Taranaki battered by wild winds

BY LEIGHTON KEITH

Gale force winds battered Taranaki yesterday, ripping down powerlines and snapping limbs off trees.

The winds brought down branches across powerlines near Burgess Park about 6.40pm.

Twenty minutes later powerlines snapped at New Plymouth's Timandra St, cutting the electricity supply to about 300 customers.

Powerco Network operations manager Phil Marsh said the fault occurred after high winds downed 11,000 volt overhead lines on Tokomaru St, cutting power to surrounding areas.

The wind also caused a number of other power cuts around the region with trees and broken branches damaging service lines and low voltage sections of the network in areas including Bell Block, Junction Rd and Patea.

New Plymouth firefighters secured the scenes until contractors arrived.

Gusts of up to 92kmh were recorded at the New Plymouth Airport, causing some flights to be cancelled.

Oakura firefighters used a chainsaw to cut up a tree that crashed down across State Highway 45, near Lucy's Gully, about 6.15pm. The road was reduced to one lane for about an hour while they cleared the scene.

Earlier in the day, a fallen tree blocked part of SH3, just south of Egmont Village, about 12.45pm.

Inglewood Fire Brigade fire chief Cameron Gillespie said the tree fell across one lane.

The blustery winds forced the cancellation of some flights to and from New Plymouth Airport, including one from Auckland carrying an official New Zealand cricket scorer heading to yesterday's Twenty20 final at Pukekura Park.

Hawera United scorer Sharon Walker, who was at the match, had to be drafted in to cover.

An Air New Zealand spokeswoman said two flights into the airport, from Auckland and Wellington, had to be diverted to Wanganui and passengers were brought by bus to New Plymouth.

The high cross winds also forced the cancellation of two flights out of New Plymouth. A total of about 140 passengers had their travel plans disrupted.

Yesterday's blast was in direct contrast to Saturday's clear blue skies and high temperatures that had people flocking to the beaches.

Things are expected to change again today with skies clearing and winds easing tonight.

MetService forecaster Oliver Druce said Taranaki could expect scattered rain today with winds easing.

The rest of the week is predicted to be the same as last week's fine sunny conditions.

"It looks pretty good for some fine days, it will clear becoming sunny, warm and settled," Mr Druce said.

The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research is predicting the El Nino weather pattern will continue through autumn.

Niwa principal scientist James Renwick said those hoping for a hot end to summer would be out of luck.

"It is not brilliant but there will be some nice days," Dr Renwick said.

The temperature would be near average or below while the rainfall would be about average over the next three months.

On the East Coast, flooding and slips closed roads, prompted evacuations and isolated rural communities as heavy rain hammered the region.

Gisborne was particularly hard-hit, with heavy rain leading to the evacuation of more than 20 people and forcing the closure of SH2 near Te Karaka, 32km northwest of Gisborne.

Earlier, widespread slips and flooding prompted the closure of SH5 between Napier and Taupo.

The road was reopened about 5.30pm.

- © Fairfax NZ News