“This is a multi-hazard area of low pressure that runs down. You can imagine that these strong winds rushing over the seas help to drive large swells across the open waters, and they run in from the northwest.

Swells up to 6, 8 metres
“And I think around those northern coasts, places like Northland and the Bay of Plenty, swell heights could be as much as six to eight metres.

“Now, adding to that, the wet weather coming down the rivers, the strong winds, the extra boost of that sea by the extra low pressure, those coastal eliminations, that risk does increase.”

Law also said it was “very unusual” to see the entire North Island under weather watches and warnings.

“Normally our watches and warnings, we try and keep them to as small an area as possible to kind of really focus in on those areas impacting.

“So the fact that the whole island has got these severe weather watches and warnings … it is an indication of the severity of the system coming through, not just in terms of the wet weather, but that wind, I think, is going to be one of the key features as we head through the weekend.

“As this system runs across us, we’ll find our winds changing direction… as they come in to start with we’re looking at northerly winds, but as the system sweeps down to the south, strong south or westerly winds behind it will also be another issue.

“So that change in direction, something else to keep in mind.”

Orange heavy rain warnings
Meanwhile, Auckland, Great Barrier Island, Coromandel Peninsula, Bay of Plenty west of Whakatane including Rotorua, and Gisborne/Tairawhiti north of Tolaga Bay are all under an orange heavy rain warning from the early hours of Sunday morning.

Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell says it will be a potentially significant and damaging storm, and Earth Sciences NZ predicted more than 200mm of rain could fall in some places across the upper North Island.

An orange strong wind warning is in place for Northland from 11pm Saturday until Sunday afternoon. Auckland, Waikato, Waitomo, Taupo, Taumarunui, Bay of Plenty and Rotorua, Gisborne/Tairawhiti, Hawke’s Bay, Taihape, Taranaki and Wanganui are all also under orange warnings which come into place overnight Saturday.

Aucklanders have been warned the Harbour Bridge might close due to strong winds.

FIFA matches advanced
FIFA World Cup qualifying matches due to be played in Hamilton on Sunday have been brought forward to Saturday to avoid the worst of it.

Officials said the decision was made to ensure the safety of participants and fans attending the games.

The Oceania semi-finals between the Football Ferns and Fiji and Papua New Guinea (PNG) and American Samoa were originally scheduled for Sunday afternoon in Hamilton.

They will now be played Saturday, with PNG playing American Samoa at midday and New Zealand playing Fiji at 4pm.

• RNZ is New Zealand’s statutory civil defence lifeline radio broadcaster. That means RNZ will provide vital information and updates as they come to hand on air and online during an emergency.
• Find the radio frequency for your area here and get prepared here.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

“This is a multi-hazard area of low pressure that runs down. You can imagine that these strong winds rushing over the seas help to drive large swells across the open waters, and they run in from the northwest.

Swells up to 6, 8 metres
“And I think around those northern coasts, places like Northland and the Bay of Plenty, swell heights could be as much as six to eight metres.

“Now, adding to that, the wet weather coming down the rivers, the strong winds, the extra boost of that sea by the extra low pressure, those coastal eliminations, that risk does increase.”

Law also said it was “very unusual” to see the entire North Island under weather watches and warnings.

“Normally our watches and warnings, we try and keep them to as small an area as possible to kind of really focus in on those areas impacting.

“So the fact that the whole island has got these severe weather watches and warnings … it is an indication of the severity of the system coming through, not just in terms of the wet weather, but that wind, I think, is going to be one of the key features as we head through the weekend.

“As this system runs across us, we’ll find our winds changing direction… as they come in to start with we’re looking at northerly winds, but as the system sweeps down to the south, strong south or westerly winds behind it will also be another issue.

“So that change in direction, something else to keep in mind.”

Orange heavy rain warnings
Meanwhile, Auckland, Great Barrier Island, Coromandel Peninsula, Bay of Plenty west of Whakatane including Rotorua, and Gisborne/Tairawhiti north of Tolaga Bay are all under an orange heavy rain warning from the early hours of Sunday morning.

Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell says it will be a potentially significant and damaging storm, and Earth Sciences NZ predicted more than 200mm of rain could fall in some places across the upper North Island.

An orange strong wind warning is in place for Northland from 11pm Saturday until Sunday afternoon. Auckland, Waikato, Waitomo, Taupo, Taumarunui, Bay of Plenty and Rotorua, Gisborne/Tairawhiti, Hawke’s Bay, Taihape, Taranaki and Wanganui are all also under orange warnings which come into place overnight Saturday.

Aucklanders have been warned the Harbour Bridge might close due to strong winds.

FIFA matches advanced
FIFA World Cup qualifying matches due to be played in Hamilton on Sunday have been brought forward to Saturday to avoid the worst of it.

Officials said the decision was made to ensure the safety of participants and fans attending the games.

The Oceania semi-finals between the Football Ferns and Fiji and Papua New Guinea (PNG) and American Samoa were originally scheduled for Sunday afternoon in Hamilton.

They will now be played Saturday, with PNG playing American Samoa at midday and New Zealand playing Fiji at 4pm.

• RNZ is New Zealand’s statutory civil defence lifeline radio broadcaster. That means RNZ will provide vital information and updates as they come to hand on air and online during an emergency.
• Find the radio frequency for your area here and get prepared here.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Northland has declared a state of emergency and the Auckland Harbour Bridge has been closed as steady rain and strong winds from Cyclone Gabrielle hit Aotearoa New Zealand today, but MetService says this is just the beginning.

The Northland Regional council said a precautionary state of emergency had been declared for an initial period of seven days, as part of the regional response to Cyclone Gabrielle.

It said emergency declarations were relatively rare in Northland, with only six emergency declarations in the past 50 years, some of which affected only parts of the region.

Meanwhile, Waka Kotahi confirmed all lanes on the Auckland Harbour Bridge were closed due to strong winds at 3.40pm.

Its website said the closure is “until further notice” and motorists were urged to delay their journey or use detours such as the Western Ring Route.

A red heavy rain warning has been issued for Coromandel, Gisborne north of Tolaga Bay, and Auckland, including Great Barrier Island and other islands in the Hauraki Gulf, while strong wind warnings are also in place — including a red one for Coromandel Peninsula, Northland and Auckland.

Speaking at today’s official update, MetService meteorologist Georgina Griffiths said that even with significant wind gusts in Northland already being reported, the weather today was just the start.

“This is the entree. This is not the impact day.”

She said they had not seen pressure this low in 40 years.

“This is a serious event for New Zealand.”

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Northland will move to alert level 3 restrictions from 11:59pm tonight, New Zealand’s Covid-19 Response Minister has confirmed.

Minister Chris Hipkins held a briefing at Parliament on the situation in Northland this evening.

The new restrictions will remain in place until 11.59pm Tuesday and will be reviewed at Cabinet on Monday.

Hipkins said the move was necessary following new information on the risk presented by a positive case initially tested in Whangārei earlier this week and confirmed in Auckland yesterday. The woman was now in an Auckland managed isolation quarantine facility.

“Updated information provided by the police today shows the case moved extensively around Northland after travelling there on October 2,” Hipkins said.

He said it was believed she did not travel alone and travelled with another woman, who was not yet in MIQ.

“We believe this new information warrants an alert level change decision to keep Northland people safe,” he said.

“It has also been taken because the individual has not been cooperative with contact tracing efforts.”

He said the woman had not supplied the reason for being in Northland.

Watch the news briefing

Video: RNZ News

“It has been very difficult to get information about this particular case,” Hipkins said.

“The first test result we had was what you could describe as an indeterminate test result, so it was quite difficult to locate the person.

“The information that they supplied when they were tested the first time did not provide sufficent information to be able to contact them with the test result and get them back to be tested.

“It took some time to track them down, the police ultimately were able to assist there and did help to track the person down.”

Hipkins said he understood the woman obtained a document by providing false information to leave Auckland but this was yet to be verified. When it was discovered and revoked they were already in Auckland.

The first locations of interest for Northland have been added to the Ministry of Health’s website.

They include BP Connect Wylies petrol station and the Z Kensington service station in Whangārei.

Northland vaccination rates low
Hipkins said another factor taken into account was that vaccination rates in Northland were low compared to the national average.

“Without placing restrictions on movement there is a possibility that the virus could spread quite rapidly within the community.”

It is one of the least-vaccinated regions – just two thirds of residents have had their first Pfizer dose.

“Cases spreading at alert level 2 are a risk we cannot take, but it’s also further reason why we need to really focus on vaccinations,” said Hipkins. “Without high vaccination rates we will need to continue to use restrictions to stop the virus spreading.

“I have two things to ask of Northlanders. First, if you have any cold and flu like symptoms please come forward and get a test as soon as possible.”

“The second request that I have and I can’t stress this enough, is please get vaccinated. These cases do highlight the risk of Covid-19 to the unvaccinated anywhere in the country.

“Now is the time to be vaccinated.”

Northlanders ‘stay in bubble’
Hipkins reminded Northlanders that alert level 3 meant they had to stay in their bubble and stay at home.

“Don’t go and visit family, friends and neighbours, this is a virus that can spread quite quickly and that is part of the way it spreads.”

Speaking to RNZ Checkpoint after the announcement, Whangārei Mayor Sheryl Mai said she was “actually quite grumpy”.

“We’ve got a person who really has done everything that they should not do. And they’ve impacted on all of Northland as a result.

“I was giving the person the benefit of the doubt earlier today. Now I’m just ropeable.”

Epidemiologist Michael Baker said without full cooperation with contact tracers, public health staff are reliant on swabbing and wastewater results to track the virus’ spread.

Professor Baker said the Te Tai Tokerau situation was “really concerning” and the lockdown “had to be done”.

With Northland entering level 3, Auckland in a level 3 with benefits, and Waikato in level 3 restrictions, he told Checkpoint there needed to be clarity on what strategy New Zealand was pursuing against covid-19.

“We’ve actually had very confused messages this week about a number of things, including what comes after elimination, which we seem to be transitioning out of. That hasn’t been made clear,” he said.

“Also how are we going to use the alert level system? Because Auckland is using a stepped approach, they’re stepping up. The rest of the country’s got alert levels and is stepping down. There’s also a version of a traffic light system that’s been proposed circulating at the moment.

“So I think this week has really been quite poor for clarity of communication and coherence.

“The government really has to sort out where we’re going. And one of the approaches I think we should look at would actually be a regional approach.”

Professor Baker said suppression could be pursued in Auckland while an elimination strategy could work in the South Island.

There were 44 new cases of Covid-19 reported in the community today, including three in Waikato.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz