Police in Whangārei are supporting an evacuation of residents in Hakawai Lane, off Whareora Road. There is an identified risk of a landslide threatening homes due to the high rainfall.

Please be aware of high tide times for any increased risk of flooding for low-lying areas near rivers, especially in the central city. High tide is at 2.44pm today and again at 3.23am on Wednesday morning. We currently have no plans to evacuate this area today.

Some of our wastewater systems are without power. Please only flush sparingly - the more you flush, the more will be stored in the pipes and potentially overflow into waterways. Put off washing clothes if you can and take short showers.

Other important safety advice for the public is:

• Please stay out floodwaters as they may be contaminated.
• Don’t drive through floodwaters.
• Please treat downed power lines as live at all times.

There are numerous roads closed around the District and driving is dangerous due to slips and trees down – stay off the roads if you can.

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.

• View the full list of roading issues at our website: www.wdc.govt.nz
• Visit: www.nzta.govt.nz for State Highway updates.

Power is out to around half the network in Whangārei and people should visit https://northpower.com/articles/2023/cyclone-gabrielle-tues-9am for latest updates. If your power is off, keep your freezer door shut – this should keep your food safe for up to 36 to 48 hours.

There are also outages to several cellphone towers.

A Civil Defence Centre is open at Kensington at McKay Stadium, 97 Western Hills Drive, for people who can’t go home due to flooding but please stay with friends and family elsewhere as a first option.

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

Council service closures

All rubbish collections have been cancelled for today – we expect to start these again tomorrow (Wednesday 15 February). People who have not had their waste collected should hold on to it until next week. Rural transfer stations are also still closed today.

All our libraries, Forum North and Ruakaka Service Centres, i-Site Visitor Centre and Claphams Clocks will be closed today.

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.

A national state of emergency was declared this morning to coordinate the cyclone response at a national level.

Where to go for more support and advice on cleaning up after a flood?

Cyclone Gabrielle - What support is available and where can you get help » National Emergency Management Agency (civildefence.govt.nz)

© Scoop Media