald, a motorist travelling along the northern motorway on Wednesday morning said she had a near miss with debris that forced her to slam on her breaks near the Khyber Pass off ramp.

“I’m extremely grateful that I wasn’t driving too fast. A huge piece of road sign flew in front of my car and I had just enough time to slow down before it completely hit me.”

Parts of Henderson, Massey, St. Heliers, Meadowbank and Balmoral had street closures.

Cornwall Park was closed due to fallen trees and debris, which created major standstill traffic along Green Lane West and other parts of Epsom.

Train services were delayed, particularly the Western and Southern lines. Many train commuters were left stranded due to the stations having power outages affecting the public announcements and display boards.

If you see any damage or dangerous debris call 09 301 0101 to report it.

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