Around 270 properties in Ōhope and Thornton were cleared as officials warned of coastal inundation, storm surges and landslides during the peak of the event on Sunday afternoon.
Whakatāne District Council controller Nicholas Woodley said the decision to issue mandatory evacuation orders proved well-founded.
He said the combination of extreme winds up to 150km/h, large seas and the high tide on Sunday afternoon created the coastal inundation risk across exposed low-lying areas.
“The most significant impacts were felt in coastal areas of Ōhope, Matatā, Thornton and surrounding low-lying communities.”
Woodley said early action meant residents could move safely before conditions peaked.
“Residents were cleared to return home from 6pm Sunday following visual assessments by Emergency Operations Centre staff supported by the New Zealand Defence Force.”
Four Square Ōhope Beach closed its doors at 10am Sunday after residents were asked to evacuate.
Store manager Tremaine Pompey remained on site to keep the generators running after the store lost power around midday, leaving it without electricity for seven hours.
Pompey said once the warning from Civil Defence and the council came through, there was a “whole rush” of people through the shop’s doors.
“They [customers] were stocking up with water and what-not, cans, just the essential items, but during the storm, it wasn’t too crazy, to be honest.”
The main street of Whakatāne as Cyclone Vaianu hits. Photo / Mike Scott
He said Ōhope “definitely got hit” by wind and rain, with a few tree branches breaking off here and there.
“Rain was on and off, just little moments, little glimpses of torrential rain. It wasn’t non-stop, but the wind was howling; it was, definitely, the biggest factor in our storm.”
When asked if he thought an evacuation was needed, Pompey said: “In hindsight, probably not.”
“But when you’re looking ahead of time, then yeah, I think it’s probably necessary to put it out there.”
Several businesses contacted by NZME in West End and Ōhope on Monday said most of the warnings were “well organised” and the council had done extensive planning.
One West End resident, who left the area on Saturday and returned late on Sunday night and did not want to be named, said she was “more than happy” to follow the rules and evacuate.
“It could have been way worse, but it’s one of those things you just have to kind of do.
“I thought we had a pretty positive experience, it was well organised, it was all as planned and as predicted from the MetService warnings and from the council.”
A group of locals and surfers clean up the shorefront of Ōhope. Photo / Mike Scott
MetService meteorologist Devlin Lynden said the system generated significant rain and strong winds across much of the North Island, including the Bay of Plenty.
An inland station east of Whakatāne reached 40mm of rain and Lynden said damaging wind gusts had been a major feature of the cyclone.
Whakatāne recorded a gust of 94km/h before its station stopped reporting at midday on Sunday, possibly due to wind damage or a power outage.
Acting Whakatāne District Mayor Julie Jukes said Cyclone Vaianu “hit our district hard”.
“The combination of extreme winds, large waves and high tide on Sunday afternoon created dangerous conditions across our coastal communities.”
She said council teams had been working “around the clock” and were now focusing on assessing the damage to get the district back on its feet.
“Recovery from an event like this takes time and our immediate priority is restoring essential services – power, water and roads – and ensuring our communities are safe.”
Jukes said she wanted to acknowledge how seriously the community took the warnings.
“People acted early, looked out for their neighbours, and that made a real difference.
“We have been through difficult times before and we have always come through them together.”
Kaitlyn Morrell is a journalist for the Bay of Plenty Times and the Rotorua Daily Post. She has lived in the region for several years and studied journalism at Massey University.