Cyclone Vaianu Brings Heavy Rain, Flooding Across NZ
Cyclone Vaianu is continuing its track south towards the Bay of Plenty, bringing with it destructive winds, heavy rain, and large swells, says Metservice.
$100,000 each will be given to the Wairoa, Gisborne and Hastings District Councils as part of the initial response.
Speaking from the Haumoana Fire Station, Mitchell acknowledged the work of Mayors and first responders in the East Coast region.
“They have responded quickly, they have stood up the teams… the police evacuated over 200 homes last night here in Haumoana.”
While Mitchell says he hasn’t yet seen the state the storm has left Wairoa in, he understands that the community south of the Wairoa bridge have been hard this time. This is largely due to 6m swells.
“Once I’m on the ground, I’ll be able to get around and visualize and see exactly what the damage is but the reports are they’ve definitely got damage there,” he says.
“It’s pretty catastrophic for them, they continue to get hit so getting up there is my priority.”
Meanwhile, Hawke’s Bay Mayor Sandra Hazlehurst says she wants to acknowledge the community and those who stood up the emergency hub as part of the community civil defence response.
“It’s fair to say they’ve done an amazing job and [I’m] incredibly grateful to everyone’s support,” Hazlehurst says.
