Workers respond to downed powerlines in Carterton in Wairarapa.
Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii
The galeforce winds that have been lashing Wairarapa have also moved north into the Tararua district, with Eketahuna’s chief fire officer saying they are some of the strongest winds he has seen in the town.
A rare, red-level wind warning has come into effect for the area south of Carterton, with MetService forecasting “life-threatening” gale force winds and gusts of up to 140km/h.
On Thursday evening the warning eased from red to orange in Wellington and Wairarapa south of Carterton.
Eketahuna chief fire officer Max Meyer said the calls had been coming in thick and fast.
“We’ve just had really, really strong winds – probably some of the strongest winds that I can recall in Eketahuna.
“Been a lot of trees down, quite a number of roofs lifting, one local business in town had part of a side wall blown out.
“Two halls have lost part of their roofs. There’s also some broken power poles and powerlines down across the road.
“Lots and lots of tree damage.”
Meyer said the town had been without power for almost the entire day.
He said this was one of the busiest days they had had and while the wind appeared to be easing now, they were not out of the woods.
“The rain seems to have picked up – we’re not quite wet enough, obviously.”
Residents in south Wairarapa are stocking up and staying home as strong wind gusts continue to whip through the region.
More than 1000 residents are entering their third day without power after wind lashed the area on Tuesday, causing widespread damage.
Powerco said the largest outage was in Riversdale, which had hit more than 400 customers.
Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii
In Featherston at the base of the Remutaka Hill the rain is falling sideways and State Highway 2 is quiet.
At 11am the hill road closed.
Musemi Patel says it was unusually busy at the supermarket yesterday.
Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii
Co-owner of the town’s FreshChoice supermarket, Musemi Patel, said it wasn’t quiet yesterday, with groceries flying off shelves.
“It was very busy, surprisingly very busy. It’s normally not busy on Wednesday.”
She said the usual favourites, such as canned food, bottled water, toilet paper, and snacks have been particularly popular.
Patel said they’ll stay open as long as they can today, and have plans in place in case they lose power.
Bread supplies were running low at the supermarket.
Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii
The owner of The Royal Hotel, Theo Wijnsma, said they were one of the few places not to lose power over the past couple of days – but today, they were playing it safe.
“We’ll be open tonight for dinner, but just for the safety of everyone we thought we’d close for lunch service today, like most restaurants in Wairarapa are doing at the moment.”
He said all deliveries have been bumped to tomorrow.
The current guests were not too concerned about the forecast.
“We’re used to wind in Featherston – it’s just a shame you can’t fly a kite.”
The FreshChoice supermarket in Featherston.
Photo: Screenshot / Google
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