Gale lashes Wellington

Press, 16 May 1985, Page 1

Gale lashes Wellington

PA Wellington Storm-force winds and heavy rain lashed the central North Island yesterday, cutting power supplies from the South Island, damaging houses, and disrupting air, sea, and rail transport services.

The ferocity of the storm had the Wellington police waiting anxiously for the next high tide early this morning as strong winds and huge seas at high tide yesterday forced the evacuation of 12 people from their homes on Wellington’s exposed southern coastline.

Gusts of up to 76 knots closed Wellington Airport to all flights yesterday, Cook Strait rail ferry sailings were cancelled, and rail traffic was disrupted.

Roofs were torn from houses throughout the lower North Island, and many areas were without power after the winds brought power poles down. The high winds also for a while cut power supplies from the South Island to the North Island and the main electricity supply authorities throughout the North

Island were told to switch off domestic water-heaters to reduce power loads.

The overhead line and cable at Oteranga Bay where the Cook Strait cable comes on to the North Island from the South were cut first but full power for the North Island was maintained through the thermal supply back-up. However, at 1 p.m. a break on the second South Island conductor at Oteranga Bay left the North Island totally reliant on its own power supplies. Mr Bill Lowry, principal systems control engineer in the Electricity Division of the Ministry of Energy, said that power was running again last evening after repairs to the first conductor. High winds gusting across the exposed area ruled out repairs to the second conductor. Air New Zealand cancelled all 115 flights in and out of Wellington yesterday. About 5000 passengers had been booked on the 55 flights into and 60 out of the city. Air New Zealand’s Wellington traffic superintend-

ent, Mr Warren Stevenson, said that clearing the backlog of passengers would take about two days if the weather cleared today.

Air Albatross cancelled six return flights between Wellington and Nelson and Blenheim yesterday, as well as two Auckland to Nelson return flights. About 300 passengers had been affected, with few bothering to turn up the airport. The Meteorological Office at Kelburn in Wellington recorded average winds of 35 to 40 knots, with average gusts of 55 knots. The highest gust had been 70 knots.

A spokesman said the storm was of “quite remarkable intensity” and compared with the storm which hit Wellington in April, 1974, when winds averaged about 70 knots and gusted up to 85 knots.

During the Wahine storm of April 10, 1968, the highest gust at Wellington Airport was 101 knots with an average wind speed of 60 knots.

Huge seas crashed a 12m trimaran on to rocks on Wellington’s south coast on Tuesday night and several dinghies ended up on the coast road. Two cars parked 3m above the usual high tide mark were pushed across the road by waves.

In the Hutt Valley, firemen worked all Tuesday night extinguishing blazing transformers, power lines, and poles and battling against fallen lines and trees. A couple had to be freed from their car after snapped power lines covered their car in Gracefield.

In Foxton, where two unoccupied holiday homes had their roofs tom off and caravans were damaged by falling trees, a man described the night as a frightening experience. On the Wairarapa coast, the Castlepoint lighthouse lost its light when powerlines were swept away by the high seas. The lighthouse keeper, Mr Bert Hinchcliffe, said a navigational warning was put out over radio. He hoped to have the light going soon.

The Navy’s hydrographic ship Monowai lost a 10m survey boat in severe weather off the Wairarapa coast on Tuesday evening. The Monowai was heading for Auckland from Wellington when the boat was ripped loose from its davit in high seas about 8 p.m. The ship’s other survey boat was also damaged.

The Monowai hove to to await calmer weather.