Source: Radio New Zealand
Campground managers in the North Island are hoping for sunnier weather leading up to New Year’s. Ruth Kuo
Campground managers in the North Island are hoping for sunnier weather leading up to New Year’s after a lashing of wind and rain.
Wild weather battered much of the North Island on Monday, disrupting campers, causing power outages and downing trees.
In Auckland a roof was torn off an unoccupied home in Hillsborough, as fire crews responded to more than 100 weather-related callouts.
The manager of Kūaotunu Campground on the Coromandel Peninsula, Yvette Davey, said the weather had caused a bit of disruption on Monday.
“We have had a couple of campers that their tents were destroyed so they had to go home, other than that people are hunkering down, it’s settled down here,” she said.
Leanne Mills, the owner of Long Bay Motor Camp in Coromandel said campers were not too put off by the wet weather.
“We’ve had a bit of rain [on Monday] but we’ve been lucky campers have just used it as a crash day, just chill out, read a book, sleep,” she said.
“We’ve just got continued support from our regulars, mostly 90 percent Kiwis, so they’ll come and just meet up every year with the same people year after year and they don’t really care if it rains.”
Festivalgoers for New Year’s events such as Rhythm and Vines in Gisborne have been warned to watch out for wild weather on the roads.
Strong wind warnings for the northern and central parts of the North Island have expired but several regions remain in the firing line.
Orange wind warnings remain for Manawatu, Horowhenua and Kapiti Coast until 9am Tuesday, and the Marlborough Sounds, Nelson and the West Coast north of Aoraki Mount Cook until 2pm Tuesday.
An orange heavy rain warning is in place for Hawke’s Bay until 8am Tuesday.
Tauranga City Council has cancelled all five of its community New Year’s Eve events because of the bad weather forecast.
The council said weather reports indicated heavy rain and strong winds during event set-up, with conditions highly likely to continue into Wednesday.
It said fireworks displays would hopefully still take place from various locations around the city on New Year’s Eve.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
