Extreme weather Down-Under

Extreme weather unleashes itself in this small country - from a tornado in the Bay of Plenty, to major floods in Wellinton - and an ongoing drought in the South Island

This is abrupt climate change unleashing itself on NZ and this is just the beginning.

Our biosphere is unraveling very quickly.

Chaos in Wellington area

Kapiti Coast residents say the flooding they experienced yesterday is the worst they've seen in years

Hutt River resident Julia McKelvie: "I could see the Hutt River spilling up towards the motorway." Photo: George Bignell

Radio NZ,

26 November, 2014

Civil Defence said Thursday's heavy rain and flooding affected hundreds of thousands of people throughout the lower North Island, with 27 houses evacuated on the Kapiti Coast.

The body of an 80-year-old man was found in floodwater yesterday afternoon near Sladden Park in Petone but police said it was not known what bearing the flooding had on his death.

People living up the coast and in the Hutt Valley were stuck for hours in traffic, and faced chaotic scenes trying to get home.

Listen to more on Morning Report ( 3 min 10 esc )

It took Porirua resident Pip Kernaghan hours to get home yesterday, despite setting off at midday.

At points in her journey, she ended up driving down the wrong side of the motorway to get back home from Lower Hutt.

She said she got to Porirua after the flooding had subsided, but the main road was closed so she had to take an alternative route. She described the experience as chaos.

"I did notice there was a lot of debris all over the road, there was a couple of cars on the right hand side of the road, and they looked like they had been washed into each other.

"One of them was halfway up the footpath and was nose to tail into the back of the other car, and then there was another car further back up there up on the footpath as well with debris all over the top of the roof of the car. There was just stuff everywhere."

Ms Kernaghan has lived in Titahi Bay since 1985 and said she had never seen it this bad.

Residents in Kapiti turned to kayaks, canoes and boats.  Photo: Supplied

Ben Semeri couldn't get to his home in Porirua so decided to pick up his kids from Tawa Primary School.

He said when they arrived, the classrooms were flooded, and some children had to be transferred by canoe.

"They put kids in the canoes and pulled them across the water. It was quite fun - I wanted to jump in there."

Bill Allen's street in Titahi Bay was badly flooded and the water comes down the hill quite substantially when it rains.

He said his neighbours were flooded and he "got out and about with my spade and cleared a few drains."

Mr Allen took a drive around his suburb to make sure no one was stuck and see if anyone needed some help, and came across quite a few cars that had got stuck trying to cross water.

"One old chap in particular needed rescuing out of his car at the bottom of Te Pene and Titahi Bay Road, so he got out of his car, but there was a bit of water damage."

He has lived in the area for about ten years and said he had not seen flooding quite as bad as this, but the councils had done a good job improving the drains.

"So the flood waters did recede quite well once the rain had stopped, but the amount of water coming down was horrendous."

"There was so much traffic on the road and congestion that it probably didn't help with things.

"It was absolute chaos. Lots of people in stalled cars driving too fast through water and parked on the side of the road and just getting in the way generally."

CrossFit Porirua owner Liam Mclwee was planning an open day on Saturday.

Photo: Supplied

The CrossFit Porirua Gym has just moved to new premises and its owner Liam Mclwee was planning to have an open day on Saturday.

He said the rain started coming down and all the streets were closed, "it looked like the Colorado River was coming down the street".

Mr Mclwee ended up having to walk to his business and, when he arrived, the whole main floor of the gym was 10 to 15 centimetres under water.

He said it looked like the sumps outside of the building were badly blocked.

"So I've been down on my hands and knees cleaning out the sumps, and just trying to get all the gunk out of those, so hopefully that helped the cause a little bit as well."

Hutt Valley resident Julia McKelvie attempted to try to get to work but only got as far as Melling.

"There was debris all over the road, officers telling people to turn back, trucks trying to clear up road works and I could see the Hutt River spilling up towards the motorway. I've never seen it that overflowed before."

She said that she noticed huge queues at petrol stations.

"Every row in every petrol pump was just chocka, they were all chocka full of people. So people were panicking, clearly."

People are being advised to work from home today, as more heavy rain in the region is expected.

A car in floodwaters in Porirua on Thursday afternoon.Photo: Kate Gudsell / RNZ

Commuters head into Wellington Railway Station on Thursday.

Twisters smash stadium grandstand, rip off Mount roofs

NZ Herald,

14 May, 2015

Tornadoes smashed through Mt Maunganui last night, damaging homes, ripping roofs from buildings and sending trampolines and outdoor furniture flying.

ASB Baypark Stadium also lost parts of its grandstand roof.

The tornadoes roared through about 8.45pm. Emergency services were called to the Waitui Park area after multiple callers reported damage to their properties around Lodge Ave and Links Ave.

Lodge Ave resident Lane Wright watched on as fire crews cut apart the mangled remains of his roof, which had been blown on to a driveway metres from his home.

Mr Wright said that through the torrential rain he heard "a big gust of wind, then a couple of cracks and I just grabbed the kids".

He and his twins Jordan and Brooke, 3, and daughter Lara, 4, escaped unharmed as their roof was ripped off.

"I just knew it was gone but I was more worried about the kids than anything."

When he ran out on to the street, he found a mess: a trampoline was wrapped around a lightpole and the road was covered in debris. Mr Wright, whose house is insured, planned to stay with relatives.

Other residents described the motion of an earthquake and the sound "of a freight train".

Erika Mitchell said the tornado "bellowed through" her property, knocking down a 4m-5m section of a wooden trellis fence and ripping out her letterbox.

"I dropped to my knees - it felt like the roof was going to lift off," she said.

Pauline Cox saw two tornadoes and told the Herald it was "pretty scary".

"I heard the wind. I remember that wind from a tornado we had here years ago -- it ripped our pool out and you could see the outdoor chairs jumping up and down.

"That's the wind I heard. I went outside to have a look and I could hear all the tin being ripped off ... It was so loud."

Alicia Gestro was watching TV with her 13-year-old son when the ranchslider started to shake violently. She got up and pulled the curtains just as the tornado swept through her yard.

"It was like a big vibration. It was really loud and quite horrendous.

"We just sat there and looked at each other and said, 'Was that a tornado?' I looked out and the outside table had been flipped and smashed, the BBQ that was on the deck was almost in the house and the back fence was completely gone. The weather has gone crazy, it's nuts. My husband was driving home from the gym and he saw aerials all over the road."

Resident Greg Anderson was watching TV when he heard a heavy bang, before the glass in his ranchslider broke.

"I opened up the blinds and saw the rest of the devastation - our car port has been pushed into our house and there's a part of someone else's roof through our."

He estimated it took between 10 and 20 seconds to blow through.

Across the street, Alan Ruddell was shaken by "a hell of a noise - it was like a train coming through, it really was a thundery noise."

His home escaped damage but a tall tree, just metres away, could be seen lurching precariously with broken limbs.

Another neighbour, Robert Gillespie, said the sound of the twister itself was drowned out by the thunderous downpour.

"Then the ground shook, and the house just went round and round in a circular motion, just like an earthquake."

Links Ave resident Adelle Fleming said a 3m by 5m garden shed had landed on her fece.

"It's been absolutely trashed. It's a mess. It's caved in my fence and I can't get out of my driveway. My neighbours across the road - one of the streetlights has landed on their roof. My next-door neighbour has lost some of her roof and their windows were smashed in."

There were bits of corrugated iron strewn across her yard and a metal deck umbrella-holder had landed on her deck.

"I was reading a story to my daughter in bed. I just heard a massive gust and I could feel it on the back of my neck because the window's right there.

"I thought the window was going to break and the roof felt like it was going to lift off. Then the power went off. It was within a matter of 20 seconds. It's scary for the kids."

Police and the Fire Service were inundated with calls and officers knocked on doors and spoke to people in the streets making sure everyone was OK.

WeatherWatch.co.nz said the rain radar at the time the tornadoes hit showed "an intense area of rain brushing the coastline".

Metservice severe weather forecaster Erick Brenstrum said they had not picked up any tornado activity in that area last night, but he was "not surprised" to hear the reports.

"The sort of weather system that's continuing to cross the area is the sort that is conducive to squally rain showers, some of which may have small tornadoes."

Tauranga City Council chief executive Garry Poole said a full assessment of the Baypark Stadium damage would be done today.

Bay Venues chief executive Gary Dawson, speaking from the stadium, said: "When the tornado came through it's taken the roof off about three sections at the eastern end ... It's just roof iron that's come off, really, and the roof structure itself. 


But it's only three bays - I guess it's about 10 per cent of the roof ... so not massive really, when you look at the total stadium."

Other Mount residents took to community Facebook pages to share information. They reported roofs blocking driveways, trampolines "everywhere" and smashed windows.

"It was definitely a tornado that went through our flat," said Alesha Manaton. 


"Deafening sound, doors slammed shut and whole flat was shaking like crazy."

Zane Humphrey said: "The people living next door have got two big holes in their roof."

Tauranga City Council reported the tornado swept through Mt Maunganui streets Waitui Grove, Golf Road, Lodge Avenue, Ascot Place, Epsom Road, Maunganui Road, Owens Place and Baypark, damaging 11 homes.

Five commercial properties were also damaged.

Residents of eight homes were evacuated to stay with friends of family, as emergency services worked until 1.15am to check properties and make sure people were safe.

By midnight all roads were open and power was back on.

One lane on Maunganui Road opposite Links Avenue Reserve was closed for a time where a tree had fallen onto a power line on Maunganui Road.

Club Mount Maunganui was also kept open as a Welfare Centre until just before 1am.

Today, tree and roading contractors would undertake a damage assessment at for all affected streets and make safe any damage and clear debris.

Council staff were also to visit damaged properties first thing in the morning to offer assistance.

One dead after fire

Meanwhile in nearby Papamoa one person is dead after a fire in a sleepout overnight.

Fire crews were called to the sleepout behind a Webb Street house about 11.15pm, northern fire communications shift manager Scott Osmond said.

The building was well involved by the time crews arrived, he said.

Fire investigators were at the scene to assess the cause of the blaze, but it was not considered suspicious.

Menwhile the drought that has been affecting the south goes on. With the el-Nino, this is just the beginning and farmers are starting to despair.

What with abrupt climate change starting to hit New Zealand in earnest and dairy farmers being hit by debt because of the tanking commodity prices in the midst of an "infinite gorwth" strategy encouraged from the top, this country is facing a Perfect Storm.

Canterbury drought 'keeps going on and on'

Farmers in north Canterbury are facing a two to three year recovery as a result of the ongoing drought

Radio NZ,

26 November, 2014

Rain is beginning to provide relief for Otago, Marlborough and parts of Canterbury that were in drought, but Cheviot is missing out.

Drought conditions in mid-Canterbury, January 2015  Photo: Jeremy Talbot

Concern about the financial implications of the drought is growing, because many farmers have had to sell capital stock, while others are worried about the winter feed situation.

A mixed cropping, sheep and beef farmer near Cheviot, who is also a Hurunui District Councillor, Vincent Daly, said the region had had no significant rain since the new year.

He said the region has run out of grain, all his crops have been sold locally, and farmers were struggling to grow any other feed at all.

"I just look at our neighbours and it just worries me so much, they're just dirt really.

"I've been farming all my life in the district, and I think in 1967-68 we had quite a bad drought, but this one's shaping up to be a lot worse."

"I've been talking to some of the agents, and they've been measuring dry land fodder beet crops, which they say is going to be the answer, and they're getting six, seven, eight tonnes - which would hardly pay the cost of growing it. A lot of kale crops have not even grown."

Mr Daly said it would be a scary time for some people.

"It just keeps going on and on - a drought sort of just keeps creeping, doesn't it? The effects of it are going to be long-lasting, it's going to take people two to three years to recover from it," he says.

A farmer at Gore Bay, on the coast just out of Cheviot, John Sorenson, said it was the driest he had ever seen.

He said farmers were coping, but people were beginning to show signs of strain.

"I was going down the road the other day and there were two local farmers who are probably just as affected by the drought as anybody, and instead of being downcast, they were very philoнophical.

"One of the guys said, 'my dad always said it always rains after a dry spell', but you could tell that they were saying it through gritted teeth, you know - the old philosophy was running a bit tin."

Farmers 'despondent' in Canterbury drought

A stock transporter in north Canterbury says he has trucked nearly 20,000 sheep out of the area to date because of the drought, and claims he has never seen anything like it before.

North Canterbury, particularly Cheviot, is suffering from an ongoing drought, and farmers are having to choose between culling capital stock or sending them to graze in other regions, at quite an expense.

Cheviot Transport owner Barry Hanna, who has been driving trucks for 45 years, said he had not seen a drought as bad as this in a long time.

He said the area has had six millilitres of rain in the last 14 weeks and the drought was really taking a toll.

"It's having a very big effect on the farmers and their families at the moment, you can tell by their voices, I talk to a lot of farmers every day.

"They're getting very despondent and wondering what their next avenue is going to be."

Mr Hannah said he had never shifted the number of stock he was moving at the moment.

"In other years we haven't done anything like this, by the end of next week we would have taken 20,000 hoggarts and ewes out of here, plus other carriers that have been in here taking stock away - some to Blenheim, mostly it's all going to Ashburton, Methven areas."

Mr Hanna said he was fielding calls from farmers who were asking where they could send their animals for grazing, while others were culling on a massive scale.

"There won't be very many lambs left here shortly; ewe lambs are getting culled heavily and a lot of beef cows.

"A lot of the beef herds are being halved, by now all the 18 month old cattle in the area have gone, there's no calves left, everybody's selling heifer calves as well. It's getting pretty serious," he said.

Opuha dam levels under close watch

Meanwhile the state of Victoria across the Tasman is facing wintry temperatures. It is 11C in Melbourne today. A while ago it was colder in Melbourne than at Ezperanza in Antarctica

Melbourne weather: First winter blast hits Victoria

The published forecast: note the strong cold front moving through Victoria (courtesy Bureau of Meteorology).

Melburnians have endured a cold and drizzly commute home and should prepare for a wild night ahead, as the first blast of winter hits the state.

Victoria is set for wild winds, blizzards in alpine areas and possible hail and flooding in the next couple of days due to a powerful cold front
.....

Australian scientists, as well as NASA in the US, have declared a 'substantial' el-Nino. Meanwhile in New Zealand our scientists at NIWA are still discussing whether it is real or not - no doubt on instruction from the top

El Nino will be 'substantial', warn Australian scientists

Australian scientists on Tuesday forecast a "substantial" El Nino weather phenomenon for 2015, potentially spelling deadly and costly climate extremes, after officially falls as low as 600m and winds reach 126km/h at Wilson’s Promontory but rain not as heavy as forecast

Scientists debate El Nino likelihood

Climate scientists are at odds over whether New Zealand will suffer an El Nino this year.