Workers inspecting damage to State Highway 11, or Marsden Road, in Paihia on Thursday. Photo: RNZ / Peter de Graaf
While ex-Cyclone Tam has moved into the Tasman Sea, rocky weather is still plaguing Easter weekend, with visitors at a holiday park told they may be evacuated.
NZTA said part of the East Coast State Highway 35 between Hicks Bay and Potaka would be closed overnight between Friday and Saturday, due to surface flooding, and crews would be out assessing the road.
SH35 HICKS BAY TO POTAKA, GISBORNE - FLOODING - 5:55PM, FRI 18 APR
— NZ Transport Agency - Central North Island (@nztacni) April 18, 2025
State Highway 35 is now CLOSED west of Te Araroa this evening. Closure points are in place at Wharf Rd, Hicks Bay and near the intersection with Lottin Point Rd, Potaka. Delay travel through the area. ^CS pic.twitter.com/t62ybAJATn
By Friday night, a heavy rain warning was no longer in place for the Coromandel Peninsula, but warnings for the weekend remained for Bay of Plenty west of Whakatane, including Rotorua and the Kaimai Range; Bay of Plenty northeast of Omaio; Gisborne north of Tokomaru Bay; Mount Taranaki; and Tasman northwest of Motueka.
The remnants of ex-Cyclone Tam were also bringing tropical air and high dewpoints to much of the North and upper South Island.
Campers at a holiday park in Tairāwhiti were being warned they might need to evacuate to higher ground if water levels continued to rise.
An orange Heavy Rain Warning was issued for the region till 6am Saturday, with MetService forecasting up to 60mm more of rain, after the rain was persistent for much of Friday.
The owner of Hicks Bay's Te Araroa Holiday Park said the campground was drenched and water levels were rising.
"It's very very wet, sodden, and the creek that runs by the holiday park is extremely high and getting higher.
"We're keeping a constant eye on the creek and checking downstream for blockages, with debris coming down the creek. So people are aware of this and they have had it explained to them that they may get the call to leave the camp."
Thousands of households in the North Island were still without power on Friday. More than 3000 properties were without power in Northland as well as just over 1000 across the Coromandel Peninsula, Hauraki, South Waikato and Matamata-Piako districts, on Friday afternoon.
Extra lines repair crews from Hawke's Bay were to arrive in the Far North on Friday afternoon to help restore electricity to about 2000 properties. At the peak of ex-Cyclone Tam, 17,000 households were without power.
State Highway 25 around the Coromandel Peninsula remained closed south of Tairua due to flooding, but access to Whangamatā was open. Emergency Management said the water was not receding as quickly as expected with low tide.
Controller Brian Carter said it was a long night, with a group of motorists getting stuck when they decided to chance it by driving through floodwaters at Hikuai. They had to be rescued by Fire and Emergency.
The Far North District Council urged Paihia residents to conserve water, after huge swells caused by ex-Cyclone Tam damaged a water main.
Thursday's wild weather had caused a section of footpath to collapse and undermined State Highway 11 - Marsden Road, on Paihia's waterfront.
The damage also exposed a water main, which a council spokesperson originally hoped would be fixed on Friday.
In Paihia, huge swells triggered by ex-Cyclone Tam washed away part of the waterfront, exposing cables and a water main. Photo: Supplied / Grant McCallum
However, by Friday night, the council said the main could not be fixed until the road was stabilised, which they expected to take place on Tuesday, after the Easter break.
In the meantime, the council urged residents in Paihia, Waitangi, and Ōpua to conserve water, so local reservoirs stay topped up.
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