Flood prone town find reasons for hope
Any time it rains heavily in Northland, residents of Moerewa brace for flooding. The small town has gone underwater in recent years more times than they'd care to remember. But now the flood-weary residents finally have reasons to be hopeful about the future. Peter de Graaf reports.
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RNZ News
9 hours ago
- RNZ News
Flood prone town find reasons for hope
Any time it rains heavily in Northland, residents of Moerewa brace for flooding. The small town has gone underwater in recent years more times than they'd care to remember. But now the flood-weary residents finally have reasons to be hopeful about the future. Peter de Graaf reports. To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following: See terms of use.
RNZ News
17 hours ago
- RNZ News
The future for Northland weather: Storm alerts are 'the new normal'
This year has already brought almost every possible weather extreme to Northland, with record rain hot on the heels of a drought, a cyclone and even a tornado. Are Northlanders experiencing a new normal? Is this a sign of things to come? Or just par for the course in a region that's always had its share of extremes? First came the tornado that struck Mangawhai in the early hours of 26 January, tearing off roofs and leaving two people badly injured. Then came the big dry, with some areas recording just 10 per cent of their normal rainfall. Drought was declared on 7 March. Huge swells generated by Cyclone Tam washed away part of State Highway 11 along the Paihia waterfront. Photo: RNZ / Peter de Graaf Next, the heavens opened and Northland switched almost overnight from drought to flood. Kerikeri, Kaitāia and Whangārei all set new records for April rainfall. Next, on 17 April, Cyclone Tam trashed Northland's power networks, leaving more than 24,000 households in the dark. It was a week before some homes had their power restored. And it did not stop there, with slips triggered by more torrential rain closing State Highway 1 through Mangamuka Gorge twice in a matter of days. Workers inspect damage to State Highway 11, in Paihia, caused by Cyclone Tam. Photo: RNZ / Peter de Graaf So what's going on? Is this a new normal? Should Northlanders be preparing for ever more extreme weather? MetService meteorologist Mmathapelo Makgabutlane said although drought was declared across Northland in early March, the big dry stretched back to the previous October. "So that period of dry weather from last year spilled into this year, and the first three months of the year were particularly dry in Northland … But actually, interestingly, not long after that, in April, we saw quite a deluge of rain for many parts of Northland, in particular places like Whangārei as well as Kerikeri and other spots even saw their wettest April on record. So from extremely dry to very wet in quite a short space of time." Kerikeri's April rainfall, 593mm, was almost four times the long-term average for the month of 151mm. As for cyclones, however, Makgabutlane said the southwest Pacific experienced fewer than usual last season - with just one, Cyclone Tam, reaching New Zealand. Flooding across State Highway 10 at Kāeo caused by Cyclone Tam. Photo: RNZ/Peter de Graaf Just five reached the threshold of being given a name, half the long-term average. Makgabutlane said climate modelling did not suggest more cyclones in future. "But what is expected is for them to become more extreme, so more rain and stronger winds. It's the severity of those cyclones that is likely to change." Droughts were also expected to become more severe, she said. MetService meteorologist Mmathapelo Makgabutlane says cyclones are expected to become more severe, and droughts longer and more frequent. Photo: Screenshot Modelling by Niwa and the Northland Regional Council suggested droughts would be more frequent in future, and last longer. However, Makgabutlane said it was too soon to say if the extremes of the past six months were "the new normal". "It has been quite tough on the ground in Northland, but it's probably still a bit too early to say if this is how it's going to be going forward. But it could be a hint of things to come in the future." Far North Mayor Moko Tepania said of the six summers since he was first elected as a councillor, only one had been free of drought or water restrictions. Cyclone Tam brought widespread power outages across the Far North. Photo: Top Energy Those dry conditions also led to major wildfires, and late summer often brought damaging cyclones. "In my first full year as mayor, we had Cyclone Gabrielle and ex-Tropical Cyclone Hale hit us. I think there were 13 or 14 significant weather events that year as well. So it was really a baptism of wind and rain as mayor," he said. There had been little let-up since then. "So it's been a pretty crazy three years as mayor, six years as an elected member." Tepania said it was challenging for the Far North District Council to serve 75,000 people living in 40 settlements scattered across a vast area. The Mangawhai tornado destroyed homes and left two people seriously injured. Photo: Peter de Graaf / RNZ Many of those people struggled day-to-day just to get by. "You put on top of that the extreme weather we've been experiencing and it all adds up, and brings monumental challenges to us. The biggest one that I've probably had to deal with or seen affect our people on the daily is, of course, our roading network," Tepania said. "Our council has 2500km of local roads we have to look after. Cyclone Gabrielle caused over 140 slips across our network. We are still, to this day, working on 43 of those slips, and we will be spending something like $32.5 million over the next two years to still fix slip repairs that were caused by Cyclone Gabrielle two years ago." Damage on that scale also had a huge impact on rates in a district where many people struggled to pay their bills. State Highway 1 through Mangamuka Gorge was twice closed by slips triggered by April's record-breaking rain. Photo: Supplied / Jo Leef It was fortunate that NZTA Waka Kotahi picked up a large share of the bill through regular funding assistance, reflecting the district's sprawling road network and affordability issues, topped up with emergency works funding. Tepania said it sometimes felt like storms were lining up to have a go at the Far North. Seeing Cyclone Tam bearing down in April brought back vivid memories of Cyclone Gabrielle. "I was thinking, oh my goodness, we've only just got funding confirmation from NZTA to fix the remaining slips we've had since Cyclone Gabrielle, and we've finally got our tender panel up and running so that we can pump the work out to our contractors and get the work done a lot faster … and then you get another cyclone warning come through, and you see it tracking down, and you see the power going out across all of our towns, and you're waiting for the reports to come back. It's really frightening, to be honest." Mayor Moko Tepania says it sometimes feels like storms are queuing up to have a bash at the Far North. Photo: Peter de Graaf Tepania believed Northland's recent weather extremes were part of a new normal. He said he was proud of the work the council was doing to adapt to a changing climate, and helping communities prepare emergency response plans so they could better withstand future natural disasters. He was also grateful to the Northland Regional Council for flood reduction schemes underway in places like Awanui and Moerewa, and to NZTA for a project at Turntable Hill which had ended years of flooding across State Highway near Moerewa. A Mangawhai business destroyed by the January 26 tornado. Photo: Peter de Graaf / RNZ Tepania said Far Northerners had made it through all the extremes nature had thrown at them in recent years because they were resilient, and they were prepared. "Now it's the new normal that when we get a weather alert come through, or we tell our people we're at a yellow watch or an orange warning, people do take care. They check the tides, they make sure they know where their whānau are, and we manage to get through it each and every time, because it's the new norm," he said. "I don't know what tomorrow looks like, I don't know what the rest of this winter looks like. So trying to be as prepared as possible, and for our people to be as prepared as possible, is very important." * This is the first in a series exploring extreme weather in Northland, and what's being done to prepare for it and reduce its impact. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
20 hours ago
- RNZ News
NZ Media Council upholds complaint over RNZ heatwave story headline
Photo: RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly A Media Council ruling has upheld complaints against RNZ over a February 2025 article Hamilton's run of hot days shattered previous record . The complaints, lodged separately by Catriona Atkinson and Ian Wishart, alleged breaches of journalistic standards, including accuracy, fairness, corrections and misleading headlines. While the complaints about the story were not upheld, the Council agreed the headline breached Principle (6) on Headlines and Captions. The article quoted climate scientist Dr Luke Harrington, who said Hamilton's recent heatwave "likely beats anything the city has experienced since temperature records began," based on data he had available going back to the early 1990s. He suggested that "if you went further back in time they would still remain the worst on record" and said such events were becoming more frequent due to climate change. Wishart challenged the claim, citing historical data from the summer of 1934-35, which showed prolonged periods of high temperatures. The average maximum temperature in the 2025 heatwave was 28.46C and in the 1934-35 heatwave it was higher, at 30.28C, he said. He argued that RNZ failed to adequately investigate this historical data, misleading readers into believing the 2025 heatwave was unprecedented. Dr Harrington responded that comparing historical and modern temperature data was difficult due to differences in measurement locations and methods. He agreed the 2025 event was not "record-shattering" and suggested changing the headline. He reiterated that the broader message-that climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme weather remains valid. RNZ amended the headline to say the heatwave "breaks" rather than "shattered" previous records and added historical context from 1935, including reports of extreme heat and peat fires. However, Atkinson and Wishart maintained that the additions were insufficient and failed to convey the full extent of the 1930s heatwave. RNZ defended its reporting, stating the story's focus was on current conditions and future implications, not historical comparisons. It argued that the use of "likely" in the article acknowledged uncertainty and that the updates made were timely and appropriate. The Media Council concluded that the article did not breach any standards, finding that RNZ was within its rights to publish the opinion of the climate scientist and the amendments made were adequate, although they could have been made more promptly. However, the headline, even after it was corrected, did not indicate the degree of uncertainty expressed by the climate scientist, but stated as fact that records had been broken and was therefore misleading. The complaint was upheld on that basis. The full Media Council ruling can be found here: Media Council - Ian Wishart and Catriona Atkinson against Radio New Zealand .
