Thames-Coromandel District Council has declared a precautionary state of emergency across the district due to severe rain and flooding with the potential to cause harm to people and property.
The declaration ensures a coordinated response to keep communities safe and gives local authorities special powers to take urgent action, including closing roads and controlling access to affected areas, evacuating people from high-risk locations, entering properties to carry out rescues or check on safety, and requisitioning resources to support the emergency response.
“The worst of this weather is yet to come,” Mayor Peter Revell said around midday on January 21. “Please take care of your neighbour, and check that the people around you, the people you know and love, are kept safe.”
The council also warned residents in low-lying areas to move to higher ground immediately.
In an urgent release, council said the Coromandel Peninsula was experiencing significant rainfall with more rain expected today. Rivers and creeks are rising rapidly, it said.
“We ask campground owners to proactively stay alert and manage any of their hazards.”
Whitianga has already been cut off by flooding after persistent heavy rain swept through the Coromandel overnight, leaving the town inaccessible by road, while rising surface water has also forced campers at Cooks Beach Resort to move to higher ground.
Overnight between January 20 and 21, heavy rain fell across the North Island, with parts of the Coromandel Peninsula recording around a month’s worth of rainfall in just 12 hours.
The downpour has led to widespread flooding, road closures, and hazardous driving conditions across the region.
Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency confirmed in a January 21 update that State Highway 25 was now closed in both directions due to flooding. The highway has been shut south of Whitianga near Wade Rd, and between Discovery Dr and Simpson’s Beach, effectively cutting off access to the town from both the north and south.
The closures mean Whitianga can not be accessed via SH25, with motorists urged to avoid travel while conditions remain unsafe.
CATHEDRAL COVE CLOSED
The heavy rain has also prompted the Department of Conservation to close tracks to Mautohe Cathedral Cove and urge visitors not to go to the popular beach.
MetService issued a Red Heavy Rain Warning for the Coromandel, forecasting the weather system moving down the northern half of the North Island could dump up to 290mm of rain on the peninsula in a single day.
The warning was paired with a strong wind watch, with possible gales in exposed places.
DOC Coromandel Operations Manager Nick Kelly said it was prudent to close tracks to Cathedral Cove given the weather system’s impact.
“DOC’s priority for this site continues to be the safety of visitors and managing visitor risk. Poor weather exacerbates the landslide and rockfall risks at Mautohe Cathedral Cove.
“We strongly discourage people from visiting the cove while this weather system moves – the conditions make it unsafe. We do not want people getting hurt.”
Earlier, Thames-Coromandel District Council warned residents of forecasts showing 200-250mm of rain, especially over higher ground, could fall between January 20-22, with peak rates of 15-25 mm per hour on January 21. There was also a low risk of localised downpours up to 25-40 mm per hour.
Potential impacts included: rapidly rising streams and rivers; surface flooding and slips; and difficult driving conditions.
A REPEAT OF ’23
The storm is harking back to a similar weather event in 2023, when severe conditions battered the Thames-Coromandel district, causing widespread damage and long-term road closures.
During the first week of January that year, the district council reported more than 400mm of rain fell in just 72 hours, triggering slips and closing key routes.
Then, State Highway 25A between Kōpū and Hikuai, suffered significant damage when the road collapsed following Cyclone Gabrielle later that same month. The highway remained closed while a new bridge was built and reopened on December 20, 2023.
BY KELLEY TANTAU
