People located in low-lying areas close to the rivers in the Whangārei CBD and Town Basin area are asked to self-evacuate before high tide at 1:56pm today because of a high risk of tidal flooding.

If you have nowhere safe to go, you can go to the Civil Defence Centre at McKay Stadium, 97 Western Hills Drive, Kensington.

The advice for all other Whangarei residents is to please stay home and stay off the roads, there are a lot of trees down and surface flooding is making driving dangerous.

If you are in immediate danger, call 111. If you need information or advice or you want to report something, please call us on 09-430-4200.

Please conserve water if you are on Council water and wastewater supply. Put off washing clothes, take short showers, and only flush the toilet when needed.

We are expecting further widespread surface flooding throughout the District today.

Please check our website www.wdc.govt.nz for known road closures and latest updates.

Our roading teams are focusing on maintaining access through main arterial routes and removing tree obstructions to support crews trying to restore power, when it is safe for workers to do so.

Northpower have advised there are currently 18,500 power outages and that people whose power is off should be prepared for it to be off for some time. For more information visit: Northpower.com

If your power is off, keep your freezer door shut – this should keep your food safe for up to 36 to 48 hours.

Civil Defence Centre is open

We have opened an official Civil Defence Centre at McKay Stadium, Kensington, for people who need to leave their homes. If your home becomes too dangerous to stay in, please stay with friends and family elsewhere as a first option.

• McKay Stadium, 97 Western Hills Drive, Kensington

You can take your pets – please remember to put your cat in pet carrier and dogs on leashes.

Coastal inundation risk

Civil Defence have identified an elevated risk to marine and coastal communities due to storm surges which may continue for a number of tides.

Properties that are on the low-lying coastal fringe are in an elevated stage of danger. If you live somewhere that could be affected by high waves, please consider evacuating to somewhere safe.

Do not drive through floodwaters

If you must go out, please drive with caution, take your time, and stay alert for hazards.

• Don’t drive through flood waters as it may be deeper than you think or there may be hazards you can’t see.

• If there is surface flooding in your area and you see rising water, do not wait for official warnings. Head for higher ground and stay away from floodwater.

Water supply

You may notice reduced water pressure due to power outages. If you haven't already, please fill some large bottles as an emergency supply.

Our wastewater pumping stations are struggling to cope with the very high volumes of stormwater infiltrating the wastewater network. Raw sewage may have spilled from these sites. In the interests of public safety, we are urging people to treat all surface water as potentially contaminated.

Please do not play or wade in any surface water; keep children or pets away. Wash your hands/sanitise if you come into contact with surface water.

Rubbish collections on hold

Please don’t put your rubbish out during this weather event. If you can, keep hold of it till next week or drop it at the transfer station when it’s safe to do so.

We will send the trucks out when it’s safe to do so.

Transfer stations closed

We are going to close the rural transfer stations for the rest of the day Sunday 12 February and also Monday 13 February. This is for the safety of staff and the public.

Other closures

All our libraries and Claphams Clocks will be closed Monday 13 February.

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